Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.–Proverbs 17:1
There is an old parable about a king who had fallen ill. The doctors could not cure his disease, but one of them told him that if he put on the clothing of a truly contented man, he would be healed. The king immediately dispatched his servants throughout the land to seek a contented man so that he could be cured. One by one they went out and returned without success. Finally the last servant returned, and he also was empty-handed.
“Could you not find a single contented man in my kingdom?” the monarch asked.” “We found only one, Sire,” the servant replied. “Then where is his shirt? I must have that to be cured.” “The contented man we found was so poor that he had no shirt,” the answer came.
Often we fall prey to the trap of thinking that if we just had a little bit more than we already have, we would then be happy. Satan has been using this lie effectively throughout all of human history. Yet getting more never works because getting more things creates still more obligations and appetites rather than producing satisfaction. As Solomon pointed out, “When goods increase, they are increased that eat them” (Ecclesiastes 5:11).
Instead of looking for more and better things, we should be thankful to God for what we already do have. The Hebrew word for “morsel” in Proverbs 17:1 literally means a crumb or a tiny piece. Gratitude does not come from the size and scope of our blessings, though we indeed have received so much. Rather gratitude comes when we realize that every good thing we have is a gift from God and is a result of His grace rather than our merit. Such thinking produces great benefits for our lives. First Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”—When are happy with what have, even a little is enough to produce contentment.(Dr. Paul Chappell)
