There was an article in the local paper where I used to live about a couple who had been living on welfare and food stamps from 1983 to 1991. They had drawn a great deal of money from the welfare system, before it was discovered through a welfare fraud investigator, that the couple had stocks, bonds, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, savings and checking accounts amounting to a half-million dollars. They were required to pay back the entire amount including a fine, and were able to write a check for the entire amount. They were then required to serve time in jail and make restitution to the Department of Human Services. Fortunately, that case is the exception rather than the rule, and there is a system in place to find those who try to misuse what was intended to benefit people who are truly in need. The point in telling the story is that it is a perfect example of the fact that enough is never enough. No matter how much some people have they will always want more. And in some ways that is true of all of us.
The first point that we need to awaken to is: An attitude of gratitude creates contentment. We suffer from a disease some have called “Affluenza,” the virus of affluency and prosperity. There are millions of examples to which we could point to prove that wealth, prosperity and material things do not satisfy, they only create a desire in us for more. Just take a look at the stars of television and movie fame. How many of them are addicted to alcohol and/or drugs. They have it all, yet there is an emptiness deep down inside of them that they are still trying to fill. There is a hunger they cannot satisfy, and a thirst they cannot quench.
In contrast to them, listen to the words of Paul as he described what his life was like: “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” (2 Corinthians 4:8-10). Paul’s life was filled with many difficulties which he could complain about. How many of us would put up with constant stress, confusion, persecution, and beatings that left deep scars and permanent injuries, and still maintain a positive attitude? But Paul had learned an important secret to life. He 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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:11-13). He had learned the secret of not living life based on the conditions around him. He could be content in prison as well as at home. His happiness was not based on situations, it was based on his relationship with Christ. He knew he had all he needed in him, for it was Christ that gave him the strength for life.
God is saying to us: “Don’t wait to be happy. Don’t postpone happiness until your situation changes, or you have acquired a certain thing. If you cannot be happy now you will not be happy then, for happiness is not a matter of what you have, or what situation you are in. It is a matter of who you are and how you respond to life. It is found within, and unless it is on the inside, all the things in the world on the outside will not make a difference. If you have been saying, “I’ll be happy when...,” then you will never be happy, because when that condition is met there will be a dozen more conditions to take its place. If you cannot learn to be happy now, you will never learn to be happy in spite of how much you have or achieve. If you are not content with less you will never be content with more. There are many who live in a world of “If onlys.” If only I had this.... If only this were different.... If only I could do that.... If only this had not happened in my life....
The Bible says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Notice that it does not say “Prosperity with contentment is great gain.” Contentment comes from seeking God, not things. Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). If we sought God the way we seek after other things many of our problems would disappear. It is our relationship with God which is the source of contentment, and nothing else can take his place. The Bible says, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). You could be the wealthiest person on the face of the earth and still not be content. On the other hand you could be dirt poor and be quite content.
What is it that makes people content? It all depends on how you look at life. Contentment comes when you learn that this world can never satisfy you, but that satisfaction can be found in a relationship with God and living for him. It is that relationship which provides us with meaning and security in this life, and an assurance of eternal life where all our deepest needs will be completely satisfied. The Psalmist, when thinking of heaven, said, “I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness” (Psalm 17:15). “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand” (Psalm 16:11). Jesus made this promise about eternal life: “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” (Luke 6:21). We can live through privation or grief here, if it becomes necessary, because we are not expecting this world to satisfy us; we are looking to the world that is yet to come.
When John the Baptist was preaching in the wilderness, all who came to hear him were moved by his words. When some Roman soldiers came, they too wanted what John was preaching about and asked: “What should we do?” John replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely — be content with your pay” (Luke 3:14). Someone once said to me: “If people are not happy with what they have, why do they want more of it?” Good question! A person who does not know God will never be content in this world. Only the person who has a relationship with God can find the kind of contentment we are talking about today, because our contentment comes from the fact that we are linked to the eternal. We know we have a heavenly Father who cares for us. The Bible says, “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’” (Hebrews 13:5). It says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7).
The second point we need to awaken to is: An attitude of gratitude generates joy. To have an attitude of gratitude means that we choose happiness. A friend of mine wrote a list of things he was thankful for one Thanksgiving. He calls his list, simply: What I Got. “1. A gracious God 2. A loving wife 3. A healthy family 4. Abundant life (Eternally and materially I am filthy rich compared to the rest of the world.) 5. A meaningful vocation 6. Friends 7. Today 8. Opportunities to grow in grace, knowledge, and experience (Some people call these tragedies, bad days, difficult people and the like.) And the list goes on and on and on...”
How important to take the time to remember these things, because it generates joy. That is what Thanksgiving is all about. But this year, as in recent years, the retailers began their Christmas displays before Thanksgiving even arrived. Some even started before Halloween. Every year we jump the gun a little sooner celebrating the Christmas season. Christmas starts us thinking of what we don’t have and want to get. Thanksgiving reminds us of what we have and Who gave it to us. Thanksgiving takes our mind off our wants and focuses them on our blessings. Thanksgiving gives our hands a rest from our labor and allows to us lift them in praise. Thanksgiving gives our minds a rest from thinking about our problems and lets us remember how few problems and needs we really have.
I am really content — until I start looking through the Sears catalogue. I liked my car — until I saw the new P T Cruiser. I am satisfied with my clothes — until I stroll through American Eagle, or the other Mall stores. I love our home — until I think of what it would be like to own a log cabin on the shore of some remote lake. I am satisfied with every area of my life — until I start comparing with someone else’s life. I feel like I have enough of everything — until I see someone who has more.
Jesus told a wonderful story about some workers. It goes like this: The owner of a vineyard went out early in the morning to hire workers. Then he hired others in the afternoon, and still more in the evening. Each group originally agreed to a set wage. Then the Bible says, “So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. ‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’” (Matthew 20:8-15). The workers who went out in the morning were pleased to work for a denarius, the standard wage for a day’s work, but when they started comparing their wage to others they felt cheated and were filled with resentment. Comparisons breed envious thoughts, jealous hearts and grudging dispositions; they take the joy out of life.
A few years ago, a new book reached the #1 spot on the New York Times best-seller list. The book’s title was: Final Exit, by Derek Humphry, the director of the national Hemlock Society. It gives detailed instructions on a variety of ways to commit suicide. When a book is written about how to end your life, and it ends up on the best-seller list, you get the impression that there is something wrong out there — not much contentment or joy. All of this in the wealthiest land in all the world, with more privileges, freedoms and possibilities than anywhere else, at any time. It speaks of how much we take for granted, and how much ingratitude has poisoned our hearts. People have piled things on top of their pain, and found that they make poor anesthetics. Under all the luxury we are still more unhappy than many of those who live in abject poverty. Is there any more telling evidence that we are a people desperately in need of God? Can anyone come up with a more plausible explanation? We have denied ourselves nothing — except a relationship with our Creator.
The third point we need to awaken to is: An attitude of gratitude stimulates sharing. Chuck Swindoll tells the story of a young attorney in New York who was single. Every year at Thanksgiving the senior partner of the firm would buy everyone a fresh turkey for their Thanksgiving dinner. The young man never knew what to do with his turkey, since he did not have a family, but every year he accepted it graciously. That night, as he rode the subway home, he wondered what to do with the large prize sitting in his lap. He didn’t know how to cook it, and his family lived in another state. As he traveled home that night, a disheveled and discouraged looking stranger sat beside him on the subway. They began to talk, and the attorney learned that the man had spent the whole day looking for a job, but without luck. He had a large family, and was concerned about what he would do for Thanksgiving. The attorney was thrilled to find someone who could use the bird that had been given to him. He did not want the man to feel like a charity case so he said to him, “How much money do you have?” He said, “Only a couple of dollars and a few cents.” “Sold,” exclaimed the attorney and placed the turkey in his lap. The man was moved to tears and thanked him over and over again, delighted that his family could have a good Thanksgiving with such a fine bird, and at such a good price.
But the next Monday morning the attorney’s co-workers circled his desk with smiles on their faces. Some of them laughed as they asked him how he like his turkey. He sat horrified as they told him how they had replaced his real turkey with one made of papier-mache. They had carefully weighted the fake bird, and after wrapping it in brown paper, stuck a real neck and tail through the paper. For a week the he rode the subway for all hours searching for the stranger he had unintentionally wronged, but never found him.
People may make mistakes and fail us, they may even play tricks on us, but God doesn’t make mistakes when he blesses us with his gifts. He does not fool us, or play jokes on us. The Bible says, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights” (James 1:7). That is why we can say, “This is the day the LORD has made; [we will] rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24). We are content, we are happy because we are a people of hope. We are a people of hope because we have a God who cares. He has made us, and he has made our world. He has made today and all our tomorrows. And out of the gratitude we feel toward him for all his faithful goodness, we want to share the blessings.
In an article entitled “What Good Is a Tree?,” an author in Reader’s Digest explained that when the roots of trees in a forest touch, there is a substance created which makes it possible for all of the trees to survive. A special fungus grows which helps link the roots of different trees—even of dissimilar species. A whole forest may be linked together in this way. If one tree has access to water, another to nutrients, and a third to sunlight, the trees have the means to share with one another. That is a picture of what we should be like as we experience our life together here on earth — mutual support and sharing.
In his book, Stan Toler writes: “I was a church planter at one time and felt impressed by the Lord to send $50 to some missionaries. When I shared with my wife what had been laid on my heart, we took a look at our checkbook and found $54 in our balance. Not much room for error there. She said, ‘Honey, I wasn’t raised quite like you, but I trust you and have faith in your stewardship commitments. Let’s do it.’ So I wrote the check and sent it to the Carters in Arizona, who were ministering to Native Americans in a small reservation village. Even though I knew it had been the right thing to do, I did begin to wonder how we were going to manage. The next day I went to the post office, and I picked up a letter from a student at Asbury Theological Seminary who had been one of my roommates at college. The letter read, ‘I just had you and Linda on my heart and felt impressed to write you. I’m enclosing a check for you, knowing you will probably put it in the offering plate next Sunday, but it is not for your church. It is for you.’ Fifty bucks! When the check we sent arrived in Arizona, Doug Carter called immediately. ‘Stan, your check just arrived. What timing! We had an appointment with the doctor for our daughter, Angie, but we had no money to pay the bill. I was just about to make the dreaded phone call to tell the doctor, but I paused to look at the mail first, and there it was. The Lord was right on schedule, wasn’t he?’ How could God touch a poor church planter on the shoulder and say, ‘Send $50 to missionaries in Arizona,’ even though he knew the church planter needed it, and at the same time touch a student at Asbury Theological Seminary on the shoulder and say to him, ‘Send $50 to the Tolers’? A cynical person might ask, ‘Why didn’t God just impress the Asbury student to send his $50 directly to the missionaries in Arizona?’ To the first question I say, that’s how God works. To the second I suggest that God wanted to pour out his blessings on three families instead of two.”
Having an attitude of gratitude is an act of faith. It means you are unafraid to live and be happy because you have faith in a God who cares for you and provides for you. He is faithful and his promises are true. He never fails. And because you have a relationship with this wonderful God you have contentment, joy and a desire to pass on some of what God has blessed you with. To trust is to thank. It creates an attitude of gratitude.
Rodney J. Buchanan
November 19, 2000
