Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5
“A missionary tells of a young man who joined the missionary team in a foreign land and appeared concerned because there was a lack of the usual conveniences he was used to. The older missionary, sensing his discomfort, said, ‘Make a list of all the things you are used to and I will show you how to do without them’. Discontent destroys our ability to enjoy the things God has given us since our focus is on the things we think he should give us rather than on what we have.”
Selwyn Hughes in Divine Mathematics: A Biblical Perspective on Investing in God’s Kingdom (Surrey, UK: CWR, 2004) 72-73.
Today’s Scripture reads in the King James Version. Someone asked me recently what I think about the King James Version. I said, “While the language is antiquated, and can be hard to understand at times, I miss one thing about it. I miss the use of you and ye. Ye being ‘you’ plural.”
That said, notice the message for all of ye today. Be content with what ye have. Related to generosity, ye will be discontent, if ye focus on what ye cannot do because of what ye do not have. And furthermore, ye will do nothing. Instead, God wants ye to put to work what ye have.
Enough of the ‘ye’ language but you get the point. I appreciate how the veteran missionary said, ‘Make a list of all the things you are used to and I will show you how to do without them’. Why? He wanted the young missionary to realize God had provided sufficiently for their needs.
The same is true for every person reading this. Sure, that’s a bold statement, but it’s true. Each of us has what we need today for what God has set before us. We may not think we do because we lack certain provisions or conveniences. Or God has not supplied as we had hoped or anticipated.
Take inventory. What do you have? What if after recounting God’s blessings, rather than focus on what you do not have, pause to give thanks for what God supplied to you. Now what if you put to work what you have today instead of focusing on what you do not have?
What might happen? The outcomes are different for all of us, and yet, the result is the same for everyone. We all discover contentment, find peace, and realize our focus has been on the wrong thing. It happens to everyone. The key is to live in the reality of today’s Scripture. Read it again to close.