Learn Contentment....
Exodus 20:17 "You shall not covet your neighbour's house. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife, or his manservant or maidservant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbour."
I very often get restless. I love my technology and my gadgets (as do lots of men around my age) and every time something new comes out I want one. I read Stuff, I read T3, I read PC Pro. I know what’s going on in the world of technology, and I want to be one of those poor fools that consumer electronic companies call ‘early adopters’, people who are stuck with big, clunky, bugged versions of consumer electronics that one day everyone else will be using having bought it much cheaper….
And it’s worse when I take my eyes off the real goals of my life, of worshipping the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength and mind, because when I do that my soul, which is always striving after something, fills the vacuums with the ‘nothings’ those goals which are meaningless. I consume, because my soul is hungry. I consume because I seek after comfort. I consume because I want to be content.
Yet I will only be content, only cease to covet after stuff, when my soul is being satisfied. And that only happens when I am worshipping God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, all my strength. It only happens when I find myself at the centre of God’s will for my life.
Martin Luther King found this contentedness of the soul, even though his life was in danger, and he was sometimes far from comfort. Yet in the middle of the storms of his life he found the only place where any of us will find complete contentment – being in the place, the time, and the situation God wants you to be in. The last words he spoke publicly he expressed this sentiment:
“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. And I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
I very often get restless. I love my technology and my gadgets (as do lots of men around my age) and every time something new comes out I want one. I read Stuff, I read T3, I read PC Pro. I know what’s going on in the world of technology, and I want to be one of those poor fools that consumer electronic companies call ‘early adopters’, people who are stuck with big, clunky, bugged versions of consumer electronics that one day everyone else will be using having bought it much cheaper….
And it’s worse when I take my eyes off the real goals of my life, of worshipping the Lord with all my heart, soul, strength and mind, because when I do that my soul, which is always striving after something, fills the vacuums with the ‘nothings’ those goals which are meaningless. I consume, because my soul is hungry. I consume because I seek after comfort. I consume because I want to be content.
Yet I will only be content, only cease to covet after stuff, when my soul is being satisfied. And that only happens when I am worshipping God with all my heart, all my soul, all my mind, all my strength. It only happens when I find myself at the centre of God’s will for my life.
Martin Luther King found this contentedness of the soul, even though his life was in danger, and he was sometimes far from comfort. Yet in the middle of the storms of his life he found the only place where any of us will find complete contentment – being in the place, the time, and the situation God wants you to be in. The last words he spoke publicly he expressed this sentiment:
“Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn't matter with me now. Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. And I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”
posted by Gordon at
12:01 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home