What is The Secret to Contentment With Your Income? Insight from Psalm 23:1

How can we find contentment? 

Our human nature is rarely happy with what we have. We are like the toddler who sees something and as he reaches out for it and screams, "Mine!" It is cute in a toddler but can lead to misery as an adult. Does the Bible teach how to be content? It does, and you may already know the passage.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." Psalm 23:1

THE LORD
The first two words of this verse are the most important ones.  They begin this psalm with a view of God which is a good attitude for everything we do.

A "lord" has the authority to rule, and he has the highest status and power over those in submission to him. When you call God your Lord, then you have made the most serious declaration you can make.

A SHEPHERD
We need a shepherd...

• The shepherd provides by making sure that the sheep have food and water.
• The shepherd guides the sheep to safe pasture and brings them to freshwaters.
• The shepherd leads the sheep. They follow him to those safe places. He goes ahead to find the best and safest way.
• The shepherd shelters the sheep by protecting them from dangers.
• The shepherd watches the sheep not only as a guard but out of love for them.
• The shepherd never leaves the sheep; without his presence, they are vulnerable to attack and injury.

MY SHEPHERD
People recite this famous verse of poetic scripture and think they are covered by some universal grace. The truth is you must personally make the Lord your shepherd. God is love, so He will not force himself on you since that would not be loving. He waits for you to come to Him and choose Him. Until you do, you cannot honestly say that the Lord is your shepherd.

If you have invited God into your life (to understand more about this, see the link above for the Gospel), then God is your shepherd, and He does all these things for you. Your needs and wants are in His care.

If your needs and wants are in the care and custody of the Almighty Creator of the Universe, who is also the Lord of all Heaven and Earth and Lord of all time, then you can be confident that you have enough, because as your Lord, He knows your needs and He knows what is best for you.

YOU LACK NOTHING
You may feel something is missing, but because the Lord is your shepherd, you lack nothing.
Because He is All-Wise, He knows what is best for you and will either give it or withhold it.
Because He is All-Love, what He gives is given out of love, and what He withholds is withheld out of love.

The person who wrote the 23rd Psalm was content not because he has a lot of stuff, or a full dinner plate or a beautiful house (indeed he may have been sleeping in the open and eating roots),  but his contentment came by viewing the Lord's provision as all he needed.

We should be content because God is watching over us. He is our shepherd.

(c) Adron 7/28/18

What Does The Bible Say About Double Standards.

We want to get the most out of a bargain or we want to maximize our profit on a deal. We might think that we can change our behaviors for one situation and back for another. What does God feel about double standards?

The Bible says: "Differing weights and differing measures- the Lord detest them both." Proverbs 20:10, NIV 

IN ANCIENT TIMES
An ancient merchant might have two sets of weights one would be the accepted standard the other would be heavier or lighter so that he could weigh out the grain or whatever and take advantage of an unsuspecting customer. He might have a second set of baskets or barrels with a false shallower bottom to take advantage of the unsuspecting.

Some communities had a standard weight and measures for business with the locals and a second set to use on the foreigner.

These second weights were used to take an unfair advantage of someone either through deceit or double standard.

TODAY
Today a double standard might be to have a price for friends and another for strangers, or a kickback to get a bid.

GOD
God's stand on this is clear- He "detest" them. Detest is a strong word, it suggests a strong negative reaction, that is not the response you want to have from the Almighty. Neither you nor I can expect Heaven to look with favor to the use of any double standard.

YOU
We might feel that a shifting standard may lose opportunity and profit, but a double standard loses God's favor which is the greater loss. Those who name the Lord as their God and Savor must have the highest standard of honesty and fairness in all their doings. They reject double standards in favor of a higher standard that of pleasing God.

You might say that I can gain more profit by changing the rules when it suits the situation or you can say I will do business fairly before God and let God bring the profit- which is the greater profit.

Beyond These Dark Lands
Are Edges of Joy,
Words of Comfort and Hope
Poems by A.E. Dozat © 2018

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© Adron 5/21/18