My name is _________ and I’m a phone-aholic.
It all started so innocently. I had to go into the cell phone store to fix a problem. They took my name and said they would be with me in a few moments, so I spent my time checking out the new phones. I thought they looked cool and I was amazed at how much they had changed since I had gotten mine the year before. A few days later I was out to lunch with some friends and one of my friends pulled out her new phone (complete with PDA) and put in an upcoming appointment. She showed me how it worked and I suddenly became very intrigued. I started thinking about how much longer I had on my contract before I could upgrade my phone, how much better a new model would make my life, how I could maximize the internet with a new model, and how it wouldn’t cost that much more to multiply my features into eternal happiness. Soon enough, I just happened to be going past that phone store, and I just happened to go in to get my phone checked and soon enough I had that brand new Super Phone that has all the latest internet tools, a camera phone better than most cameras and for only $10.99 more per month, it offers Martian decoder software just in case aliens ever land on Earth. I mean, how can you pass that up?
Yes, my name is _________ and I’m a phone-aholic.
What is it in us that causes us to act this way? This Gotta-Have-The-Latest, Gotta-Own-Stuff-That-Will-Impress-Strangers-I-Don’t-Care-About disease. Sure, we can blame advertising and peer pressure, but those factors wouldn’t work if there wasn’t something inside us that allowed advertising and peer pressure to keep us in a state of eternal anxiety over stuff.
1. Now Is the Winter of our Discontent
Learning to be content is difficult in the world we live in and sometimes it seems impossible. The seeds of discontentment are subtle. Often, we don’t even realize what’s happening to us until we get the itch, that restless feeling to obtain something new.
Maybe it’s because of:
a. Unthankfulness
b. Who You’re Around
c. Seeking the Wrong Things
2. Solid Signs of Discontentment
We’re all susceptible to undervaluing contentment. Here are some solid warning signs that you might not be as spiritually content as you think.
a. Constant Upgrades
b. Lack of Accountability
c. Debt
3. Attributes of Contentment
Paul has a brilliant way of bringing home the way a Christian should live by writing, I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances (Philippians 4:11). Learned to be content is how the greatest missionary in history put it. That’s reassuring isn’t it? It doesn’t come easy for any of us. Were human. Still, it’s essential we notice what guides us toward contentment. Humility doesn’t get much play in our society, but it’s the state we seek as Christians. So implementing these points into our lives can only make us more effective for Him.
a. Clear Priorities
b. Giving Rather Than Receiving
c. Praising God Rather than Petitioning God
Everyone is different. There are some people who could live their entire life contently within the walls of one room as long as they enjoyed the basics of life. Yet most of us in this society of overabundance find it difficult to stay content. Yet spiritually, it is to our benefit to acknowledge these weaknesses, because through our weaknesses we can allow Gods power to shine, we can maintain a reliance on him, and consistently work toward developing a lifestyle that is pleasing to Him.
