Enjoy this edifying article by my cousin and guest author Heidi Palmer:

Webster’s defines the word content as pleased and satisfied; not needing more. The Bible teaches us in 1 Timothy 6:6 that godliness with contentment is great gain. The passage continues on to say that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil. Lack of contentment often goes beyond our material possessions though!

Paul writes in Phil. 4:10, “For I have learned in whatever state I am to be content.” He wrote this while in prison! Could we have that same attitude in those circumstances? All too often, we are not content with where we are, what we have, or even how we look or feel. I’d guess that our situations are not nearly as bad as the one Paul was in when he made that statement. Let us strive to be like Paul and LEARN to be content.

Many times, we are like the Israelites. God provided them everything they needed, but it was never enough. God rescued them from slavery in Egypt, but soon after they began to find things to complain about. They did not have good water to drink, so they complained to Moses. (Ex. 15:24-25) Then, just a short while later they complained that they didn’t have enough to eat. They even suggested that they would have been better off if they had died by God’s hand in Egypt where they at least had “pots of meat” and were able to eat “bread to the full.” (Exodus 16) How quickly they forgot all that God had done for them!

We need to be more like Esau. Do you remember what his brother Jacob did to him? Jacob tricked their father Isaac into giving him the blessing that was supposed to be for Esau. Later when Esau came out to meet Jacob as he was traveling, Jacob was afraid that Esau was going to attack his family. Jacob sent ahead several animals as a gift for Esau. When Esau saw it, his response was, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” (Gen. 33:9). Esau could have taken it with the attitude of “I deserve it,” or “it’s the least he could do after he stole my blessing.” So often, our attitude is that way. We think we deserve more, or better instead of being content with what we have.

Is it wrong to desire to be better, or to want to have something nicer than what we have, or even desire to have better health? No, it is not. We can desire a better job. We can want to live somewhere different. We can want to have a newer car. We can want better health. None of these things are wrong. It becomes an issue when our wants and desires for these things are so great that we can think of nothing else. We forget about the blessings we have.

I am reminded of the story of King Midas. He had more gold than anyone in the world, but he never thought it was enough. He had a daughter named Marygold. He wanted her to be the richest princess in the world. One day, he was in his vaults admiring all his gold, and he wished that everything he touched would turn to gold. A stranger that had appeared to him in his vaults said that his wish was granted. He woke up the next morning and started touching items around his room. He was so excited when he realized his wish had come true! He sat down to eat breakfast, and his food turned to gold. He couldn’t eat it. His tried to drink some water, but it too turned to gold. His daughter Marygold came in and noticed that her father was sad, so she ran over and gave him a hug. When he touched her, she became a gold statue. King Midas began to sob. The stranger appeared to him again and asked him if he was happy. King Midas said he was the most miserable man in the world. He said he would give up all the gold he had just to have Marygold back. He had lost all he had that was worth having.

Things of this earth are temporary. Life isn’t always going to go “our” way. Our possessions can be lost, and our health will fail us. We will have suffering. Focus on the good, be thankful for what we have, and pray that we can learn to be content in any situation. But most importantly, remember to “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven….for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:20-21) Heaven is our goal. If we spend all of our time focused on everything that is wrong with our lives on this earth, we may miss the ultimate prize!