Are you really content?

"For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that". 1 Timothy 6:7-8

Daily we are bombarded with messages from companies leading us to believe that we will be content if we just buy their product. Cable and satellite providers tell us how many more channels we will get if we sign up with them for service, each of the automobile manufacturers show us ads depicting contentment just by purchasing their vehicles. McMansions popped up all over the country enticing people to "move up" in life.

Do you need 200+ channels to mindlessly surf, wasting away precious time you could be spending more productively? Do you need that brand new car with all the latest gadgets? How about that big house? Is spreading your family out across more space really what you need?

The answer, of course, to all of these when we look at them is no. We lived many years with just 3 or 4 television channels, and survived. Those of us that have cars approaching and past the 100K mile mark know that our cars will get us from point A to point B the same as a brand new one. And those of us that had the big house, only to downsize into something more cozy know that we get along just fine (sure we might have to break up more arguments among children sharing rooms, but that just adds to the fun!). The point being that all of these things we get thrown at us make us believe that we need them for contentment. But material things do not provide contentment. I would even argue that they distract us from attaining a true level of contentment.

When I went back to school to finish up my college education (after having our 4th child, what great timing), I needed something to keep me going. Working full time in information technology, helping my wife with the four kids, and going to school took what seemed to be 25 hours a day to accomplish. But I found out something incredibly important in that time. About the same time, my doctor was really getting on me about  my weight and my cholesterol levels. He wanted me to exercise. I said no way doc, I don not have time for that. But what I found was that I could ride the stationary bike in the basement every morning while I read my textbooks, add some muscle toning routines and low and behold, I felt better. Suddenly, I had more energy. My theory that I had no time for something that was going to wear me out was false. In fact, I made up the time it took to exercise by being more productive because that is what physical exercise will do for you (another reason to stop the mindless television surfing).

Where am I going with this? Well, I also discovered that while the physical exercise was great for my stamina and productivity, I was still not content. I made the decision to get into a routine of doing a daily morning devotion, my time with the Lord. I like to exercise in the morning when I wake up. I have a significant cool down time before I can get showered and into the office to work. Bang, I found my target for doing my daily devotion, in my cool down period after my physical exercise. What I discovered next was even more awesome then the discovery of the productivity boost from physical exercise. I found that by following my physical exercise with what I call spiritual exercise, I was seeing my level of contentment rise.

I'm currently reading a book titled "Why Pray?" by John DeVries. He contends that prayer is how we fill our spiritual gas tanks. It is God injecting, if you will, the Holy Spirit into us as we build that deeper relationship with Him. It helps to fulfill us and put things into perspective. I fully concur with Mr. DeVries' observations. I have the proof in my life.

I am not saying that having something new, or going on a nice vacation is wrong. On the contrary, it can be very rewarding. But what I am saying is that we do not need those things to be content. What we need to be content is to continually pray for God's forgiveness, praise Him for our blessings, and bring our petitions and intentions to Him, asking for His guidance.

Reading my devotion this morning, highlighting the passage from 1 Timothy brought back a memory from our trip to Mexico a couple years back. We had driven away from the resort area to visit some ancient ruins. On our way back we drove through some very poor towns. I am talking huts with grass roofs and no modern conveniences in sight. What we saw were children playing in the streets, moms out hanging laundry, and in general very content and happy people. My kids, my wife and I all took note of that. So many times we are told how the poor countries need our help to bring their level of living up to our standards. I would argue that maybe we should look at their situations and make it our goal to be content like they are. They have food and clothing and like the Bible suggests, are content.

May God bless you this wonderful Thursday!