Contentment allows us to pursue the right goals,
God's goals, our own goals, not our neighbor's
goals. Contentment allows us to make long -term
choices instead of short -sighted choices. Contentment
allows us to choose wisely. Contentment is the
foundation that helps us do hard things to accomplish
important goals. One of the enemies of contentment
is coveting. Exodus 2017 says, thou shalt not
covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet
thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor
his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor
anything that is thy neighbor's. Covet, defined
by Strong's concordance, is to delight in, beauty,
greatly beloved, covet. delectable delectable
things great delight desire goodly lust be pleasant
precious things it is from the rut to wish for
to covet greatly desire be desirous long lust
after we like to use the word wish is it possible
we should be using the word covet? Thou shalt
not greatly delight in thy neighbor's house.
Thou shalt not greatly desire your neighbor's
wife or their lawn service. You shall not delight
in your neighbor's car or your neighbor's job.
We can spend a lot of time doing this and call
it an idea board or a wish list. And we do not
realize it's harming us, not inspiring us. We
are desiring what is earthy, not what is spiritual.
When we read that as not greatly desiring our
neighbor's vacation, neighborhood, kitchen, etc.,
that brings it closer to home. And it's important
to bring it down to a place we can understand
because Paul says in Romans 7, 7, I had not known
lust except the law had said thou shall not covet.
The purpose of the commandment about not coveting
is to show us that our desires are not pleasing
to God and that they will not bring us into relationship
with God. Exodus 20 verse 1 says, and God spake
all these words saying, I am the Lord thy God
which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of bondage. God gives us these
instructions because one, He is the hero, the
victor, and thus has the authority to make the
rules. And two, he brought us out of bondage,
out of slavery, and he knows how to keep us out
of bondage and out of slavery. If we are going
to stay in a place of liberty, we must be free
of some things. One of those things is covetousness.
We can spend a lot and a lot of time and energy
on things that are not eternal but godliness
with contentment is great gain for we brought
nothing into this world and it is certain we
can carry nothing out and having food and raiment
let us be there with content for they that which
be rich fall into temptation and a snare and
into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown
men in destruction and perdition For the love
of money is the root of all evil, which while
some coveted after they have erred from the faith
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
I touched on this a little bit last week, but
it says having food and raiment. Let us be content.
Notice he doesn't say shelter. He doesn't include
a house. That's pretty amazing when we think
about it. Just food and clothes. That's the baseline,
and that should be enough. That is countercultural.
Could you do it? Walk away from your burned -down
house with the clothes on your back and say,
I have everything I need. That's one of my goals.
I want to get to that spot. Paul writes in 2
Corinthians 4 .18, while we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not
seen. For the things which are seen are temporal,
but the things which are not seen are eternal.
Basically, what is seen is temporary, and what
is unseen lasts forever. Back to the house analogy.
My house is going to decay. My house could burn
down. But the things I build in the lives of
others and myself will be around eternally. So
how do we live this way? Well, we have to look
at our goals and the reasons behind those goals.
We all have goals even if they're not immediately
apparent. I suggest you write your goals for
the day, week, month and year down on a piece
of paper. Find a quiet place and just make some
lists. If you're in a spot where you're like,
I have no idea what my goals are. Write down
some categories. Health, home, work, family,
walk with God. Maybe you have others. Sometimes
just writing down the heading will get you started.
Next, spend some time thinking about what you
have done with your time today and yesterday,
last week, last month. I think one of the gravest
things I've ever done is review how I have spent
my time. Can be embarrassing sometimes. I think
an important part of this honest discussion with
yourself is to pull out your phone and look at
what you have actually spent on the screen versus
what you think you've spent on the screen. Now
there are a lot of books out there that can give
you strategies for achieving your goals and I
have found some of their suggestions useful,
but here's a strategy that has worked for me.
I have asked God to help me change my focus.
I have asked for his forgiveness and asked him
to help me live pleasing to him and do his will
in the future. I remember when I was a young
mom, I was a tired girl and not a morning person.
I had a goal of getting up in the morning to
read my Bible and pray. This was the only time
in my day where I knew I could find enough quiet
time to concentrate without interruption. However,
it was still rare to get a full night's sleep.
And as stated earlier, I'm not a morning person.
I like mornings. I just wish they were later
in the day. I prayed and asked God to wake me
up in the morning. The appointed hour came and
I was wide awake. I was so awake. I was like,
I can lay here for a minute. I won't fall back
asleep. And so I fell asleep. The Lord always
helps when we ask, but sometimes we still don't
do our end of the deal. I was so convicted. Basically,
I had made an appointment or a date and had blown
it off. I never showed. I ghosted. I had stood
up my good friend who happened to be God. I felt
terrible. So here's my advice. Ask God to help
you and then follow through. Don't ask God to
help you and do what you want anyway. I have
actually told women, think carefully before you
ask God to wake you up in the morning. If you
have no intention to get up, don't pray the prayer.
If you really want to get up, pray the prayer.
He'll wake you up. Another thing that has helped
me is to ask God to change my heart. I have asked
God to change my desires and had a specific desire
in mind. I have also asked Him generally to change
my desires and been amazed as I yearned for things
I had resisted for years. The foundation of contentment
grows out of relationship and conversation with
God. As you talk to him and listen to him and
ask him to help you, you will be conformed into
his image and to his likeness. 1 Corinthians
12 31 says, but covet earnestly the best gifts
and yet show I unto you a more excellent way.
And then starts what we call the love chapter.
Paul is talking about spiritual gifts, things
that can only happen when the spirit of God dwells
inside of you. He says if you want to have deep
desire or deep longing for something Don't let
it be your neighbor's house or your neighbor's
yard your neighbor's spouse Let it be to be used
by God to hear his voice to have his wisdom knowledge
his healing and other giftings Let it be to be
motivated by love which is patient and kind So
that I would not envy or boast or be proud Let's
desire to be rich toward God. Proverbs 10 22
says, the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich
and he addeth no sorrow with it. Let's make our
decisions from a place of relationship with the
Lord, a place of contentment. So our lives are
lived with eternal things in mind, not the temporary.