This Month's Devotion

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by Deborah Ehrfurth from the book, "Meditations on Money" | ©2004

“But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” 1 Timothy 6:8

Do you have food and clothing? Most of us do. Yet how many of us are content? The Bible tells us we should be, if we have those basic needs met. The word “clothing” can be extended to shelter as well; meaning “covering.” So if we have some sort of roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food in our stomachs, we should be happy and grateful. But we’re not. The roof we reside under isn’t grand enough, our clothes don’t have the “right” labels, and we would rather eat out.

God takes our grumbling against his provision very seriously; he was ready to destroy the Israelites for their complaining (see Numbers 11). And he can’t possibly be pleased with our attitudes today. Young couples just starting out believe they’re entitled to have everything right away that it took their parents thirty years to accumulate. No wonder we owe trillions on credit cards.

The truth is this: More and better stuff will not make you happy. If it were true the residents of Beverly Hills would be delirious with joy; instead they have the highest suicide rate per capita in the world. More stuff means more drain on your energies; every additional item you buy beyond what you need adds stress to your life in one way or another.

Let’s get back to basics. I challenge you to go thirty days without buying anything but absolute needs. See how freeing it feels. Life doesn’t have to be so cluttered to be content.

Lord, you have blessed me so abundantly; I am ashamed of the times I’ve grumbled about what you have provided for me. Help me to cultivate a grateful heart; open my eyes to the people who live with a fraction of what I have. I want to please you by my contentment. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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