But godliness with contentment is a great gain.     1 Timothy 6:6 HCSB

Today we celebrate Thanksgiving. In order to be truly thankful, we must be content. In order to be content, we must appreciate all that God has given us. We must focus on all the good He has provided, but sadly oftentimes we tend to focus more on what we want.

This Scripture passage comes from a passage that warns against greed and speaks of all the trouble it causes. In 1 Timothy 6:10 it says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil, and by craving it some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.”

As a child, I remember this as being the time of year when “I want that!” seemed to be all I said as I sat in front of the tv. All the commercials with the cool toys and dolls and games and oh my! All the stuff!

I would like to say I’ve outgrown that, but at times I realize I haven’t so much. I still want things. I want cool stuff. I’m trying to learn, however, to be content with what I have. I have come to realize that God has greatly blessed me, and I am so grateful for all He has given me.

I have also come to realize being content just makes me feel better in general. I’ve learned it truly is better to give than to receive. I have also learned there are many people struggling without the necessities like food, shelter and clothing.

If you have a problem being content with what you have, I strongly recommend you volunteer at a shelter, food distribution or clothing distribution site. It will help to give you a whole new perspective on appreciating what you have. It also feels good to help others.

When we are not content, it can lead to many problems in our lives. Our constant struggle for more stuff, can cause to issues with debt. Debt can lead to problems in a relationship. It can lead to bankruptcy and other things we want to avoid.

Keeping up with the Joneses is an idiom used in the English language which refers to wanting to have what your neighbor has. This phrase originated with Arthur Momand in 1913. He started a comic strip called Keeping Up with the Joneses which ran in New York until 1940.

Sadly, so many of us just want something because someone else has it. We want status symbols and are willing to pay dearly for them. By pay dearly I mean even if it costs our happiness or our marriage or whatever else.

How do we learn to be content? Well, I’m glad you asked. First, focus on Jesus. Trust in Him to provide all you need. Also trust that when He doesn’t give us what we want, He has a good reason for it. Remember He knows what our future holds.

Our God is a good Father. He knows what we need and what we don’t need. We must trust Him on that. We must know what we can afford and what we can’t afford.

In closing, let me say there is nothing wrong with having money or buying nice things. This is not what I’m saying. I’m just saying we should be content with what we do have. We should tithe first, pay our bills, save and with what’s left over we can give to others and treat ourselves.

If you look at it that way, you see that with your money you put Jesus first, others second and yourself last. Our pastor often says this as the acronym for joy. If you want your children to have true joy in their lives teach them to live this way.

Focus on God and living a godly life. Trust in Him. This will help you to achieve contentment. In this you will have a great gain.

If you want to have true joy this holiday season, invest more in God and others and less in yourself.

Have a wonderful, joyful Thanksgiving!