I Thessalonians 5:18 “In every thing give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
Hebrews 13:5 “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.”
II Corinthians 10:12 “For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
II Corinthians 12:9-10 “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.”
An interesting experiment was conducted on unsuspecting passengers several years ago in the Mediterranean Sea. These lucky people had been notified that they were “winners” of a free large boat cruise in the picturesque scenery on Europe’s southern coast. Throughout the cruise, they were given a survey to measure satisfaction, and the results were off-the-charts. That was until the real experiment kicked into action.
At one of the ports, a larger boat filled with actors pulled up next to them, and the “passengers” on that boat were enjoying themselves thoroughly. At the next survey of satisfaction, the passengers on the original boat had their positive ratings plummet. It wasn’t good enough that they were on a fun, free vacation when others seemed to have an experience that was more, better, and bigger.
Isn’t that typical of humanity!? Isn’t that typical of us!?
We have far more than we deserve, yet we quickly become restless when we see someone else with a bit more. Far to often, our satisfaction is tethered to unwise comparisons and unhelpful covetousness. It saps our joy and squanders our jubilation. Instead, in every thing we should give thanks. We should be content with whatever we have. We should avoid comparisons. And, we should even take pleasure in our infirmities. That is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us.
PLEASE PRAY THAT AMERICAN CHRISTIANS WOULD PROPERLY REPRESENT OUR APPRECIATION TO OUR MATCHLESS SAVIOUR THROUGH EVER-PRESENT JOY AND CONTENTMENT. Regardless of the status of those around us, with Christ our satisfaction should be off-the-charts.
