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It’s a new year. The holidays are over, and all the gifts are open. I absolutely love giving gifts, and so does our Heavenly Father. Yet, there is a fine balance between giving and overspending. As a Christian, it’s important to recognize and protect ourselves from the multitude of voices goading us to buy more than we should. We are surrounded by advertisements. They are everywhere and play a significant role in what we purchase. The hundreds (if not thousands) of advertisements we see daily also play a role in our level of contentment.
That global advertising industry projected that 2024 would reach a milestone of over $1 trillion dollars in total revenue. The United States makes up over 300 billion of that advertisement spending alone. I don’t know about you, but I struggle with comprehending a trillion dollars. A trillion is one million million or a thousand billion. It is one followed by twelve zeroes. To deplete a trillion dollars, you would need to spend a million dollars every day for 2,740 years. That’s a lot of money! And it is spent each year trying to get the world to buy things.
Why is so much money poured into marketing? I surmise that it’s because it works. We’re all guilty. We see a new advertisement on our phones, an ad in a magazine, or hear about the latest gadget on the radio and immediately start wanting it. Our eyes are drawn to our neighbor’s newest vehicle, our friend’s newest furniture piece, or a co-worker’s newest electronic device. The world is consumer driven.
If not careful, all this advertising can lead to covetousness. God’s Word tells us not to covet. It is the 10th Commandment (Exodus 20:17). In the book of Hebrews, we are admonished to keep our life free from coveting and to be content with such things we have because God has told us He will never leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). A covetous person is an unthankful person. The sin of covetousness kills a Christian’s testimony. It also hinders spiritual growth. I know this because when I have my eyes on the things of this world, my eyes are off God. When I focus on my wants, I’m not content with my needs. When I store up treasures for myself here on earth, I neglect to store up heavenly treasures. In it all, I become worldly minded, not spiritually minded.
If we could just learn contentment. Oh, what a treasure it is. Contentment makes the poorest man wealthy. In contrast, covetousness makes a wealthy man poor, never satisfied, and never content. The Apostle Paul knew a lot about contentment. While in prison for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, Paul wrote to the Philippian church. He told them that he had learned in whatever situation, in any and every circumstance, and in abundance or in need to be content. He said it was possible through the strength of Christ (Philippians 4:11-13).
In 1 Timothy, Paul writes to his son in the faith on the same subject. “Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8). Godliness with contentment is great gain. What a statement! Unfortunately, too many Christians have it backwards. They might not say it out loud, but they live a life that says, “I’m content with my godliness. Just give me great gain!” Oh, let that never be said of us.
Copyright © 2024 by Kimberly Williams @ www.kimberlywilliams.org No part of this article may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from Lifeword.org.