Hebrews 13:5 - 6

Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said,

“I will never leave you or forsake you. So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?”

How do you content yourself with what you have? By looking around at those less fortunate. By being aware that here in North America we are in the richest 1% of the world's population.

I found Doris Janzen Longacre's book “Living More With Less” to be an eye-opening experience when I first read it many years ago. She interviews people from different parts of the world about how they handle different areas of a typical North American budget. She asks them what they noticed about the American lifestyle when they arrived to the U.S. for the first time.

The answers were very interesting and illuminating. They gave me pause to reconsider if some of the things I took for granted really were necessary. Not only did I start to filter purchases through the lense of true need, but I also started to consider the cost of obtaining something new, the cost of maintaining it, the time involved in both of those, and the bother of having to move it or store it.

I have far too much stuff in my home right now to even think of bringing anything into it. I know I'm in trouble because I'm buying storage containers, instead of using what I have so I don't need storage containers. When I'm buying storage containers, it's time to give away or use up what I have.

The other day I spent a half hour looking through an on-line book discount publisher website. I picked out several books to buy, and then just closed the screen. Why? I glanced up from the computer at my bookcase full of craft books and decided I really had enough. I haven't done a project out of every book yet, so how can I justify buying any more? I am definitely content. In fact more to the other end of the extreme now. I am discontent because I have all these books cluttering my shelves that I have not used. My motto “Use it or lose it” is itching to be exercised.

Before buying new now, I think creatively about other things that might do the same job. Or a way to get the same job done by borrowing or sharing a tool. The rule with borrowing and sharing is that you be sure to return things promptly. I am not good at this, having a poor memory. So I simply opt to not to borrow or buy things, but find creative ways to fill the need.

One of the bad habits we've fallen into in our home is to buy something because it's easier than looking and finding it in the house. This shows bad organization on our part. Because I tend towards being a packrat (I might need it some day!) my goal is to de-clutter on a continual basis. I pick an area of the house and go to it. My hope is with the de-cluttering and subsequent organizing, eventually we will be able to find the things we want or need before going to the store.

I also consider de-cluttering our furniture. Why? We have more furniture than we need. And what we have is old and in need of replacement and repair. Rather than repair, we buy to replace. But that has to stop! We will find something in our price range that we can pay cash for. We have some furniture that needs to go out to the dump. It will be tossed. Some of it will be cut to size and reused...one of our favourite techniques for acquiring the furniture we need. In some cases we will be throwing things out so we don't need so much furniture to store it. That means I'll be hooking more rugs so I won't need to store that wool in the sunroom!

We do not want to live in a palace where people are afraid to sit on the furniture, but we do want to be comfortable. We do not want to worry about wasting time, energy and more money shopping for good quality furniture when the poor quality breaks down. For us, that means buying solid wood furniture as much as possible. It probably will mean shopping the second hand furniture stores, the sales in December, and the classified ads.

Being content is about lowering the level at which you feel satisfied, but not to the point that you feel deprived. It's about knowing yourself, your priorities, and what you want to do with your life...and then surrounding yourself with possessions that will help you do that. It is intricately tied into finding God's purpose for you. Once you know his purpose for you, it becomes clear what is necessary and what is excess baggage along the way.

In an effort to cut down some stuff before Christmas I am taking on a challenge of getting rid of 1000 items by December 21st this year.  Can you do it too?  What needs to go?  What is in alignment with your purpose here on earth?  And what is baggage? 

When I pray, I make sure I thank God for the many good things and people in my life. One of the prayer methods I follow is the ACTS method of prayer: adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication. It is based on The Lord's Prayer.

There are many ways and methods of praying:

• private prayer (Matthew 6:5-15),

• family prayer (Acts 10:2, 30),

• communal prayer (Matthew 18:20),

• singing prayer (1 Corinthians 14:14-17),

• prayer for supplication (2 Chronicles 20:5-13),

• righteous anger and prayer (Numbers 11:10-15),

• prayer of dedication (1 Kings 8:22-53),

• ritual prayer - three times a day, on your knees (Daniel 6:10),

• deliverance prayer (Nehemiah 1:4-11),

• arrow prayers (Nehemiah 2:4),

• prayer of protection (Nehemiah 4:1-9)

• stained glass prayer (Nehemiah 9:6-38)

• seeking prayer (Psalm 34:4-10)

• pleading prayer (Isaiah 38:1-8)

And I'm sure I have not exhausted them all! Basically, you don't need a reason to talk to God. He just wants to hear from us every now and then! And would like us to listen to his voice every now and then. If you ask God for contentment, you will receive it. Just the very act of taking our concerns to God, relaxes and releases us from worry. Because we know God will handle the situation the way he sees fit. We will also be aware of truths we have been perhaps hiding from ourselves.

I keep a prayer journal of my daily morning prayer. It is my way of releasing all the pent up feelings and emotions inside me. I talk to God and write in my journal. As awareness is given to me, I write it down or thank God for that awareness. I am constantly amazed at how clear everything becomes with prayer.

Often I find myself reluctant to leave my prayer time. It is such a special time for me. But real life horns in and has to be dealt with too. I ask God's blessing on my day and the day of my loved ones. Then off I go...with a fresh start and a feeling of already having accomplished something in my day, because I've invariably solved at least one concern during my prayer time.

How else can we nurture contentment?

I keep a gratitude journal in which I record the things I am grateful for. The more depressed and upset I am with my situation in life, the more frequently that journal comes out. Usually my blue period doesn't last long. I can go back and read all the things I am grateful for, and feel cheered to face the day ahead. I try to keep a daily journal of at least five things I am grateful for. Sometimes that list evolves into a prayer of thanks that is, of course, also in the journal.

I also keep any letters or notes of thanks I receive from people in this journal. It is a great mood lifter and comforter for me. I can go forward into the day, knowing that for every bad thing that comes my way, there is a journal full of good things in my life.

I must admit, at the time of writing this I've decided to move the letters to a drawer in my retreat room. There were so many they were ruining the journal binding. Now when I have tea, I pull out my chocolate (my one vice!) and read a note or two.

I record all the verbal compliments I receive here too. This keeps me from getting too down on myself. And I can look back and see how people view me, and if, in fact, that is the way I want to be viewed. Sometimes the compliments lacking tell you as much as the compliments given! It shows me areas I can work on.

It may be your life is miserable and you think you have nothing to be thankful for, but there are some things we can all be thankful for. There is beauty in every life, even if it's just the plant on the windowsill. Or the fact you have a windowsill and a plant to put on it!

Try keeping a gratitude journal for the week. Re-read it and add to it daily and see if you don't feel more content by the end of the week.

Learning contentment is a lifetime process. We are surrounded by a 'buy now' society, and a 'keep up with the Jones' society.' In that kind of society it is difficult to learn contentment. We no sooner have one thing than something 'better' comes along, and we 'need' to have that! Neighbors and others judge us by outward appearances, rarely taking the time to get beneath the surface to know the real us. They don't have time. They are too rushed to get to know us, or to appreciate the small things in life that are free. Too rushed to enjoy God's creation the way he had in mind.

One way to learn contentment is to take time each day to go out into God's creation and just sit and enjoy it. Don't do anything; just be in the moment, noticing what is going on around you and the beauty that God has created. After a week of this, you will not be the same. You will find yourself calming down. You will feel more in the present. More one of creation, rather than distant from it.

I have noticed some people feel really uncomfortable with this activity. They have been so divorced from nature all their life that they have no way to relate to it. They cannot sit still and appreciate it. They don't know what to do with it. They are used to doing. God does not always call us to do. He does, however, call us to be. To be sons and daughters of God, sisters and brothers to Christ. We cannot be those things if we do not know the nature of God and his character. What better way to get to know God's character, than to get to know his creation!

If you are one of those people uncomfortable in nature, start with something simple - five minutes in the backyard doing absolutely nothing. Close your eyes, take deep breaths, and just listen to what is going on around you. As you are able to sit silent for longer periods, walk or go to a nearby park, noticing the variety of plants and wildlife along the way. And as you grow more comfortable in the park, take yourself to a wild recreation area, like a hiking trail, and practice the same thing there.

Be sure to prepare by taking water, an orange, some chocolate and nuts for energy. Focus on slowing down your breathing and taking deep breaths of fresh air. You will find yourself relaxing. Once you relax, thank God for what he has provided and marvel at how content the other creatures of his creation are without all the trappings of the human race!

I grow frustrated with people who spend a weekend on the downhill ski slope and think they've interacted with nature. They have not. They have interacted with a man controlled section of nature. they go to a nice ski lodge when they've had enough of nature. Or to a ski hill town complete with upper class stores and restaurants. Real nature is far different.

When I talk about getting out in nature, I'm talking about getting away from all human establishments...into an area where you have to depend on yourself for survival. Where you can look around and see no sign of human life around you, except maybe the trail in front of you and what you are carrying.

A lot of people ask me 'what do you do in nature?' I had a psychiatrist tell me once that the only reason people went camping was to drink and party! As I grew up spending three months of the year living in the bush with my Christian family, I had to overcome my immediate reaction to take that as a direct insult. I felt sorry for her that she had obviously never enjoyed time spent in the wilderness.

My father was a wildlife biologist. It was his job to do field work in nature every year, and he took the whole family with him. What did we do?

• We read,
• We wrote,
• Went birdwatching,
• Picked wild berries,
• Hiked the hills,
• Helped Dad with his work,
• Helped Mom with her work,
• Learned to cook on an outdoor fire,
• Learned camp skills,
• Including digging the hole for the outhouse!
• We collected plants and pressed them.
• We went swimming in ponds.
• We played in the creeks.
• We built a dam for water in the creek.
• We lay out in the back of the truck at night and counted falling stars.
• We made bannock and molasses popcorn over the campfire.
• We helped Mom make doughnuts on the old Coleman stove.
• We listened to Dad's students tell stories by the campfire.
• We took turns scaring each other on the trip to the outhouse (okay, what do you expect from siblings?!).
• We drew nature.
• We learned to whittle wood.
• We played games.
  
• We learned to live with nature, not rub against it.
• We learned to appreciate what God gave us.

Learning to be in nature is an art and a process. One of the skills that makes it easier is being able to name or label things around you. Once you know what it is, you are less wary of it. I learned plant identification, bird identification, and animal identification. I learned to look at the sky and know when to come back to base camp...at 4 p.m. every day usually. That's when we'd have our afternoon thunderstorm. I learned to tell when a sandstorm was coming. I learned the constellations in the heavens (at least, some of them!). I learned to marvel at all God had created, and realized how puny I really was in all of his creation. I learned humility and wonder. And I loved the fact we got to picnic three meals every day! Though I wasn't fond of the hornets who wanted to eat our meals.

Learning to be in nature helps us understand nature. Understanding nature helps us understand the character and nature of God. It gives us a whole new perspective on what we truly need in this lifetime. So my challenge to you is to spend as much time in nature as you do shopping, and see how God changes you.

1 Timothy 6:6-10

Of course there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment;

for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it,

but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and

are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires

that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,

and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered

away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

Paul clearly lays out what the problem with money is. Having enough money for food and clothing is not a sin. Desiring great wealth is. “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil”.

What about you? Do you have a desire for great wealth? Why? Consider other factors that may be involved in your feeling as if you need great wealth. Are you feeling insecure? Great wealth will not help you feel more secure. That comes from a loving personal relationship with a living God and Savior.

A friend of mine finds it hard to give to others because of bad past experiences with an over zealous Christian who gave away money to the point there wasn't enough to feed and clothe the family. His knee jerk reaction is one of confusion and fear when it comes to money. Fear there will not be enough to provide. His gut instinct is to hoard money. By being frugal his wife is constantly showing him that they can afford plenty to eat and clothe themselves, and they can increase their standard of living. He can see God providing generously for them. My friend finds that even that puts her husband in a conflicted position with money. When he sees 'extra' money, he doesn't know what he should do with it. He likes to spend it...on electronics, movie DVDs, eating out, or being generous to her by telling her she can buy whatever she wants, etc. His feast or famine approach to money is very confusing, frustrating and exhausting for her.

The other night the heat was unbearable. Paul pulled out the flannel pajamas I made him several years ago, to wear. I teased him, asking if he didn't have some summer pajamas. In fact, he did not. He pulled out a pair of sweat shorts and used them. I told him it was alright...he could buy some summer pajamas...we have the money. In fact, we could probably afford silk ones if he wanted. We had a good laugh over that.

My Paul does not like change. It will take him awhile to get around to buying those new pajamas, and I might even have to nag him a bit about it. In the end, he will buy what is comfortable, not what is most expensive or 'looks good'. He's after contentment, not status. That's my Paul.

Note that the apostle Paul, in his letter to Timothy above, said “if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” Paul does not expect us, or Timothy, or anyone to go without the basics. That is what we need to be emphasizing in our homes and our mission work. Aside from spiritual nourishment, food and clothing for everyone in the world is our mandate...after providing the same for our own family. Anything else is icing on the cake...an extra. It's pretty hard to concentrate on, or believe in, the Christian message (or any message for that matter) if you are cold and hungry.

Why didn't Paul include a car and house in the list? Paul was talking to the missionaries of his day. He was not concerned about them finding a home to live in or getting from point A to point B. Travel was simple in those days – donkey, camel or by foot. For his missionaries it often meant travel by foot. Only the rich afforded camels, and donkeys were farm animals. It was expensive enough to feed yourself on the road, let alone a donkey.

Paul wanted the world to be home for his missionaries. He wanted them out there bringing people hope! They were sent into homes that were already Christian, to stay and use as a base of operations in the many towns and cities they visited. Obviously the need for Christian homes to rest their heads was important to their ability to evangelize. Another example that Christians are called to hospitality.

Reading this passage makes me very grateful for the home, car and things I have that go beyond mere clothes and food. They are truly gifts from God...to be used for His purposes. So while my neighbours turn their nose up at our one car lifestyle, I smile and get onto other things. We have no need of a second car. I am thankful for the one we have. And while some people do not like to visit our home in permanent renovation, I smile and am thankful I have a home worth renovating. God has been very gracious to us indeed. Too gracious!

Contentment is making do with what you have. I am finding at my stage in life, it pays to go 'shopping' in the house before heading to the store. After 27 years of marriage, you tend to collect things. Usually I can find something to fill the need I have without even stepping outside my door. Contentment is partly about making do with what works, rather than needing the newest, trendiest gadget to do the job.

Contentment is also about being content in Christ. Knowing that whatever we need, he will provide. Knowing that whatever befalls us, we can handle it with him by our side. Knowing that when we feel down and out, he is there to lift us up and give us hope, through bible study, prayer, Christians or other people period. God can work through anyone and anything.

Being content in Christ makes us more content with what we have in this physical world. We realize the ephemeral nature of the world around us. It is here today, gone tomorrow. We can't take it with us. It is temporary in nature. That new computer at $3000 today is worth peanuts a few years down the road. Why spend money on something so ephemeral in nature? That's why we hold onto our computers for ten years – we refuse to replace them with the newest latest computer every two to three years. We are content. If God wants us to communicate with the world, he'll find a way. God can do anything he wants.

This approach is also environmentally friendly. By hanging onto things until they absolutely die, and then recycling when possible, we reduce our impact on the environment.