Two of the most important days in Paul’s life was the day when he discovered he was a sinner, because the Bible says,”Thou shalt not covet”(Romans 7:7); and the day he could finally say,”I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content”(Phil. 4:11). Notice the two issues–covetousness and contentment. Most of us do what we shouldn’t and don’t do what we should–we covet and we aren’t content. Chuck Swindoll wrote:
The good life—the one that truly satisfies—exists only when we stop wanting a better one.
It is the condition of savoring what is rather than longing for what might be. The itch for things, the lust for more—so brilliantly injected by those who peddle them—is a virus draining our souls of happy contentment.
Have you noticed? A man never earns enough. A woman is never beautiful enough. Clothes are never fashionable enough. Cars are never nice enough. Gadgets are never modern enough. Houses are never furnished enough. Food is never fancy enough. Relationships are never romantic enough. Life is never full enough.
Satisfaction comes when we step off the escalator of desire and say, “This is enough. What I have will do. What I make of it is up to me and my vital union with the living Lord.”
