By Les Turner

“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” 1 Timothy 6:6

“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” 1 Timothy 6:8

“Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Philippians 4:11

“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,'” Hebrews 13:5

 

Recently while driving through the country, I noticed goats were getting out of their fenced-in pen.

I wondered. What is it with goats, animals, and people that they want what is on the other side of the fence?

Watching cows in a pasture full of grass lean into a fence, with the wire cutting into their hide, to reach grass on the other side of the fence. Goats reaching through the fence to get grass, and their horns getting caught as they try to pull back.

What is with us creatures not being content in what God has provided, but reaching for more? And in some cases being consumed by it. We end up neglecting our other responsibilities–jobs, families, God.

Paul said in Phil 4:11, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am in.”

This is a choice we have to work at–to learn. It does not come naturally. But it can be obtained by “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” Heb 12:2. When we find ourselves wanting more than our means, we are not satisfied in what God has provided. Then we become unsettled and discontented with our lives.

But God has promised to “meet all our needs according to His riches in Glory”  Phil 4:19. We just need to trust in that fact. If God clothes the lilies of the fields and cares for the birds, He will most certainly take care of us.

To other people, the grass looks greener on OUR side of the fence!