Tag: Contentment

He Who Dies With the Most Toys Still Dies

Growing up as a millennial who often identified with Gen-X culture, I vividly remember the iconic “No Fear” t-shirts that were all the rage in the 90s. One slogan stuck with me: “He who dies with the most toys still dies.” At the time, it seemed like a clever pushback against the materialism of the culture around me, but there was more truth in it than I realized. It calls out the futility of measuring life by our possessions.

Jesus addresses this very issue in Luke 12:22-34 when He challenges His followers to stop worrying about what they’ll eat or wear. He points out that, in life, we often want more than we need. This isn’t just about greed; it’s about a deeper issue—trust. Instead of trusting that God will provide for us, we often rely on ourselves, stockpiling resources in the hope that we’ll feel secure. Like the rich fool in Luke 12:16-21, we build bigger barns, gather more, and look to our possessions for peace. But even if we gain everything we think we need, it’s still not enough, because deep down, we don’t trust that God’s provision is sufficient.

We’re not all that different from the rich fool. We live in a culture that tells us security comes from having “enough”—enough money, enough success, enough recognition. The problem is that our definition of “enough” keeps changing. When we focus on accumulating more, we’re really saying that God isn’t enough for us. We don’t trust Him to give us what we need, so we try to take care of ourselves.

Jesus offers a better way. He tells us to seek first God’s Kingdom and trust that everything else will fall into place. What He promises isn’t a life of luxury, but a life free from the constant anxiety of trying to secure ourselves. Faith is trusting that God knows our needs better than we do—and that, ultimately, our treasure isn’t in what we can accumulate here on earth. It’s in heaven, where no amount of wealth or possessions can ever compare.

At the end of the day, the slogan still holds true: “He who dies with the most toys still dies.” But for those of us who trust in God’s provision, we’ve found something better than toys. We’ve found true peace, true security, and a treasure that will last for eternity.

Living in the Past

Ecclesiastes gets a bad rap for being “depressing” or “melancholy” or whatever. But I find it a fascinating and focusing read. What are we giving our time to? Is it something worthwhile or another bullet on Solomon’s massive list of things that are “meaningless”? To that end, this passage from the end of Chapter 5 is fantastic:

To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.

Ecclesiastes 5:19b-20 (NLT)

I was nostalgic from an early age. I think wistfully about playing with my Hulk Hogan and Junk Yard Dog toys while watching the Paul Daniels Magic Show in the mid-1980s. And sometimes it makes me sad at what is gone. But the great irony is that while I was pining for a time that is gone I missed the time I was IN… then I would wish to have that time back. And so the cycle would continue where I was constantly longing for that which is gone rather than enjoying it while I had it.

In comes Solomon to encourage us to work and accept our lot in life. Because we are so happy in the moment we HAVE RIGHT NOW, that we are not distracted by what we used to have in times long past!

Friends, enjoy what you have. Don’t be discontent wishing you had more. Don’t be heartbroken longing for things lost to time… before long that is how you will think of TODAY. If you root your joy in the Lord that contentment is much easier to harness and cling to.

Rabble Rousers

In Numbers 11 we see a group of discontents bad-mouthing God’s provision. They wanted more than manna, they wanted meat! “If He truly loved us, He would give us what we WANT, not merely what we need!” and this sentiment spread among the people. We have very little trouble becoming self-focused. We are actually quite good at it.

If I’m being honest, I don’t really understand why they needed God to provide above what he had already given them, we know they had herds and livestock, and we know in the case of AT LEAST Peace Offerings, they ate those animals.

In either case, God decided to give the people what they wanted. I’ve heard it said that “God is a gentleman”, in that He will not force His will upon you (my Calvinist brothers and sisters would disagree, so for their sake, maybe I’ll just say it’s explained by “tension”). Essentially this means that if we do not come before God and pray, “let Your will be done”, then He will — with great sadness — give you over to the desires of Your heart and let your will be done.

Such is the case here. God sent the Israelites an exceptional amount of quail. And they caught it and ate it and they were fat and satisfied… until it made them sick. And more than that, the instigators DIED as a result of this tainted bird.

Don’t spit on God’s provision. He has giving you what you need to accomplish His will. Be satisfied with what you have and steward it well. If you do, then He will continue to trust you with more and more. But if you chose to complain about what God has done, don’t be surprised if He stops giving you gifts that you don’t appreciate anyway.

Mar 2 | Num 11-13 | 061/365