LEARN TO BE CONTENT WITH WHAT YOU HAVE

A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. Proverbs 14:30.... God’s tenth commandment says, “Do not covet your neighbor’s house….or anything else your neighbor owns” (Exodus 20:17). But what about family and friends? Sometimes the desire to keep pace with them is more of a problem than wanting to keep up with the Joneses. The Lord may bless our friends and the members of our extended family differently from the way He blesses us. These are the people we are closest to, the people we relate to and identify with most. When we see then prosper financally and begin to enjoy more and better material possessions, we may struggle with conflicting emotions. Of course we are happy for them and rejoice with them in their good fortune, but despite ourselves we may also experience pangs of jealously that lead to discontentment with the things God has given us. The only cure for envy and discontentment is gratitude. If you are wrestling with these feelings, try adopting a “desert Island” perspective. Envision yourself living with your immediate family, with all your belongings, on an otherwise uninhabited island. There’s no one else in sight, nobody to compete with, nothing to compare your possessions to. Imagine how thankful you would be for each blessing the Lord has bestowed! They key to contentment is to focus gratefully on what God has done for you…