Being Content

A terrible thing has happened to my oldest son. He's been bitten.

By the world.



We do not spoil our kids with "stuff". They have plenty of toys and such, but those are almost always the result of birthday and Christmas gift-giving. We aren't trudging to Toys R Us on a monthly basis to buy plastic trinkets for our kids.

We do spoil our kids on some things, but they will sound very lame here. I get more outfits for Allison than she needs, because girl clothes are just cuter than stuff for boys. Still, it's almost solely consignment items, so I'm not breaking the bank.

I also ask each of them before I go grocery shopping what item they'd like me to bring back... and it can be pure junk food. Anything that they know I wouldn't buy normally.

And I have been known to purchase them books galore, at the drop of a hat. We have a very diverse and good-sized library to show for it.

Those things used to be enough. But not anymore.

Poor Clay decided yesterday to share with us his woes about "stuff". He doesn't think he has enough. More to the point, he doesn't have as much "stuff" as his friends have. And that's when I realized the world had taken a chunk out of my boy. And it pains me, because it's just one more mark on the road to his loss of innocence.

This particular son is the one who reminded me of the importance of contentedness, just last year. I had the bug bad to buy a new home and move. The home we have is nice. We don't need a new home, I just wanted a change.

And God in His providence made certain that Clay had recently learned a verse in Awanas to share with me... at such a time as this.

During supper one evening as I pointed out to Bruce a few great houses I had seen in our newspaper, Clay dropped this little nugget of wisdom.

"Mom," he said, "'Be ye content with such things as ye have.'"

Nice, God. Hebrews 13:5. Thanks a lot. And having it quoted to me in the King James version was especially effective.

My little episode of Want-itus was nipped in the bud. By a six-year-old.

Last night, we talked with Clay at length about "stuff". Bruce pointed out that he has things that not all his friends have. Important things. Things of infinite value.

Parents who love each other and still live under the same roof so he isn't shuttled from home to home depending on "whose week it is." A brother and sister... built-in "toys" in effect. (Spencer reminded Clay of how lucky he was to have them, which is ironic considering that he's often the one who makes Clay lament having siblings.)

And that point led us to the next: that he has a room all his own, which he doesn't have to share with either his brother or sister. So he can escape from them easily when they bug him.

He listened. But I'm not sure he heard.

"But so-and-so has this. And my other friend has that."

Well, turnabout is fair play. If he can use scripture to cancel out my discontentedness, I can do the same.

I had to bring up Paul, who was beaten often on the Lord's behalf, was shipwrecked (more than once), tossed in prison (more than once). That and other various hardships. But Paul still said, "...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." Philippians 4:11, 12

And, because we're chock-full of all kinds of Financial Peace lessons in this household, I even told him that if he could learn the lesson from Paul of being content with whatever God gives you without wanting more, then one day he'd make wiser decisions than many of his friends. And he could avoid credit card debt. And he would have peace, and not worry, when it comes to his finances.

I'm pretty sure I lost him with that.

I'm also pretty sure we'll have to hammer away at this for a long time. Because, after all, Bruce and I haven't exactly learned Paul's lesson fully yet either.


Philippians 4:19
"And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

Hebrews 13:5
"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"