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Making wise choices from a foundation of contentment.

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Contentment is a spiritual state. Discontent

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is also a spiritual state. We know contentment

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is universally a good thing. We know it is something

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for which to aspire. We know that it is better

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for us psychologically. However, contentment

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and for that matter, discontent, is deeper than

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that. Is a spiritual state? What does that mean

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spiritual state? What we are really getting at

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is that contentment says something about your

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relationship with God Discontentment says something

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about our relationship with God in Luke 12 Jesus

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is talking to his disciples about having Life

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and living life in this world and staying focused

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on the eternal Jesus is questioning our priorities

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and our assumptions of what we need. There's

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a lot going on in the chapter, and I'm having

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a hard time letting it all lie for a later moment,

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but I'm gonna do it. Jesus says in Luke 12 27,

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consider the lilies how they grow, they toil

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not, they spin not, and yet I say unto you that

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Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like

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one of these. If then, God so clothed the grass,

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which is today in the field, and tomorrow is

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cast into the oven. How much more will he clothe

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you, O ye of little faith? Traditionally, I think

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we look at these verses and say, don't worry

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about what you need, God will provide, which

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is a true statement. He uses this analogy of

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clothes to represent all of our physical needs.

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Jesus says, God is going to give us clothes that

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are carefully chosen. just as Solomon's royal

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robes were carefully chosen. Which is interesting

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to think about because clothing is often one

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of the things we are most discontent about. I

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know this is not true of all women, but I feel

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like most of us, at least, go through a phase

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where we're comparing what we're wearing and

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what other people are wearing and feel a level

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of discontent. Here's part of the point Jesus

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is making. In all our getting and gathering and

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pursuing, are we looking left and right instead

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of upward? Are we paying closer attention to

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our comfort and desires than God's comfort and

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desires? This is the center of being content

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and of being discontent. Discontentment comes

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when we are focused on what we don't have rather

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than what we do have. Being curious, I looked

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up the Latin roots of the word contentment. Etiem

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online says that it's from the Latin contentus,

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meaning contained or satisfied, past participle

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of continue to hold together or enclose. It says

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that the connection of contained and satisfied

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probably is that the contented person's desires

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are bound up by what he or she already has. I

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find that statement so interesting. The contented

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person's desires are bound or stopped by a boundary

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by what he or she already has. Going back to

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the verse that says, God is going to give you

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clothes that are as thoughtfully picked out for

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you as the glory of Solomon's robes and the beauty

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of the flower. God designed. The boundary for

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our desire is what God has thoughtfully provided.

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If we are worried and discontented with what

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God has provided, we have little faith. Thus,

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contentment and discontentment are spiritual

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states. Let's look at the idea that God has thoughtfully

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picked out what He is providing for us. Solomon

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was clothed differently than the flower of the

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field. Solomon's job was different than the job

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of the flower of the field. We see here, though,

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that God is not elevating Solomon's job over

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the flower's job in the field. He isn't paying

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more attention to Solomon's needs than the flower's

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needs. which would be our tendency. There are

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so many different things that need to be done

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in this world and each of those things require

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different tools and abilities. Think about height.

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If there were no short people, there would be

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no tall people. Obvious, but full of meaning.

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The tall person can do things that the short

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person cannot. This is true, but the short person

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can do things that a tall person cannot. I am

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often asked to help someone reach the top shelf

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in a store. I am always pleased to help as it's

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something I'm built for. I often ask my husband

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to lift things that are too heavy for me. It's

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something he is built for. The flower is a beautiful

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thing, and I am glad that God designed them,

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and they are content to do the job of providing

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healing, nourishment, and beauty in this world.

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King Solomon was also a great gift, and I am

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glad God gave him wisdom so that he could share

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that with us. Which says but godliness with contentment

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is great gain This tells us that contentment

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is a comfortable companion of the characteristics

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of God or godliness and That it benefits us to

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have both because verse 7 says for we brought

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nothing into this world and it is certain we

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can carry nothing out and Having food and raiment

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let us be there with content But they that will

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be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and

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into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown

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men in destruction and perdition. For the love

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of money is the root of all evil, which while

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some covet it after they have erred from the

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faith, and pierced themselves through with many

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sorrows. When I read this verse I have pictures

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of the old stories of adventurers and quests

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for money, like the stories of the king's fifth

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and Arabian knights. where the pursuit of treasure

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and wealth brings out the worst characteristics.

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And I think that is the point of this verse.

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The love of wealth and treasure doesn't pair

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well with godliness, the characteristics of God,

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because it brings out selfishness and greed which

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brings forth dishonesty in the forms of cheating

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and lying and unfaithfulness. The world is clear

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that such things are a snare. But we say I'm

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not asking for great treasure. I'm just asking

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for a little bit more So the argument you're

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making is that what God has provided is not enough

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Well, we say I appreciate so much of what he's

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done for me. I would just like a little change

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So the argument we're making is that we shouldn't

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be bound by what we have I know it is so counter

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-cultural, the American dream is the pursuit

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of happiness, and happiness, as modernly defined,

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is fleeting and elusive. But as Solomon says,

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nothing is new under the sun, because this is

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a temptation and a snare. It brings foolish and

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hurtful desires which drown men in destruction

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and perdition. Perdition is a final state of

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ruin and punishment. That is pretty descriptive.

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Discontent will cause you to drown in desires

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that hurt you and are foolish, empty your vein,

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leaving you in a place of ruin. I had never noticed

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the word drown in that scripture. It seemed...

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It seems such an apt description of where we

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are as a society today. People are so disappointed

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with their lives. Women are consuming higher

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and higher quantities of antidepressants. As

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a society, we're buying more and more and more,

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and yet suicides keep climbing, families are

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broken, anxiety is high. We are drowning in our

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desires. Verse 10 says, For the love of money

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is the root of all evil, which while some coveted

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after they have erred from the faith, and pierced

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themselves through with many sorrows. I hear

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this and I see people so agonized by stress and

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anxiety, they don't even know what to do with

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themselves, because they feel like they don't

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have enough money to fix the problem. Even people

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who believe Christ is the answer can walk away

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from that hope because they are looking for the

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answer somewhere else, and they have pierced

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themselves with many sorrows. The sorrows are

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self -inflicted because of discontent, because

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they look at their neighbor's post and the influencer's

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short, that they cause their own pain. They are

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cutting themselves physically and emotionally.

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Because contentment is a spiritual state and

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so is discontent Returning to Luke 12 Jesus continues

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in 29 and Seek not ye what you shall eat or what

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you shall drink neither be ye of a doubtful mind

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For all these things do the nations of the world

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seek after and your father knoweth that you have

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need of these things But, rather, seek ye the

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kingdom of God, and all these things shall be

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added unto you. Fear not, little flock, for it

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is your father's good pleasure to give you the

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kingdom. Sell that you have, and give alms. Provide

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yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure

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in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief

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approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where

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your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

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Here is the solution for discontentment. Not

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seeking, not being of a doubtful mind, not being

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shaped and mold after all the things that the

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whole world seeks after, trusting that our Heavenly

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Father knows what we need and will provide those

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things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God

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and all these things shall be added to you. being

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willing to sit within the boundaries, sit within

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what has been provided, and being content, and

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having no fear, knowing that it's our Father's

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good pleasure to give us the kingdom. Sell what

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you have and give us alms, provide yourselves

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bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens

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that faileth not, where no thief approacheth,

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neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure

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is, there will your heart be also." How amazing

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would it be if instead of going to the store

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and finding more stuff, selling what we have

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and giving to someone in need, and in that way

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we build treasure in heaven. It's not saying

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that we have to do that. But it is saying we

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need to be willing to do that We do need to be

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doing it on some level So that we can find contentment

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with what we have contentment with the things

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the Lord has provided us and From that point

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we will be able to make wise decisions We're

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going to continue to talk about that next week