Spirit of Contentment

1 Tim 6:6  "But godliness with contentment is great gain."
Learning to be content just with having God in our lives is the key to happiness. My friends have heard me say over and over that the joy is in the journey. Stop and smell the coffee, as the saying goes, and you will not miss the riches and blessings of this life that we take for granted when we constantly focus on the negative.
The American gospel has told us that he who dies with the most toys wins. But does that really bring happiness?  If you live by that motto you don't really enjoy the toys that you do have because the focus is on more and new.
I can remember a few years ago taking a Christian weight loss program that taught me something that really opened my eyes. It pointed out that many of us sit in front of the TV on Sundays to watch a football game with a bag of Doritos on our lap. We munch and crunch our way through the game. The revelation came when she asked how much we were really enjoying the taste after about the 4th or 5th chip. The answer was no, I wasn't really tasting them or enjoying them at all. It was a mindless exercise of excess. I still love Nacho Cheese Doritos. But now a bag lasts me forever because I only eat what I enjoy. After that I put a clip on the bag and put them away.  I must admit that it takes a few more Oreos before I am willing to put them away, but I've cut down on them too.
The point is that we end up with houses full of the things that we had to have but we hardly ever use or enjoy.  In the meantime the bills pile up and those are never enjoyable.
The other night my wife and I went to a party at a close friend's home. After the party was over and 3 couples were left we got into a discussion of the Word and the things that God was bringing alive to us and the hunger for more of Him that he was birthing in us.  My wife and I left that party totally energized and excited. The next day we took some time off and just spent it with the Lord. We worshipped together and for a while all of the cares of this world just melted away. At that moment we were the richest people in the world.
The prosperity gospel tells us that God has many things for us and that He wants to break us free from a spirit of poverty.  This is true, to a point. The blessings that the Father has for us are not material things.  In fact, look at the following Scripture:
Matt 6:19-21"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
When I look at Jesus, at Paul and the Apostles and early Church Fathers I do not see robes and riches. What I do see are lives full of the power of the Holy Spirit evidenced by their love for the lost and their desire to make disciples. That is where their heart was, that is where their treasure was.
Recently, the Lord has been challenging me as to where my heart is. Don't  get me wrong, I enjoy having a nice home and all of the creature comforts that it brings, but I'm not so focused on those things anymore. Their importance is growing smaller in the rear view mirror.
Phil 3:13-14 "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead , I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
Ah, the joy is in the journey indeed and there are many blessings along the way; that is for those who take the time to stop and enjoy them along the way. That  is the secret of being content.

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