"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."
Hebrews 13:5
This was interesting to me because I think sometimes that idea of not letting covetousness or envy seep into our conversation, and just the idea of being wholly content with what we have is probably a rare thing, and sometimes hard, even if you are consciously working on it. Daydreaming about what you would do with a raise or a windfall of some kind, and wanting your neighbor's ice cream bar, or cake, or pie, or whatever other amazing things that your neighbor has... those seem like pretty average desires.
Not that we should be average, of course. And learning to rise above our own lust, greed, and bitterness because they stopped making Jell-o Pudding Pops is just something that we have to face in life. And I think that the core of *how* to get there is within this same verse... because God will never leave us or forsake us.
If we have God, we don't need to pursue things that belong to someone else, and we don't need to constantly seek for more and more and more, because we already have God, who is the source of everything we could ever want or need. If we trust him, we will follow his commandments and learn to be happy with whatsoever state we are in (Philippians 4:11), and we will also know that God will bless us according to our good desires. So, happiness and being blessed... that's always going to be enough. It might not always feel like enough if our neighbor taunts us with how he has ice cream and we do not, but it's good to remember that God is the source of all good, and if he wants us to have some ice cream, he will provide. :)
I jest, but honestly... I think that is the core of all of this. God will provide. God will watch out for us and protect us and help us, if we walk in his ways, and the more we believe that and *do* it, the more true it becomes, until we and God are completely on the same page and working without any disharmony in the way we want to do things differently... because they are already perfect, and our individual needs and personalities have already been provided for. God doesn't bless everyone the same way because we're not all the same... and if we can trust him, we can let go of covetousness and discontent, because everything will be awesome.
Hebrews 13:5
This was interesting to me because I think sometimes that idea of not letting covetousness or envy seep into our conversation, and just the idea of being wholly content with what we have is probably a rare thing, and sometimes hard, even if you are consciously working on it. Daydreaming about what you would do with a raise or a windfall of some kind, and wanting your neighbor's ice cream bar, or cake, or pie, or whatever other amazing things that your neighbor has... those seem like pretty average desires.
Not that we should be average, of course. And learning to rise above our own lust, greed, and bitterness because they stopped making Jell-o Pudding Pops is just something that we have to face in life. And I think that the core of *how* to get there is within this same verse... because God will never leave us or forsake us.
If we have God, we don't need to pursue things that belong to someone else, and we don't need to constantly seek for more and more and more, because we already have God, who is the source of everything we could ever want or need. If we trust him, we will follow his commandments and learn to be happy with whatsoever state we are in (Philippians 4:11), and we will also know that God will bless us according to our good desires. So, happiness and being blessed... that's always going to be enough. It might not always feel like enough if our neighbor taunts us with how he has ice cream and we do not, but it's good to remember that God is the source of all good, and if he wants us to have some ice cream, he will provide. :)
I jest, but honestly... I think that is the core of all of this. God will provide. God will watch out for us and protect us and help us, if we walk in his ways, and the more we believe that and *do* it, the more true it becomes, until we and God are completely on the same page and working without any disharmony in the way we want to do things differently... because they are already perfect, and our individual needs and personalities have already been provided for. God doesn't bless everyone the same way because we're not all the same... and if we can trust him, we can let go of covetousness and discontent, because everything will be awesome.
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