54 min
How to Experience Biblical Contentment (Ecclesiastes 5:12-6:2) Scott LaPierre Ministries
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- Christianity
We experience biblical contentment primarily through our relationships with Christ. Secondarily, it comes from simple things like eating, drinking, and finding joy in our labor. But biblical contentment does not come from riches and possessions.
https://youtu.be/qh8iveH2m1o
Table of contents* Hoarding Is a Threat to Contentment* The Importance of Remembering We Take Nothing With Us* Learning from Malcolm Forbes and No Fear* Godliness with Contentment* How Can We Experience Biblical Contentment?* Biblical Contentment Does not Come from Wealth and Possessions* Biblical Contentment Does Come from Simple Things* Footnotes
I covered Ecclesiastes 5:11-12 in Being Content from a Missionary Trip to Malawi, Africa. I'm picking up at verse 13.
Hoarding Is a Threat to Contentment
Ecclesiastes 5:13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners.
If I had to write down a list of grievous evils, I’d probably say murder, adultery, hurting children, stealing from the less fortunate. But hoarding probably wouldn’t even make the list. But that’s the grievous evil Solomon had in mind.
Hoarding is so devastating that a reality show fittingly called Hoarders depicts people suffering from a “compulsive hoarding disorder.” The show is a record of people whose lives are ruined by their possessions.
Even if we aren’t hoarders, our possessions can still cause problems because of the time they consume and the choices they create. We have to figure out what to buy, where to get it, how to make the trip to get it, where to store it, where to put the old stuff that the new stuff replaces, and how to use it when we buy it. We bought it; we will make sure we use it to feel like we got our money’s worth.
These choices can consume us, so our possessions start possessing us. We become consumers consumed by our consumption.
They don’t have these problems in Malawi. Most people’s homes don’t have furniture. The floors are dirt. There’s no electricity; say nothing about televisions or the Internet. In Third World countries, the problem is not having enough. But in First World countries like ours, the problem is having too much. Mark Twain once defined civilization as “a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.” 9
Self-storage is one of our biggest industries. An article titled “The Hottest Industry Right Now Is Storing All Your Stuff” reads:
“A day hardly passes without the U.S.
We experience biblical contentment primarily through our relationships with Christ. Secondarily, it comes from simple things like eating, drinking, and finding joy in our labor. But biblical contentment does not come from riches and possessions.
https://youtu.be/qh8iveH2m1o
Table of contents* Hoarding Is a Threat to Contentment* The Importance of Remembering We Take Nothing With Us* Learning from Malcolm Forbes and No Fear* Godliness with Contentment* How Can We Experience Biblical Contentment?* Biblical Contentment Does not Come from Wealth and Possessions* Biblical Contentment Does Come from Simple Things* Footnotes
I covered Ecclesiastes 5:11-12 in Being Content from a Missionary Trip to Malawi, Africa. I'm picking up at verse 13.
Hoarding Is a Threat to Contentment
Ecclesiastes 5:13 I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owners.
If I had to write down a list of grievous evils, I’d probably say murder, adultery, hurting children, stealing from the less fortunate. But hoarding probably wouldn’t even make the list. But that’s the grievous evil Solomon had in mind.
Hoarding is so devastating that a reality show fittingly called Hoarders depicts people suffering from a “compulsive hoarding disorder.” The show is a record of people whose lives are ruined by their possessions.
Even if we aren’t hoarders, our possessions can still cause problems because of the time they consume and the choices they create. We have to figure out what to buy, where to get it, how to make the trip to get it, where to store it, where to put the old stuff that the new stuff replaces, and how to use it when we buy it. We bought it; we will make sure we use it to feel like we got our money’s worth.
These choices can consume us, so our possessions start possessing us. We become consumers consumed by our consumption.
They don’t have these problems in Malawi. Most people’s homes don’t have furniture. The floors are dirt. There’s no electricity; say nothing about televisions or the Internet. In Third World countries, the problem is not having enough. But in First World countries like ours, the problem is having too much. Mark Twain once defined civilization as “a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities.” 9
Self-storage is one of our biggest industries. An article titled “The Hottest Industry Right Now Is Storing All Your Stuff” reads:
“A day hardly passes without the U.S.
54 min