Contentment Is in the Eye of the Beholder
Brace yourself . . . because as soon as the Thanksgiving table is cleared away, you will be well on your way to the busiest season of the year.
In the next 30 days we’ll shop more, eat more, and party more than we have all year, to the point of utter exhaustion. How quickly we go from being thankful for all of God’s blessings to making a list and checking it twice! With advertising bombarding us at every turn, we begin to want more and more, just to keep up. We want the newest TV, better clothes, a nicer car--things we are told will satisfy us.
We could blame it on holiday commercialism, but the truth is, the condition of our hearts has not changed a whole lot over the past 2,000 years. The Bible shows us that greed has always been a contagious disease, paralyzing our souls, robbing us from contentment, separating us from God.
Today we live in a society filled with wants rarely relevant to our needs. We get caught up in a world of competition and comparison, wanting what others have and forgetting what has been given to us. Our satisfaction levels fluctuate like the stock market, creating stress, anxiety, resentment and emptiness. We start to think, “If I had just one more thing, the better child, the smarter husband, the newer car, then I would be content.”
Or would you? Who becomes responsible for your happiness? Not God. Not even you. Your happiness becomes dependent on someone else, which is a losing proposition.
Jailed and beaten by prison guards, the apostle Paul writes his secret to living. He tells us contentment is a choice not based on circumstances. Contentment means we don’t want any more than what we already have. By that definition, can you identify which man is more content: the man with $1 million or the man with five kids? The answer is: the man with five kids, because he doesn’t want any more.
Once we recognize God’s love for us is enough to sustain us through any and all situations, we can practice the daily discipline of wanting what we have. It is something that doesn’t come easily to most of us--especially in Orange County, where we enjoy such an affluent lifestyle. But the choice is ours.
So how do we live a lifestyle of thankfulness? I believe thankfulness is wanting what we have. I know this sounds too simple, but just saying “Thank you” is the outward expression of a person’s heart. I would encourage you to take some time each week and reflect on the blessings God has given you, especially for the difficult times, which carve deeply into our personal character and force us to think about our lives in a serious way.
We can bet our lives on the empty promises of the world or live joyfully in an eternity with our heavenly Father. God gave us the choice of connecting with him, in perfect love, in a very personal relationship. God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to deliver the good news of joy, peace and eternal life. God is with us, Emmanuel.
That is the truth we celebrate at Christmas. Regardless of our circumstances, we can be thankful and passionately celebrate the reason for the season, the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. With God’s love filling our hearts, we are enough in Him. So when the hustle-bustle of this holiday season starts to overwhelm you, just remember this one truth: the password into God’s presence is “Thank you.”
Beshore is senior pastor of Mariners South Coast Church. It is a nondenominational, Bible-based Christian church in Irvine with weekend services, midweek ministry programs and two daughter churches: Rock Harbor in Costa Mesa and Rock Hills in Mission Viejo. MSCC service times are at 6 p.m. Saturdays, 8:45 and 10:45 a.m. Sundays. Information: (949) 854-7030.
On Faith is a forum for Orange County clergy and others to offer their views on religious topics of general interest. Send submissions to Orange County religion page editor Jack Robinson at 1375 Sunflower Ave., Costa Mesa, CA 92626. Submissions also may be faxed to (714) 966-7711 or e-mailed to jack.robinson@latimes.com.