The key to contentment

We live in such rapidly changing times. Last month the first plastic note was introduced to our currency. The new five-pound note is said to be washing machine resistant. We’re not yet so sure about how resistant it will be to life in a post-Brexit economy. Many are speculating over the impact that the vote to Brexit will have on what we have in our bank balances. For some the future looks to be a positive one, while for others it seems potentially negative. It is unsettling. It breeds discontent.

We may admit that it doesn’t take much to become discontent. A child’s electronic device soon seems very slow compared with the newly launched version. The nicely tailored suit makes ours look self-evidently off the peg, and time for an upgrade. A neighbour’s new car makes our own look shabby. The friend who moves home, may remind us of the squeeze faced at Christmas (oops, sorry for mentioning that), when the outlaws visit. As changes in the workplace are announced, we might begin to get restless with our own terms and conditions.

Jesus said: ‘do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?’ (Mt 6v25). The things we have are not the totality of life. The lack of means might make us long for more. But, Jesus continued: ‘Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them’ (6v26). We have a Father in heaven that provides for us. This results in a change from anxiety and discontent to peace and contentment. It is no surprise to our Heavenly Father that we need these things. When we grasp this then we will learn not to hanker after more, but to be content with what he has given to us. In fact, nothing less than a total re-framing of life is needed in the light of knowing God as our Father. So, here’s the punch line: ‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own’ (Mt 6v33-34).

The essence of Christian faith is to know God as our Heavenly Father. Come and join us to discover more about how this is possible and where it leads.

Paul Kingman
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