Be Content

Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Hebrews 13:5 KJV

We sometimes wished we had some of the things our friends or neighbors have.  You may have said to yourself, “I wish I had that house” or “I wish I had that car.  How did they get that?”  You might find out how much money your neighbor makes and say to yourself, “Why can’t I make that kind of money?  What makes him so special?”  When we think like that and ask ourselves these kinds of questions, we eventually feel the aggravation in our spirit because we don’t have what we desire.  As a result, we suffer.

We should, however, be content with what we have.  For example, if you’re the owner of a two-bedroom house, why would you be mad when you find out that your coworker owns a four-bedroom house?  We shouldn’t be upset about what we don’t have when we have enough to live a decent life.  There are people out there that are homeless that wished they had what some of us possess.

The Amplified Bible gives us a more detailed interpretation of Hebrews 13:5.  It says, “Let your character or moral disposition be free from love of money [including greed, avarice, lust, and craving for earthly possession] and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support.  [I will] not.  [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)!  [Assuredly not!]” 

God has provided us with everything we need to survive.  He’s giving us the physical ability and the intelligence to make a decent living for ourselves and our loved ones.  We shouldn’t envy our neighbors; we should find out what we have to do to obtain the possessions that we desire if we want it bad enough.  In order to do that, we need to have a plan to get what we want and then execute it without resorting to sin or violence.  And if for some reason we’re unable to obtain what we desire; we need to be happy and content with the possessions we do have.