Word of the Week - Contentment - Part 2

And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.  Matthew 6:21

My Pastor, Chris Hodges, recently did a series on getting “stress out” of our lives and one of his messages was about finding peace in the area of our possessions and finances. You can watch by clicking on this link https://www.churchofthehighlands.com/media/message/principles-of-peace1.  He used the familiar story of the Prodical son from the gospel of Luke 15: 11-32 who left the love of his father’s home and covering to pursue the things of the world and careless living only to end up broke and destitute.  Ultimately he returned home to the open arms of his loving father who received him back with unconditional love and forgiveness.  It is a beautiful story of redemption that I think we can all relate to at some level as we think about Contentment.What makes us DiscontentAs human beings living in a fallen world, we all have a tendency in our flesh and sin nature to wander into the land of independence.  This is demonstrated in our lives and our culture by the following:

• We are consumed with having more and never seemed to be satisfied.
• We want everything now and have forgotten the virtue of delayed gratification
• We engage in self destructive behavior by participating in or consuming things that are not good for us (media, junk food, drugs, alcohol, pleasure seeking etc.)
• We spend everything we have and live beyond our means
• We are unprepared for the storms and challenges of life that will come (recessions, layoffs, sickness etc.)

God Principals that produce Contentment When we live under the covering of, and dependence on the Lord, and understand that He is our provider of all things, then we will live Content and have the fruit of Contentment in the Lord, which is Peace.  The following are 6 principals that lead to Contentment:

• Obedience – give the Lord your first fruits (money, time, energy) and you will be blessed.  “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine” Proverbs 3: 9-10
• Margin – we must understand that we all have limits and we need to create space between ourselves and our limits and not always push it to the limit.  “Better one hand full with peace and tranquility than two hands full with strife and chasing after the wind”. Ecclesiastes 4:6
• Generosity – see other peoples needs and always have extra available (time, money, energy) to give to others.  “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed”. Proverbs 11:25
• Integrity – we must live in a way that is true and honest.  “The Lord demands accurate scales and balances; He sets the standards for fairness”. Proverbs 16:11
• Dependence – We need God and each other to live to the full.  “I am the vine and you are the branches, if you abide in me I will abide in you and you will bear much fruit but apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5

The fruit of godly Contentment is Peace Godly contentment is much more focused on the condition of our heart and soul and the evidence of Contentment in our lives is having Peace.  Peace is something that we all desire but so often is hard to attain.  It is another amazing fruit that is produced through an abiding relationship with the Lord Jesus and it is a very powerful gift.  Like all of the fruits of the spirit, Peace cannot be manufactured in your own strength it is a biproduct of knowing the Lord and fully trusting in Him.  If we trust Him we will obey Him and we will have the Peace of God which transcends understanding and guards our heart and minds.“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5Be Content, we are truly blessed beyond measure….-Duane