Be Content
Philippians 4:12
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
Since September I’ve been struggling with weight loss and I’ve been at a “plateau” for several weeks (meaning months). I took a good look at my eating habits and yes – (doing Weight Watchers) I’m eating the right number of points and I’m doing the right number of minutes of exercise.
But…
I was eating many of the things that, while they were in the right point range, were not the best food choices. I was on “Flex”, which gives me many, many choices to choose from and some of the choices are not very healthy, some of them are very healthy and some of them are “neutral”.
Life with God is like that. Many of the things that we can choose to do may be “legal” and we are not under the law. But some of them may not be the right choice for us. Oh, the Christian sitting next to us may be doing that same thing with a clear conscience, but that choice may not be for us.
Even the “neutral” choices…they may be neither good nor bad; but do they glorify God? I can think of many things in my life that fall into that category. From spending too much time reading novels to playing solitaire on-line (for too many hours).
Our homes are like that. I may (ok, do) have too much “stuff”. I can be overwhelmed with stuff. Some of it is very good and very neat stuff. But it’s still just stuff. Paul wrote about contentment and I’ve been told that when he did, he was in prison. Would I be content if some (or even all) of my stuff went away?
My eating habits are sort of like that also. Weight Watchers has a “Core” plan. You don’t count, you don’t keep track. You have a very limited number of food choices and you eat when you are hungry and you stop when you are content.
There’s that word again…content.
After months of “freedom” and having so many food choices; I switched to the Core plan. I had to stop and think, “Am I content?” Do I know how to stop when I am content?
Even the Bible talks about eating and contentment:
Proverbs 13:25
The righteous eat to their hearts’ content, but the stomach of the wicked goes hungry.
Admittedly, the difference between my heart’s content and my stomach’s content may be different, but we recognize that being full is different than being content.
Like this, my life is too full and I become overwhelmed by too many choices. There is a joy to simplicity that too many of us don’t have; that I don’t have. We strive for more, to have this, to have that. But what does God say?
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Ellen,
the “neutral†choices… These are the most difficult for me. I Need this reminder this morning. Wonderful read. Thank you! 🙂
We’re downsizing our house, so I’m really having to evaluate what we really need/want. We have accumulated so much stuff because we weren’t content with what we had. There is nothing wrong with this “stuff”, but it wasn’t the best choice. I find myself getting frustrated with “how will I fit this into our new home” when I should really be seeing this as an opportunity to free my family of these extra possessions that are just cluttering our home.
The one area that we should not just be content with is our relationship with the Lord. We should want more. Yet, that isn’t the area that we focus on very often, is it?
Thanks for making me think this evening…
Sometimes I’m overwhelmed by too many choices, too. Thanks for this post, Ellen.
Learning contentment affects all areas of our lives, doesn’t it? I need to be content with my health, my finances, my husband, my circumstances, etc, etc….Best yet, content with the Lord as our supreme joy.
blessings,
V.
I meant also to say that Hebrew 13:5 is powerful. I found that scripture the ther day and mediated on it awhile. So it’s good to see you included it here:-).