Wrestling with contentment

Charles Spurgeon once said: “You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.”

These words hit home, as they remind us of how we mistakenly believe that 'more' will always make us feel better. More money. More 'friends on Facebook.' More possessions. More time. More 'likes' on our social media platforms.

The writer of Hebrews had these wise words to offer us: "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." (Hebrews 13:5)

Thought: In what area of contentment are you struggling with at the moment?

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Paying the debt

Hebrews 7:22 - "Because of this oath, Jesus is the one who guarantees this better covenant with God."

The understanding of a guarantor is of 'someone who commits to pay back a debt if the original borrower can't pay it back.' Another name for this person is a 'surety.' The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus is the one who guarantees the New Covenant with his Father. 

In order to try and explain this in another way, the author Max Lucado shares this story: 

"A man had a daughter in college. He had set up a checking account for her so that she would have some money at school and could be responsible to pay her bills through this account. He was trying to help her learn how to manage a budget. He gave her some money to start the account, and she put money into her account through an on-campus job she had. He was also on the account as a guarantor to the bank since his daughter was still a minor. 

One day the bank sent him an overdraft notice on his daughter’s account. The amount of the overdraft was $25.37. What should he do? Let the bank absorb it? They won’t. Send her an angry letter? Admonition might help her later, but it won’t satisfy the bank .... He knew he could transfer the money from his account to hers. That seemed like the best option. So, he did. He replenished her account and paid the overdraft fee as well.

He then called her. He told her about the overdraft. She said she was sorry. But she told him she had no money to repay him at that moment. She was broke.

After a pause she began, “Dad, could you….” But before she could continue the sentence Dad said, “Honey, I already have.” 

Isn’t that amazing. Dad had met her need before she knew she had one."

And this is the story of the Gospel. While we were still caught up in our sinful lives, Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). He became the sacrifice and the guarantor, both at the same time. 

Living Grace

D3LM3

Money is like sea water

The Roman's had a proverb that went like this: "Money is like sea water - the more you drink it, the thirstier you become." 

In our generation we see this proverb coming to life, although I think this has been true of all generations. Greed is at the heart of many public ills and is certainly prevalent in most governments. It is ironic that the more we pursue "greed" the thirstier we become.“

"Greed is a bottomless pit which exhausts the person in an endless effort to satisfy the need without ever reaching satisfaction.” – Erich Fromm

I believe that if we had the privilege of hearing Jesus preach in our modern churches he would use the same words he used in the first century: 

"Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.” - Luke 12:15

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Slipping through your fingers

"Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness! The more you have, the more people come to help you spend it. So what good is wealth—except perhaps to watch it slip through your fingers!" - Ecclesiastes 5:10-11

I love Solomon's image of money slipping through your fingers. It is such a vivid word picture of how easily money slips from our grasp. And the more we seem to grab for it, the quicker it disappears. 

He touches on something else quite interesting in today's reading - that is the notion of how other people will flock around you in order to help you spend what you have got. This is very true and perhaps explains why many people who win the lottery find they are more depressed afterwards than before their big cash bonanza. The stress of having the money makes them less happy than before.

These are all life lessons that we need to learn along the way. Sadly, we may have to relearn then more than once.

"An investment in knowledge pays the best dividends." - Benjamin Franklin

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Riches come and go

"Do not wear yourself out to get rich;
    do not trust your own cleverness.
5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone,
    for they will surely sprout wings
    and fly off to the sky like an eagle." - Proverbs 23:4-5

These words seem strange coming from a man who had so much wealth. Clearly Solomon must have learnt a lot about the fragility of riches and wealth. When you have lots then you have many friends, but when the tough times come, then many people move onto greener pastures. I am sure that it is not just Solomon who came to understand this truth.

Jesus said something very similar:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:19-21

Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness. Anne Frank

The only wealth which you will keep forever is the wealth you have given away. Marcus Aurelius

Living in Grace

D3LM3

2 - When money can't buy you love

So many people dream of having big bank balances because we believe that this will solve all our problems. However, if we could ask the King who had everything (Solomon) he would give us the following advice:
 
I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
    I refused my heart no pleasure.
My heart took delight in all my labour,
    and this was the reward for all my toil.
¹¹ Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done
    and what I had toiled to achieve,
everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
    nothing was gained under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 2:10-11

So it seems that money can buy most things, but it really can't buy us love. If we put us much time into our relationships as we did into making money, perhaps our world would be a better place.

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Football has lost the plot!

I think Football has just lost the plot! The news that Brazilian footballer Neymar is on his way to Paris Saint German (PSG) from Barcelona for a world record fee of 198 million Pounds is absolutely ludicrous. Don't get me wrong - I am a massive Football fan and take a lot of interest in all things related to Football, but this latest news is quite hard to fathom.

Let me break it down for you: This Football transfer is equal to 3,366 Billion Rand. That is all on 1 player! Neymar will take home around R 8,755 Million per week (before tax), which is a tidy sum for playing soccer.

The reason I am so against all these massive transfers, (even including my own favourite team), is because I think it creates a massive chasm between the ordinary person and these 'football gods!' There is a sense in which Football begins to lose touch with the common person, the roots of the game and essentially LIFE. What reality does one have, when you are forced to struggle to survive on R8 million a week :)

One of the few people who could speak to us about the lure of money and its ultimate impact on our lives is Solomon. After all, he had plenty of it and yet he still felt as if something was missing in his life.

Ecclesiastes 5:10 - Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.

 

What do you think?

 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Financial stress

People struggle with their finances all the time and the present economic climate doesn't help at all. There often seems to be such a big divide between the end of the money and the end of the month! What I find helpful in times like this is a dose of reality - I know this may not help the cash flow, but it does get me thinking. I reflect on how people survive on the minimum wage - which in South Africa is just over R 2500 per month. After my initial shock, I then think about how blessed indeed I am and how much of what I spend is really necessary.

“Worry, like a rocking chair will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.” – Vance Havner

Paul reminds us to be content in whatever situation we find ourselves. This is easier said than done, but he wrote it none the less:

Philippians 4:11-13 - "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength."

Living in Grace
D3LM3

Who owns who?

Do you "possess" it or does it possess you?
By the way, I am talking about money...do you have money or does money have a handle on you?

We are in the middle of sharing a teaching on money and boy is it challenging. The thing about money is that we can use it to bless so many people, but it also has such a tendency to consume us and pull us away from God.

In the church, we often fall into the trap of 'guilting' people to part with money, but the Bible has so much more to say about our finances than this. Jesus knew that his disciples (and us) would find themselves living in a world of differing values and that many people would be tempted to believe that "it's money that makes the world go round!"

Money has a 'dark' side, as well as a 'light' side - it can consume us or we can use it to provide for our families and to bless many other people. We just need to understand Jesus' correct teaching on money!

• “We need instruction on how to possess money without being possessed by money!” – Richard Foster

 Jesus said it like this:



"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." - Matthew 6:21

May we foster a spirit of thankfulness for what we have and then also choose to bless others.

Living in Grace
D3LM3 

Did you know?

Did you know that the South African One Rand coin has the following inscription on the front - "Soli Deo Gloria?" It means 'To God be Glory!' If you didn't know this, please go and check it out.

A friend of mine (Tim) pointed it out to me a few weeks ago & it raises a few interesting thoughts for me:

1. As a country is this something that our leaders are striving for (giving God the glory) or is this just a 'nice' thing to inscribe on our coins?

2. We complain about how Americans loosely use the phrase 'In God we trust' and yet we argue that we are not sure 'which god' they are referring to. Well, the same could apply to us South Africans - which 'god' do we give glory to? Power, Injustice, Corruption, Money, Culture? At the moment, God is certainly not being glorified by the actions of many people who call themselves 'Christians.' Harsh, but FACT!

3. Can I use this simple One Rand coin to influence my own use of money? If I ask myself a simple question every time I spend my cash, will I be more generous and less 'bound' by finances? The question is "Am I glorifying God with this purchase?"

Jesus was absolutely spot on when he said: "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money." - Matthew 6:24

Grace to you,
D3LM3