Being content means to be satisfied. To be happy with what you have. Have you ever met someone who is content? It's a pretty rare thing these days. ESPECIALLY on Black Friday! The reason why contentment is so rare, is that we live in a culture that is constantly telling us NOT TO BE CONTENT. Think about it—we’re SURROUNDED by advertising online, in magazines, at the mall, and on TV that tell us that we can’t be happy unless we have what they’re selling.
In fact—do you know what corporations call us? They call us CONSUMERS! Have you ever thought about that word and what it implies? A consumer is a mindless machine that constantly consumes. It eats, and eats, and wants more and more, and is NEVER satisfied! Companies invest millions of dollars to market their products and brands as something that's "cool", so you'll be lining up to get their stuff. They love it when you wear their logos on your clothes! They love it when you upgrade to something newer! Why? Because they are making money off of you. Billions of dollars off of you! They don’t want you to be happy with what you have--- they want you to buy their stuff…and once you have it, they want you to buy more stuff they’re selling!
Our culture, loves stuff so much that CBC NEWS recently reported that on average, Canadians now owe $1.70 for every $1 they earn--- that means that people spend about 3/4 more than they make! So if you made $10,000, you would spend $17,000! Even kids know that this isn't a very smart thing to do. Eventually, people start owing so much and getting so far in debt, that they feel hopeless. In fact, the #1 reason why couples fight and families get broken up is because of financial stress. It happens because most people have bad spending habits and owe so much that they’re constantly worried about how they’re going to pay for essential things like food and having a roof over their head!
Our culture loves stuff so much, that UNBOXING videos get MILLIONS of views- so many views that people can earn a living off of opening packages! That sounds like a pretty cool job, but it’s totally crazy that we’re all so obsessed with watching people unwrap stuff! This kind of thing just makes us want stuff more and more. The more we look at stuff, the more we think about stuff, the more we want it! Our love for stuff can make us go a bit crazy! Have you ever been in a store with a huge sale during Black Friday? It’s like war! People will actually push and shove to get stuff--- and sometimes they don’t even really want the stuff--- they just want it because OTHER people want it! A mob mentality takes over!
While there’s nothing wrong with liking stuff and wanting stuff and there’s nothing wrong with having a Christmas wish list (I have a Christmas wish list!)---the Bible DOES warn us about becoming obsessed with stuff, it warns us about not letting our happiness depend on what we have. If you’re sad, angry or depressed because you don’t have something you want or because you want what someone else has, then that’s a problem. So tonight, we’re just going to check out a bit of wisdom from the Bible about STUFF.
1. STUFF NEVER SATISFIES
Some of the Bible was written by a guy named King Solomon. King Solomon was kind of like the Donald Trump of the Bible (political views aside). He was the King of Israel, so he had fame and power, and along with that, he was SUPER RICH…but surprisingly, that’s not what he’s most famous for. He’s most famous because he asked God to give him wisdom, so that he could be the best leader for his people, and there are a few books of the Old Testament that are full of his wise sayings and advice.
In Ecclesiastes 5:10, he says, “Those who love money (or what money can buy) WILL NEVER HAVE ENOUGH. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness.”
Have you ever heard of the phrase, “money can’t buy happiness”--- well that came from King Solomon, the richest guy on the planet!
Have you ever WANTED something REALLY BAD--- where you felt that you just WOULDN’T be happy without it? Where all you could do was think about getting that thing? How many of those things are gathering dust on your shelf today, or ended up getting tossed in the garbage, or donated? Probably a fair bit. People grow tired of toys. That electronic device that you so desperately want will be out-dated next year and you'll be wanting the next upgrade. The clothing or brand you want now will wear out or go out of style. The video game you want now will be sitting in a stack of unplayed games in a few weeks.
Areally good tip to remember is that where there’s something that you REALLY want—remind yourself that it’s just stuff--- and that it won’t actually make you content. That you might be a happy for a bit, but eventually that happiness will wear off, and you’ll be looking for something else to make you happy!
Jesus said in Luke 12:15, “Watch out! Be on your guard against wanting to have more and more things. Life is not made up of how much a person has.”
Jesus says that we should BE ON OUR GUARD against wanting more and more things. We need to make sure we don’t get sucked into believing that stuff will make us truly happy--- that if we finally get_________ we’ll be done wanting anything else. That’s just not reality. We are, kind of, naturally, CONSUMERS—but Jesus is reminding us that there’s more to life than just consuming more and more for yourself.
2. REALIZE HOW RICH YOU ARE!
Would you say that you and your family are RICH? You might not think so, but we are considered to be some of the richest people in the world! In fact, if you make $24,000 a year (that’s like $500 a week- which is less than minimum wage and is pretty much impossible to live on in Canada), you are in the richest 8% of the world’s population and make 14 times the global average! (givingwhatwecan.org)
Jesus says that we should BE ON OUR GUARD against wanting more and more things. We need to make sure we don’t get sucked into believing that stuff will make us truly happy--- that if we finally get_________ we’ll be done wanting anything else. That’s just not reality. We are, kind of, naturally, CONSUMERS—but Jesus is reminding us that there’s more to life than just consuming more and more for yourself.
2. REALIZE HOW RICH YOU ARE!
Would you say that you and your family are RICH? You might not think so, but we are considered to be some of the richest people in the world! In fact, if you make $24,000 a year (that’s like $500 a week- which is less than minimum wage and is pretty much impossible to live on in Canada), you are in the richest 8% of the world’s population and make 14 times the global average! (givingwhatwecan.org)
My wife and I try to live pretty simply. We're been debt-free for 12 years, and we want to keep it that way. We rent a two-bedroom apartment, so with two kids and two adults, it can get a bit cramped, but we live simply because we don't want to spend more than we make and we want to have a parent at home while the kids are still little. We are kind of odd-balls in our culture. Most of my kids’ friends have parents who both work all day and might spend an hour or two with their kids before putting them to bed every day. Tanya and I aren't like the average Canadians. We rarely meet anybody who doesn't have any debt.
There are days when we think about UPGRADING from our apartment into a house--- but whenever we think about how nice it would be to have more space, we think about how it would cost more. We would have to deal with repairs and upkeep, we would both have to be working and would spend less time with the kids. We also think about how our sponsored child in Africa lives in a hut with no windows---how a grocery store is like something out of her dreams---and that in comparison--- my little 2-bedroom apartment is a PALACE to most people in the world! My fridge full of food is a huge luxury!
When I think about how rich I actually am, how blessed I am to have what I have, it changes my perspective. I find that it helps me not to want something just because others have it. It reminds me to be thankful and content with what I have instead of always wishing for more!
Remember our wise guy, Solomon? Well, in Ecclesiastes 6:9 he wrote, “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” The richest guy in the world said that dreaming about nice things is like chasing the wind! You’ll never be happy! You’ll never be satisfied! You’ll never be able to catch it! He reminds us to ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE INSTEAD OF DESIRING WHAT WE DON’T HAVE! That’s a really challenging lesson to learn!
3. WE NEED GOD TO HELP US FIND CONTENTMENT
Sometimes, people look to things or circumstances to make them happy, sometimes they even look to a relationship to make them happy!
There was this famous French mathematician named Blaise Paschal in the 1600’s--- and he famously said that in every person there is a GOD-SHAPED hole. So basically, we all have a need to know and follow God--- and when we try to fill that hole with other things, it’ll never be satisfied! Our spiritual need won’t be satisfied with stuff, it won’t be satisfied with a girlfriend or boyfriend, it won’t be satisfied with money or fame… it’ll only be satisfied in God!
In the Bible, Paul wrote a lot about contentment--- and his life wasn’t all that great. He had been beaten up and thrown in prison for telling people about Jesus--- but in a letter he wrote, he had this to say, “I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. I know what it’s like not to have what I need. I also know what it’s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough. I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength”.- Phillipians 4:11-13
Paul needed God’s help and strength to be content—to be thankful—to be happy, even when things weren’t going all that great for him! In the same way, because we live in a culture that’s obsessed with stuff and treats us like CONSUMERS, we need God’s help so that we don’t end up becoming greedy people who just want more and more and never find any satisfaction.
When we know and follow Jesus, he can help us to make wise choices in life, he can help change our priorities so that we’re not as selfish as we used to be, he can help us find contentment and happiness in a world that constantly tells us not to be happy and content.
DISCUSSION
There are days when we think about UPGRADING from our apartment into a house--- but whenever we think about how nice it would be to have more space, we think about how it would cost more. We would have to deal with repairs and upkeep, we would both have to be working and would spend less time with the kids. We also think about how our sponsored child in Africa lives in a hut with no windows---how a grocery store is like something out of her dreams---and that in comparison--- my little 2-bedroom apartment is a PALACE to most people in the world! My fridge full of food is a huge luxury!
When I think about how rich I actually am, how blessed I am to have what I have, it changes my perspective. I find that it helps me not to want something just because others have it. It reminds me to be thankful and content with what I have instead of always wishing for more!
Remember our wise guy, Solomon? Well, in Ecclesiastes 6:9 he wrote, “Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind.” The richest guy in the world said that dreaming about nice things is like chasing the wind! You’ll never be happy! You’ll never be satisfied! You’ll never be able to catch it! He reminds us to ENJOY WHAT WE HAVE INSTEAD OF DESIRING WHAT WE DON’T HAVE! That’s a really challenging lesson to learn!
3. WE NEED GOD TO HELP US FIND CONTENTMENT
Sometimes, people look to things or circumstances to make them happy, sometimes they even look to a relationship to make them happy!
There was this famous French mathematician named Blaise Paschal in the 1600’s--- and he famously said that in every person there is a GOD-SHAPED hole. So basically, we all have a need to know and follow God--- and when we try to fill that hole with other things, it’ll never be satisfied! Our spiritual need won’t be satisfied with stuff, it won’t be satisfied with a girlfriend or boyfriend, it won’t be satisfied with money or fame… it’ll only be satisfied in God!
In the Bible, Paul wrote a lot about contentment--- and his life wasn’t all that great. He had been beaten up and thrown in prison for telling people about Jesus--- but in a letter he wrote, he had this to say, “I have learned to be content no matter what happens to me. I know what it’s like not to have what I need. I also know what it’s like to have more than I need. I have learned the secret of being content no matter what happens. I am content whether I am well fed or hungry. I am content whether I have more than enough or not enough. I can do all this by the power of Christ. He gives me strength”.- Phillipians 4:11-13
Paul needed God’s help and strength to be content—to be thankful—to be happy, even when things weren’t going all that great for him! In the same way, because we live in a culture that’s obsessed with stuff and treats us like CONSUMERS, we need God’s help so that we don’t end up becoming greedy people who just want more and more and never find any satisfaction.
When we know and follow Jesus, he can help us to make wise choices in life, he can help change our priorities so that we’re not as selfish as we used to be, he can help us find contentment and happiness in a world that constantly tells us not to be happy and content.
DISCUSSION
1. Have your kids look around their room at stuff that they used to really want but never play or use anymore. Why do we keep it? Why are we attached to it? Why do you think we love possessions so much? Our culture is obsessed with stuff. In fact, some people even run out of room and have to rent a place to store all their stuff! Think about things that could be donated or given away to someone who could use them.
2. Take a look at some commercials on TV or online. What is the message that all of those ads give us? (That we can't live without their stuff, that it'll make us happy, that we'll be popular or successful if we have it). Remind your teen that while stuff is good, it'll never actually make us happy. It'll always leave us wanting for more.
3. Take the time to pray together and ask God to help you and your family not to obsess over stuff and getting more stuff. Thank God for all that you have and how blessed you are!
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