Money, Contentment, and Provision

It has been exactly 11 months since I lasted posted. That's quite a while and so much has happened! I graduated college, got married, moved to Winchester, KY....and that's just the tip of the iceberg. I can't even begin to number the many lessons that have been learned, the laughs that have been laughed, the tears that have been shed...but, today I am going to share a lesson that I have been learning for most of this year.

Philippians 4 is one of my favorite chapters in Scripture. I could read it over and over and keep finding truths to learn and to apply to my life. One such lesson that seems to pop up a lot lately is that of contentment and provision. 

In this season of giving, contentment has to be one of the hardest things to overcome. We are constantly bombarded with things to by for either ourselves or for those that we know. A couple of examples: Stephen loves John Wayne...I have a desire to by anything I see related to him. My sister loves pandas. I also have a desire to by anything and everything with a panda. I'm pretty sure I could come up with a reason to buy just about everything for at least one person I know. 

I also have a love of Christmas decorations. Every time I go to Walmart, Target, or Cracker Barrel (oooohhhhh this is the worst of the bunch. They have just the cutest ornaments and figurines!)  I just want to buy every Christmas related thing I see. In fact, this past weekend, I'm pretty sure I spent waaaaay more than was in budget on Christmas things. If I did that every weekend of December, we'd be broke (or, at least more than we currently are...). 

Basically, when I see things for other people or trivial things for myself I can be easily convinced to buy it. But, when it comes to things we need, I worry and fret like nothing else.

Example: I am a huge Jimmy Stewart fan. Last year, I saw a collection of his movies. 6 for $20. Not bad. I couldn't afford it on my own though and I gave Stephen an unbelievably hard time about it (it's almost impossible for him to refuse me anything..). End in the end, I didn't get it. Then, last week I saw it again. And, again, I gave Stephen more of a hard time...and since we're married now, it didn't take much for him to give in and buy it for me. But, ever since buying it I have felt guilty...that could be $20 towards groceries or gas or bills. Things we worry about paying for all the time.

Why is this? For me, and most likely for just about everyone else, it stems through a contentment issue. If we would be satisfied with what we already have(content) there would be no temptation to buy things we don't need (Jimmy Stewart, John Wayne, pandas). Now, don't get me wrong. There's nothing bad in giving (it's a lot better than buying things for yourself), but it's sort of unreasonable to buy three gifts for someone if it's going to cause you to go broke. Especially if they would be perfectly fine with one gift.

And, along with contentment, if we realize that God is our ultimate provider and will never leave us hanging on things vital to life, all worry would disappear (remember Matthew 5 where Jesus talks about the sparrow and how He provides for the little birds and such will He provide for us, whom He loves more?) Philippians 4 covers the provision part really well:

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."..."And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen." - Philippians 4:4-7, 19-20. 

One of the key parts of this verse is the opening word: rejoice. For, if we are rejoicing how can we worry or be disgruntled about our lives? Even in the hard times we have so much to be thankful for. And, we know that God will ALWAYS provide for us! How can you not rejoice in that? Once we can do that, the rest is easy. Our hearts and minds will be settled. All worry is gone and we are content. 1 Timothy has more to say on that:

 "But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.  But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.  But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.  For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs." 1 Timothy 6:6-10

According to this, all we need is clothing and food. Anything more is folly. Woah. Wait...you mean the jewelery and makeup we wear, the books we read, the movies we watch....we don't need any of that? Nope. You know why? Because, the more you want, the more you turn money and things into idols....which can cause anyone to wander from the truth. Even  theology books or documentaries of sorts can be turned into idols. If we entered into this world with nothing and leave the world with nothing, why do we want anything in the world?

All we should ever desire is a more perfect relationship with our Savior and to be more like Him in all things. Because, in the end, that is what is important. A true belief in our Savior is what will get us into heaven where all the true riches are. 


“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,  but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-20