All I Need

We often think about what we need to be content in life, be it wealth, friendships or family. Though we all need these things, how we define wealth, friendship and family is often where we experience the most discontentment.

Some dream of having increasing income or winning the lottery, while others wish they had closer friends or a more loving family. We often believe a change in outside factors will bring us happiness. Have we been conditioned to believe our environment is what makes us happy and content? Does it?

No doubt our environment influences our emotions among other things. When you're bank account is empty and you have bills to pay, when a close friend abuses your trust, or a family member turns his back on you it's hard to be happy. But in the midst of the turmoil, have you ever considered that perhaps we have been given all we need to be content in life?

Consider Paul, an apostle of Christ who endured hardship, trials, rejection, ailments, stated in Philippians 4:12: '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 every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or want.' NIV

How did Paul come to learn contentment as he describes? Surely he experienced rejection, abuse and loneliness. Does he say that he was happy? No, Paul realized that there was a difference in being emotionally happy and internally content. Paul learned to accept the circumstances of life as part of the tools God used to form him into who he became. If it wasn't for the combination of the very difficult events which formed him, Paul would not be the same Paul as we know him.

There is a danger in wishing for 'better' circumstances, wealth, friends or family. If things go too well, isn't there a tendency for us to become self-reliant and proud? We should instead realize that our lives are in the hands of the master craftsman. Not only this, but to understand our lives are not our own, that our lives are meant to be given, first to God and then to our neighbors. We are to love God first and love our neighbor as ourselves. Being self-centered around our own goal of happiness will never bring contentment. Seeking to serve and help others is a key to finding true contentment.

Actually we have all we need, we have all we need to serve others. Serving others is almost never dependent upon circumstances or having a certain amount of money. It's all about our attitude, and willingness to help a person in need. This brings a contentment money cannot buy, friends cannot produce or our families can ever give. God's forming us through trials, difficulties and neediness. Only when we understand that have been given all we need, can we become content as we share what we've received with others.