I have said before that I think it is important to give credit
where credit is due and today I want to give credit…to McDonalds. I
happen to like McDonalds and I enjoy the food. I don’t want to eat there
every day but I nearly always have a good experience there. And that is
not an accident. They have spent millions of dollars and many years
figuring out what the average person wants and they do their best to give it to
you.
Nobody goes there for great food. They go there because the
food is good enough and it’s fast and relatively cheap. That’s what
people want. I’m in a hurry so fill me up fast and cheap. Except
for the kids. And McDonalds knows what kids want too. What do all
kids want when they go there? Besides the slide and stuff, they want a
“Happy Meal”. And it is absolutely genius on the part of Mickey D’s
because I don’t know how much a Happy Meal costs but I’m pretty sure it’s not
worth it. But they sell billions of them.
I was in there the other day and I watched Dad buy Junior a Happy
Meal. The kid opens it up and totally ignores the burger and fries and
goes straight for the toy. He opens it up, and I can’t see what it is but
I can tell you it was cheap and, sure enough, after about 3 minutes, it
broke. “Waaa! I want another Happy Meal, Daddy!” The
kid had barely touched his nuggets and had eaten about 3 fries and he already
wanted another Happy Meal because his toy broke. That’s genius from a marketing
prospective.
But how ridiculous of that kid! I mean, isn’t he smart
enough to know that he’s being a sucker, falling for the old cheap toy in the
overpriced meal trick? And you would think they would learn, but
no. Every time they get a toy that won’t even last long enough to make it
home but they always want it. And then they can’t believe it broke and
start crying when it does what it was designed to do. Only a kid would be
so foolish as to think that material possessions could bring lasting happiness,
right?
Only a kid would be so naïve as to think that happiness would
really come with the accumulation of stuff. My point is
hopefully obvious that we as adults do the same thing. Our Happy Meals
just cost more and out toys sometimes even need insurance. But we still don’t
learn the lesson.
Let me ask you a question. Do you believe what the Bible
says? Do you really believe it? Do you believe every word to the
point you would stake your life on it? Would you stake your eternity on
it? Would you stake your happiness and contentment on it?
And of all the people in the Bible, who do you trust the
most? Would it be Jesus? So, if you believe the Bible and you trust
Jesus then listen to these words written in red in Luke 12:15. “And
he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all greed, for one's
life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” That
should get lots of “Amens” because it’s easy to amen when you aren’t getting
your toes stepped on, right? When the guy behind you is getting his toes
stepped on, you say amen real loud, don’t you?
The problem is that greed is a lot like pride. Nobody thinks
they have a problem with it but they all know lots of people who do. And
it has always been that way and that is why Jesus tells us to be on guard
against it.
I want us to look at another passage in another book of the Bible
written by another pretty reputable guy. One might think that the books
of Timothy were written by Timothy but they were actually written by Paul to
his young friend Timothy. And the 2 books of Timothy and the book of
Titus are called the “pastoral epistles” or letters to pastors, since Timothy
and Titus both had pastoral duties in the church.
Paul is writing to these men but also to the rest of the church
and even to us today to tell us what is expected, not only of pastors, but in
the church. In the 6th chapter of 1 Timothy, the subject of
money and stuff, or possessions, comes up and I thought it would be appropriate
and helpful to us to read this here at the Christmas season. So, turn to 1
Timothy 6:6-8.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For
we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But
if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
We have all heard the stories or at least seen the cartoons about
some guy wanting to know the secret of life or the meaning of life and so he
climbs to the top of a mountain to ask the Dalai Lama or some Hindu swampy
swami or something. And all he had to do is read this passage. It’s
right there. Because, what is the goal of most people’s lives? To
have enough to be happy or content.
Paul says here, “Got it! Found it! You can quit
looking.” But how does he do that? How can he be content with just
food and clothing? By the way, that word translated clothing actually
means “covering” and can include a house or shelter of some kind. But if
that is how Paul intended it, it would be ironic since neither he nor Jesus had
any kind of house to live in.
No, I think Paul was able to say he was content with just clothes
and food. He proved that we don’t even have to have shelter of our
own. God will even provide that. Some of you here might be able to
relate to that too. When he learned that his house had been destroyed by
fire, John Wesley exclaimed, "The Lord's house burned. One less
responsibility for me!" To be able to truthfully say that is the
very definition of contentment.
But I want us to see that contentment like Paul and John Wesley
had is obtainable for us as well. But I want us to see what affects our
contentment. Our contentment is affected by how we look back. It is
affected by how we look forward. But it is not affected by the present.
Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe, the
great commentator and Bible scholar once said, “Do not say, "Why were the former
days better than these?" You do not move ahead by constantly looking in a
rear view mirror. The past is a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you.
We must learn from the past but not live in the past.”
That is perfect advice for this passage. In verse 7,
Paul says that we have brought nothing into this world. We can look back
and see exactly what he is talking about, of course. When we were born we
didn’t own anything. We couldn’t do anything except the most basic of
bodily functions. And, yet, look where God has brought you.
And you know, in the scheme of things, not much has really
changed. We can do a little bit more but we are still pretty helpless
when it comes to most things. We can’t stop time or increase space.
Can you adjust the brightness of a sunrise or warm the temperature of the
ocean? Despite what Al Gore says, no, you can’t. We can’t even
change the attitude of the crotchety old neighbor next door. And, yet,
look where God has brought you.
God is in control of all of that and when I think of how God has
protected and provided for me, it makes me content. When I understand
that really all that I can do; the only real choice I can make in this life is
to be obedient or not and that other than that, God is in control, I am
content. I can be content with what I have because I know that the
Creator and Sustainer and Controller of the universe knows me and loves me and
wants to have a relationship with me and has for 46 years given me everything I
needed to be here doing what I am supposed to do, then I can be content.
It’s why Paul said in Philippians that he had learned to be
content in whatever circumstance he was in. He knew that God was in
control and when he looked back he could see that God had always provided
everything Paul needed to be the man God wanted him to be. Of all the people
in the world who could have reason not to be content it would be Paul.
And yet I can only remember one time in all of his letters does he ever request
anything more than prayer. One time he asked them to bring his books and
his coat to him in prison.
Some of us can look back and see that more stuff does not mean
more contentment. My dad loves to tell the story of when he bought a
little camper trailer. With 3 kids, he needed some place to get away and
study or just get away and so he saved up and bought this little trailer.
It needed a little bit of work so he spent some more money and time. Then
he needed a better hitch on the car – more time and money.
Then some neighbor kids got in and started messing around so he
had to upgrade the locks. He had to keep an eye on it all the time,
getting up in the middle of the night to check on it if it stormed. It
was just one thing after another. He finally got tired of all that and
sold it and never felt such contentment as when it pulled out of the driveway.
Looking back, we can see that more stuff doesn’t bring contentment but seeing
how God has always provided does.
So, our contentment is not only affected by looking backward, it
is also affected by looking forward. Paul says in verse 7 that we take nothing
out of this world. We have all heard the jokes about how you never see a
U-Haul on a hearse. What we have to look forward to has nothing to do
with what we have in this world. Romans 8:18 says, “I consider
that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be
revealed in us.”
James
4 says this life is a wisp of smoke. It’s all we know right now and it
seems like it takes forever but it’s as transient as a shadow, Job says.
Psalm 39:4 says, “Lord, remind me how brief my
time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is
fleeing away.” And all of that would bum you
out if you didn’t have something to look forward to. How could you be
content if you just saw the situation you were in and the only good thing to be
said was that soon you were going to die?
2 Corinthians 5 says, “For we know that if
the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an
eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we
groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly
dwelling.” I have an idea that if we knew
more about what heaven was like then we would groan all the more, longing to be
there. We can be content here and now knowing that we have then and there
to look forward to.
We know that in this life we brought nothing into it and God
provided everything we needed. How much more will we enter Heaven
completely empty-handed and have everything there? I Thessalonians 4
says, “For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will
rise first. 17Then we
who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.…”
And do you know that we are supposed to be looking forward to
that? Colossians 3 says, “Seek the things that are above, where
Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds
on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” What I
don’t know about Heaven is more than what I do know but it doesn’t keep me from
looking forward to it and when I look forward to Heaven, it makes me content.
My knowledge of that life is small,
The eye of faith is dim,
But it's enough that Christ knows all,
And I shall be with him. - Richard Baxter
I can look back and see how God has always protected and provided
and I can look forward to when this wisp of a life is over because I have a
relationship with God through His Son Jesus. I can look back and be
content and I can look forward and be content. But my contentment is not
affected by the present and I’ll tell you why. Because the present…is
pretty nasty.
I don’t mean right here and right now. This is the high
point of my week. I love being a part of this church. But this life
and this world is nasty. The Mayo Clinic staff wrote a piece on how to be
content and it caught my eye. It was good; giving some tips on how to be
content, like: find your purpose and show gratitude. But the very last
sentence said, “Focus on the positives in the present moment, instead of
dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.”
I like the part about not dwelling on the past or worrying about
the future, although, like I said a healthy way of looking backward and forward
can also make you content. But what about that part that says to focus on
the positives in the present moment?
“Oh, I know your house just burned down and you lost everything
you own, but just look at the positives in the present moment.”
“I know your wife just left you for another woman but look at the
positives.”
“I know your kids are on crack, you have no money and no place to
stay but look at the bright side.”
You might think I’m being way over the top with those examples but
I’m not. Almost every week I get a phone call or a visit from people
going through these very things and here lately I have been nearly overwhelmed
by people asking me if our church can help them because they have
nothing. They have no money, no food, no shelter and only the clothes on
their back. Should I tell them to be content by looking at the positives
of their situation?
Or should I tell them that #1 – our church will help them and #2
that they can be content by remembering what God has done for them in the past
and by looking forward to what He will do in the future? But I always
have to tell them that just like every good deal, there is a catch. The
catch is found in verse 6. Do you see it there?
Godliness with contentment is great gain. It doesn’t just
say to be content by looking backward and forward. It doesn’t even say
that everybody can be content. It says that godliness is the key.
Godliness is to be like God; to be of God; to be a child of God. You
become godly when you start your relationship with Him through His Son
Jesus. Godliness mixed with looking back and looking forward, in spite of
current circumstances leads to contentment.
And no where in there does it mention getting more stuff. In
fact, that same Mayo Clinic paper said that “Only 10 percent or so of the
variation in people's reports of happiness can be explained by differences in
their circumstances.” In other words, your happiness might go up 10%
if you got everything you ever wanted. That’s from a clinical study of
the subject but I can tell you from scripture and from first-hand knowledge
that acquiring material possessions is a trap.
Trey Pittman kept trying to get me to go shopping with him on
Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving and it reminded me of what I did last
year. I refuse to get up in the middle of the night to fight crowds even
for a great deal but I decided to look for a TV online last year. My TV
is pretty old and I thought if I could get one pretty cheap I might splurge.
So, I went to Walmart.com or somewhere and started looking for TV’s
and sure enough I found some great deals. I had a budget and found what I
wanted but then right next to that was a bigger TV for just a little more
money. Well, you know, if I can spend this much I can spend just a little
more. Oh, wait, look at that! A 55 inch for just a little bit
more. Ok, look at that. I can get a 66 inch for a really good
deal. Look how much they have discounted it. Ooh! Almost as
much as that 70 inch that would really look good in my house. Then I can
get HD and I can get some movies and I can get…wait! Stop!
I got caught up in the trap right there on the website and I just
had to get off the computer completely. I went and looked at my old TV
and realized how foolish I had been. I didn’t need a new TV at all.
Mine works just fine and if I had a nicer one I would probably just spend more
time wasted in front of it.
Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was
disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't
you out there fishing?" he asked. "Because I've caught enough
fish for today," said the fisherman. "Why don't you catch more
fish than you need?' the rich man asked. "What would I do with
them?" "You could earn more money," came the impatient
reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish.
You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon
you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me." The fisherman
asked, "Then what would I do?" "You could sit down and
enjoy life," said the industrialist. "What do you think I'm
doing now?" the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea. (http://www.sermonillustrations.com/default.html)
Our contentment does not hinge on what we have or don’t have in
the present. As believers, we can look back and see what God has done or
we can look forward to what He will do in the future. That’s the lesson
Paul would have us to learn at this time of year especially.
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