Contentment and Happiness

 

A story is told of the time when Abraham Lincoln (before he was President) was walking through town with two of his young sons. The two boys were crying and visibly unhappy. A friend stopped Mr. Lincoln and asked him what was wrong with the two boys, to which he supposedly replied, “Exactly what’s wrong with the whole world… I have three walnuts and each boy wants two!” To some degree we can all identify with this story. We live in a world that is consumed with consuming. Even though Jesus taught that life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions (Luke 12:15), we continue to live as though it does. We know what it is to be always spending but never satisfied. Years ago, the comic Flip Wilson used to do a satirical bit of comedy known as “The Church of What’s Happening Now.” More recently, a theologian by the name of Mark Buchanan wrote a short piece titled, “The Cult of the Next Thing.” ‘I belong to the Cult of the Next Thing. It’s dangerously easy to get enlisted. It happens by default – not by choosing the cult, but by failing to resist it. The Cult of the Next Thing is consumerism cast in religious terms. It has its own litany of sacred words: more, you deserve it, new, faster, cleaner, and brighter. It has its own deep rooted liturgy: charge it, instant credit, no down payment, deferred payment, no interest for one year. It has its own preachers, evangelists, prophets, and apostles: ad men, pitchmen, and celebrity sponsors. It has, of course, its own shrines, chapels, temples, and meccas: malls, super- stores, club warehouses. It has its own sacraments: credit and debit cards. It has its own ecstatic experience: the spending spree. The Cult of the Next Thing’s central message proclaims, “Crave and spend, for the Kingdom of Stuff is here.”’

[Philippians 4:11-13] “…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it means to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” Rather than being content with what we have, we always crave something more. The fact is, if we needed different “things” or gifts to enable us to glorify God, he would provide them for us (Matthew 6:25-34). Instead of saying, “If I only had this” or “If I only had that,” God is calling upon us to glorify Him right now! God expects us to serve Him in our current situation with what we have right now. Like Paul, may we all be satisfied and content with what our God has provided for us. May we all be completely satisfied with God for He is all we need for life and happiness. Solomon wrote: “For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun? For all his days are sorrowful, and his work grievous; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. There is nothing better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who can have enjoyment more than I? For God gives wisdom and knowledge and joy to a man who is good in His sight; but to the sinner He gives the work of gathering and collecting, that he may give to him who is good before God. This is also vanity and grasping for the wind” (Ecclesiastes 2:22-26). On Judgement Day… “God will give to each person according to what he has done”  (Romans 2:5-11). The conclusion of the whole matter: “Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).