Contentment

Between my wife, my kids, and myself we have at least four different wish lists on Amazon right now. At any given time I know what I would like, I know what I “need,” and my Amazon lists reflect that. Every day of our lives we have a choice. We can be covetous or we can be content. Many times we think that content can make us content, that the more we put into our lives, the happier we will be. Nothing could be further from the truth. What is it that fills the gap between covetousness and contentment?
Hebrews 13:5 says, “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.” So, we see here the ideas of covetousness and contentment, and we see that what bridges the gap is what the Lord has said: “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” So, contentment is found in Who you have and not in what you have.
Just yesterday I was walking by a neighbor’s house just as he was getting home from a day at the office. When he approached his house on his motorcycle, his toddler was standing on the carport. When the little guy saw his daddy, he squealed and began toddling toward his dad. I suspect he might have wanted to sit on the bike with his dad, but I do know that everything that little guy thinks he needs is encompassed in his dad and his mom.
That toddler doesn’t have any real awareness of great need, food, security, or shelter. He doesn’t even think about those things. What he does think about is dad and mom. If he has dad and mom, everything else he needs is taken care of.
If we have a young camper here at the Ranch when a bad thunderstorm hits, he may cry out for something. Will he cry out for sunshine or a sunny day? No, he says, “I want my mommy!” He knows instinctively that if he has mom and dad, he has everything else he may need.
Verse 6 says, “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.” What a wonderful comparison between verses 5 and 6. Verse 5 says, “For he hath said,” and verse 6 says “We may boldly say.” He said; we said. God said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Sometimes friends leave us intentionally and sometimes they drift from us over time. God will neither be actively done with us nor will He drift away from us. He says, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” And we can reply, “That is enough.”