A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.”
It is interesting to observe that although we live in the wealthiest nation on earth, there are so many who have not discovered joy and contentment in life. What I mean by that is simply learning to enjoy and be thankful for what we have instead of being envious, bitter, resentful, or angry about what we do not have. It is easy to be discontent if our focus is upon ourselves and upon things. In the pursuit and acquisition of things, we often find that once a particular “thing” is acquired, the joy and contentment it brings does not last very long.
We are often like children on Christmas morning who are excited about the gifts they have received, but within a few days, the excitement has worn off and they are bored with the new toys and now wish for something else.
Contentment, satisfaction, and fulfillment in life is not found in possessions or achievements but ultimately in a Person. (Luke 12:13). And that Person is Jesus! He is the embodiment and example of contentment and the ultimate provider of contentment. (John 7:38). When Jesus lived in His physical body on the earth, the only thing He owned were the clothes that He wore. (Matthew 8:20). He had nothing else. And yet His joy in life was so contagious that multitudes of people flocked to hear Him and wanted to be around Him. (Matthew 13:2).
His contentment was the result of His relationship with God the Father. (John 10:30). He knew the Father intimately. He trusted the Father completely. He depended on the Father totally for everything. And He wanted to please the Father in all things. Everything He did was always with the Father’s will in mind. His focus in life was not upon Himself, but rather in doing the will of the Father. (John 5:30).
Our contentment is found in having the same relationship with the Heavenly Father. Jesus came to enable us to have that relationship. It is in the intimacy of that relationship that we discover that in Him, we have everything that we need. (Psalm 23:1).
Rev. James W. Black
