We are rich. When looking at the world as a whole, we are very rich. We have two cars. We have 2,000 + sq feet of living space. We have three bedrooms and two living areas. We have a stove and an indoor toilet. Three indoor toilets! I have shoes I don't wear.
When looking at some of my friends, we aren't so rich. They have 6,000 + sq ft of living space. I don't know how many bedrooms. They have two or three SUVs they have granite countertops and marble floors.
Behind our house is open space and in that open space there is a golf course and a club going up. Membership to that club will be $100,000 per year, plus $1000 per month. Boy. We are dirt poor when compared to that!
It all depends on who you're looking at. The trick is to learn to be in my friend's huge home or look out at the expensive golf course and still be content. And guess what? I'm getting there. I really am. Thanks to God. Its something I've struggled with for a long time. Wanting. Wanting. Envying. Coveting.
But God has richly blessed us and we have far more than we actually need. FAR more. We are among the truly rich and that would be true even if every material thing were gone. All these things will pass away. But love, family, friends, wisdom, understanding, right standing with God -- these are the things of true wealth.
Contentment is a beautiful thing. I NEED MORE OF IT! :0) Get it? :0)
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Kay. I am learning, too, very, very slowly. Thank God He is so gentle with us.
Great post!
ReplyDeleteMaybe in Heaven we will finally be totally content with no reservations. I don't think I am blatantly materialistic, but I think that the material desire for more space (different house)and more money for clothes and things is always under the surface of my mind.
ReplyDeleteEye of the beholder. No shoes...no feet. It is our human nature. The Bible does say that the eyes of man are never satisfied. Don't make it right, but it is true.
ReplyDeleteLove the post. It's so true. You can have all the money and so many fancy things. But it doesn't mean anything without God's love, family's love....
ReplyDeleteSo true. And I know many rich, miserable people. All the stuff isn't what makes you happy.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post Kay!
ReplyDeleteKay, I'm so with you on this contentment thing. I'll walk into a friend's huge house and think about all they have. Yet, you are also soooo right about happiness. Since I've struggled with this myself, I understand.
ReplyDeleteFollow my thought for a minute. Why do we want? Why do we covet? We feel those things will bring happiness, right? So now consider what we understand true happiness to be...Jesus, Heaven. So if we put it in perspective, we can say, if we really want happiness, we are wanting Jesus. So when you walk into a friend's house and feel that envy feeling, pray for that person then pray for yourself. Ask God for your friend's house (the beauty of it) in your heart. If our bodies (including our hearts) are temples of the Lord, then it's fine to ask for the beauty of your friend's house in your heart for Jesus to live. That's how I get through it.
Of course, then I go home an dust something...that always makes me feel better too.
Hope that makes sense. Great post and sooooooo relevant!
Loretta, you make a great point! And I have had a tendency to think "I will be happy when..." "Or I would be happier if..." I always think I will be a different and better person in different surroundings, too. Not so. Definitely not so.
ReplyDeleteBut beneath that, for me, is the desire to be approved of. "People probably would think better of me if my house were bigger/newer/fancier..."
A lot of people measure their worth by what they have.
And I think that is a motivator for a lot of the materialism we see. Impressing people. I'm getting over that...slowly. With God's help.