- The Attitude of Gratitude
- The Lost Attitude of Contentment
- Less Anger and More Kindness
- Bringing Humility Back in Style
We live in a culture that says no matter how much we have, more is always better. We have plenty of clothes, but more is better. We have a pantry full of food, but more is better. We already have plenty of books, but more is better. (Okay, that’s not a good example, because I do believe that more books are better, but I digress.)
The point is that no matter what we have, we think that more or bigger or newer is always better.
One day Jesus was teaching, and a guy in the crowd shouted, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” If you’re a teacher, you look for teachable moments. This guy lobbed a big softball right over the plate, and Jesus was happy to oblige.
The person who asked this was most likely the younger brother who was ticked off that his older brother got twice as much of the inheritance. But that was normal practice at the time, so it wouldn’t have taken the guy by surprise; he just didn’t like it.
So Jesus says, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).
Ouch. Jesus saw right through the guy — his issue wasn’t the amount of the inheritance, his issue was greed.
Because this was such a teachable moment, Jesus told a parable.
And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ (Luke 12:16-19)
So here’s the situation: a rich farmer had way too many crops. He was too blessed! This was a problem because he didn’t know what to do with all his extra. Don’t our hearts go out to him? There were people all around him who didn’t know where tomorrow’s food would come from, and he had too much.
The farmer, of course, never thought about anyone else but himself. His solution was to build bigger barns to store all his extra food. It never occurred to him that God may have given him the extra food so that he could bless others. He never once thought, “Look how God has blessed me! I can use all of this for the good of God’s kingdom by serving those in need!” No. What he had was his and his alone. He had earned it, and he was in control of it.
Except he wasn’t.
“But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’” (Luke 12:20)
Well, that changes things. God tells the man, “You think all this extra belongs to you. But you’re going to die tonight, and you won’t be taking any of it with you. Those things you’ve stored up, whose will they be? Not yours! You wouldn’t share them when you were alive, but you will now.”
Then Jesus gets to his point:
So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God. (Luke 12:21)
That stings a little. If we focus on storing up things for ourselves, if our priority is always getting more and bigger and newer, and if we aren’t “rich toward God,” we’re just like the farmer in the parable. Being rich toward God means understanding that all we have comes from him and then using what we have for the good of others and God’s glory. It means thinking less of ourselves and more of how we can make a difference for eternity. It means asking, “How can I use my extra to help others?” or “How can I use this to serve God?”
We’re talking about attitudes that seem to have gone out of style, and one that has almost disappeared is the attitude of contentment. Instead of living to get more and more, are you content to accept what God gives you, and are you using that to serve his kingdom and bring him glory?
It doesn’t matter whether God has given you little or blessed you with a lot. What matters is what you do with what he’s given you. Do you want to make a difference with your life? Do you want to use your gifts to share God’s love with others?
Are you willing to trust God to provide you with everything you need to do what He calls you to do and be who He calls you to be?
Is it time to ask God to give you a spirit of contentment?
As Max Lucado says in his book, “Anxious for Nothing,” “Define yourself by stuff, and you’ll feel good when you have a lot, and you’ll feel bad when you don’t.” So if we define our lives by what we have, we’re happy when we have more and sad when we have less. And no matter how much stuff you have, it can all go away.
Will you ask God to help you be just as happy with little as you are with much?
Paul learned this:
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13)
Do you think Paul had it easy? Just read Acts. He was mocked, beaten, left for dead, and put in prison. Sitting in a filthy prison cell, Paul says, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.” How is that possible?
Paul focused on something other than what he had physically because he had nothing. At least, not as the world sees possessions. But in reality, he had everything. This man who once played a role in murdering Christians — had forgiveness. He had salvation, he had eternity, and he had a Savior who loved him through all of the pain. With Jesus, Paul had everything. And Jesus is something that the world can never take away from us.
If you find yourself living with an attitude of greediness, ask God to replace that with an attitude of contentment. Thank God for what you have, and ask him to show you how to use it to make a difference. Don’t worry about what you don’t have. Realize what you do have, and “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).