"Godliness with contentment is great gain." 1 Timothy 6:6
Stuff...we have too much of it, but we are all spending our money on more of it.
Time...we don't have enough of it. We're worn out and claim not to have the time to do the things we say we want to do, like giving time to charities or even to take part in hobbies and other things we think we would enjoy doing.
Why then do we spend so much of that precious time in front of a tv? And why do we spend so much of our money on "stuff" that usually ends up in a yard sale or in a Goodwill bag?
I have spent a lot of time thinking about this lately. My family is in the process of getting rid of cable. I say process, because we are working ourselves up to it. We have been talking about it for weeks, trying to figure out how to save a few bucks here and there, and cable seemed to be a logical choice of something to cut out. However, as the day quickly gets closer, we realize that we will only be able to see one channel on our tv...we start to panic.
Why is this so painful? Because we have allowed tv to become the center of our family life. It is on way too much, even when we aren't really watching it. We complain that we can't find anything to watch on the over 200 channels we pay a lot of money for. But that box of light and sound is a comfort to us in some way. Shouldn't we be able to be comforted by each other more than by the tv?
I usually write about what's on my mind, and this is on my mind today. I guess writing about what I am feeling helps me to deal with it. I am reading "The Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey...it will hopefully help me and my family get out of the financial hole we are in and help us to learn to think differently about money. I haven't got to the meat and potatoes of the book yet...the author has been leading up to that by explaining money myths and misconceptions about money that many of us have been living with. It is pretty scary and honestly pretty depressing. We (our family) have been spending and using our money in all the wrong ways, but mainly because we (our culture) have taught us to think that way. We want more, more, more and we want it NOW!
Today, just for today, I want to be content with what I have...really, I want to be content with LESS than what I have. I want to see my "stuff" in a new light...seeing that I don't really need it all to be happy and content. I want to let go of my addiction to the tv and know that it's my family that makes me happy...not the time we spend together in front of that "squawk box." I say just for today because that's what I can handle...one day at a time.
I thank God for all the blessings he has poured out to me in my life, and I thank him for allowing mento be more aware today of the things in my life that are holding me back from being truly content. I ask that God gives me wisdom today to spend more of my time thinking about him and those blessings instead of worrying about what I am giving up and what I don't have. I ask that just for today I can find happiness and fulfillment in my family, friends and my job and worry less about the next few months and years. Amen
Amen Lindella! I can't agree with you more. We have so much crap in our lives and the idea that we need MORE of it is somewhat disconcerting. If I could take all of my stuff and line it up, there is very little of it that I NEED. It's all just stuff and not very good stuff at that. I hate the process of "Keeping up with the Joneses" and all that baggage that comes with it. Seriously...give me a front porch and a radio on a sunny summer afternoon and I'd be all good! LOL
ReplyDelete