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Philippians 4: 11-13

11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I 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. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

More more more more. That is the battle cry for today’s society. DO not be happy, do not be content, you should work to get more, because there is something bigger and better out there! Better school, faster car, bigger house. You need these things to be complete; you need these things to be whole!

Marketing is everywhere you turn today, every ad on the radio, TV, or mailer, would have you believe that what you have is worthless, because there is a new and improved one, or if you do not have something it will create a vacuum in your life that must be filled with this wonderful new gadget. It creates a very covetous world. One of the reasons that we are in the financial mess we are in today is directly due to the “wanting” of the public at large. I know because I used to be on board with it. Credit cards, no money down…it is all too easy.

If you did not have the chapter and verse quoted above, you might think that the passage was written today, this is just another example of how we really have to advanced all that much in the last couple of thousand years. There is nothing wrong with wanting to better yourself, and there is nothing wrong with desire. It is what we do with it that matters. This is the message that Paul was preaching. Learn to be content. Good times will be replaced with bad; fortunes will be won and lost. It is all temporary. It is when we make Christ the foundation of our life that we learn what it means to be content. Sure we will all still struggle to do better, but we must not make that our goal in life, increasing our bank account should not be our driving force.

This is a slippery slope, and a reminder that we should spend time daily in prayer, even if it is just a short one sometimes. We should pick up the bible daily, and read God’s word so that we might wean ourselves off the milk, and feat on the meat of the Lord. We should remember to “get right with the Lord” then head out to work, and do our best. Our lives were bought and paid for at a very high price. When we make repaying that debt our focus, we become free from today’s market crisis. There is nothing wrong with money, but we cannot allow ourselves to love it more than we love the Lord. If anyone desires more, let that desire be for more of a relationship with God. HE will provide for our needs, and if we will put him in control, he will grant us more than we can imagine.

Peace,
Rev. Thetford