IBS 14 - Contentment before happiness
Luke 3:14 "And the soldiers likewise demanded of him, saying, And what shall we do? And he said unto them, Do violence to no man, neither accuse any falsely; and be content with your wages."
In Luke's gospel, as it is prophesied by Isaiah that one would begin to prepare the way, John begins his baptism. John does this by teaching a biptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin. With his teachings the people heard, from tax collectors to soldiers, all could come to be baptized. In John's teaching he touches on the subject of contentment. Contentment is a valuable virtue to have and can be very rewarding. In my opinion contentment is often mistaken for happiness and it can confuse a lot of us from the very start. Happiness is a temporary emotion and is not the solution for fulfillment in Christ. For example if we just got the raise we wanted and we're happy about that, yes it's great to be financially stable but that doesn't lead us to contentment; a full bank? ; a higher status? ; more properties of ours that doesn't come with us when we die? What can make us happy can't always make us content. All that money may bring happiness at times but it doesn't satisfy our thirst for truth and light, like the purpose of our inner being and how we fulfill that missing void that some of us acknowledge we have. If we are to find contentment it's not going to be through anything that comes in the form of money or anything of this world, it comes though the Spirit of the Lord. The spirit brings peace to our lives, Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." And how do we receive the Spirit? In Romans Chapter 6 Paul writes about being "Dead to sin, Alive to God" (ESV) 6:6-8 and it speaks to us about being set free from our old self and becoming alive all through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and savior. When we die to self and start to walk in a newness of life everything outside of Christ is rubbish and we start to understand what contentment truly is. In applying this scripture I will remember to be content with all the ministry work I will be apart of today.
In Luke's gospel, as it is prophesied by Isaiah that one would begin to prepare the way, John begins his baptism. John does this by teaching a biptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin. With his teachings the people heard, from tax collectors to soldiers, all could come to be baptized. In John's teaching he touches on the subject of contentment. Contentment is a valuable virtue to have and can be very rewarding. In my opinion contentment is often mistaken for happiness and it can confuse a lot of us from the very start. Happiness is a temporary emotion and is not the solution for fulfillment in Christ. For example if we just got the raise we wanted and we're happy about that, yes it's great to be financially stable but that doesn't lead us to contentment; a full bank? ; a higher status? ; more properties of ours that doesn't come with us when we die? What can make us happy can't always make us content. All that money may bring happiness at times but it doesn't satisfy our thirst for truth and light, like the purpose of our inner being and how we fulfill that missing void that some of us acknowledge we have. If we are to find contentment it's not going to be through anything that comes in the form of money or anything of this world, it comes though the Spirit of the Lord. The spirit brings peace to our lives, Philippians 4:7 "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." And how do we receive the Spirit? In Romans Chapter 6 Paul writes about being "Dead to sin, Alive to God" (ESV) 6:6-8 and it speaks to us about being set free from our old self and becoming alive all through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord and savior. When we die to self and start to walk in a newness of life everything outside of Christ is rubbish and we start to understand what contentment truly is. In applying this scripture I will remember to be content with all the ministry work I will be apart of today.
Comments
Post a Comment