July 21 - Prov. 21

“Sinners are always wanting what they don’t have; the God-loyal are always giving what they do have.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21:26‬ ‭MSG‬‬

It was that great British "theologian," Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, that said it this way: "Ain't got no satisfaction." The Apostle Paul said it another way: "I've learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:12b-13‬ ‭NIV‬‬). He also said in another portion of scripture that "godliness with contentment is great gain" 1 Tim. 6:6).

Throughout my years of living in different countries I've seen this in many ways. I've stood in the marble-floored mansion of a family that lost its sons to addiction and greed; they would trade everything to have their boys back. I've sat at a rough two-plank table, dogs and chickens scurrying at my feet on the dirt floor, as the pastor's wife served us the best Mexican food I've ever eaten in my life; they shared what they had with a grateful heart. I've also been in the home of a millionaire who opened his doors to an entire group of young people and said "make yourselves at home" as we used his mountainside chalet as the base for a youth retreat, and sat with a family in their tiny one-room, concrete block house, as they refused to forgive and welcome back a wayward child.

None of this has anything to do with how much we do or do not have; it's all about how we hold the possessions and things that God has blessed us with. It's about a heart attitude of contentment and gratitude, recognizing Him as the giver and provider of all things, including our health, material blessings, and time.

I think that we forget that Solomon was speaking from experience (at the wrong end of the spectrum), living a life  of opulence and luxury, as he said: "Better to live alone in a tumbledown shack than share a mansion with a nagging spouse" (Prov. 21:9‬ ‭MSG‬‬) and “Better to live in a tent in the wild than with a cross and petulant spouse" (Prov. 21:19‬ ‭MSG‬‬).