Gratitude For What We Have

Whoever does not regard what he has as most ample wealth, is unhappy, though he may be master of the whole world. - Epicurus

Though she was queen of the land, Jezebel conspired to get Naboth's vineyard for her husband, king Ahab. Ouch!

Greed! Comparison! Jealousy! When you think about it, there really is nothing good that can come out these words when we practice them in life. They all point to never being satisfied. Greed=wanting more and more. Comparison=measuring myself by others. Jealousy=unhappy because someone else exists. These KILL our joy. To live unsatisfied is to live with an unquenchable desire for more, always more. This desire chokes out the spark of gratitude needed to ignite the joy life's blessings bring to us, for it is not joy that makes us grateful, it's gratitude that makes us joyful. That's how Paul learned to be content no matter the situation - gratitude. We will NEVER have everything we want in life and life will NEVER be completely about us, for God's redemptive story is far grander than we could ever imagine. But, we should be grateful it includes us.

Until tomorrow...

Pastor Botts

"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