Jimi Hendrix, Kurt Cobain, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Mindy McCready, Amy Winehouse, Anna Nicole Smith, Elvis Presley . . . All of these individuals had five things in common.
1) They were all wealthy. 2) They were all famous. 3) They were all ultra-gifted and incredibly successful. 4) They were all unhappy. 5) They all died early deaths, either by drug overdose or by suicide. The lesson is clear: wealth+ fame + success does not equal happiness. But a question remains: since we already knew this, why do we still fantasize about wealth, fame and success?
Fantasy is an attempted escape from a rejected reality. Why do we fantasize about having more money, more wealth, more fame? One word: discontentment. In our discontentment, we falsely begin to believe that money is a legitimate source of happiness.
But the bible clearly teaches us that it is not. Instead, the bible teaches us that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6).
Contentment: the state of one who is experientially full, satisfied, happy. A person who is content lives beyond that nagging sense of lack, of emptiness. Emptiness is the opposite of contentment. Contentment is fullness, fullness of joy.
Greed is the enemy of contentment.
Greed is the state of the one who never has enough, no matter how much he has.
Contentment is the state of the one who always has enough, no matter how little he has.
Greed has nothing to do with how much money you have; some of the brokest people in the world are also the greediest!
Why? Because greed is simply the manifestation of a lack of thankfulness. The moment you stop being thankful, you begin being greedy.
You cannot be greedy and grateful at the same time. You will either serve the one and hate the other, or cling to the one and despise the other. These two realities will never cohabitate the same heart!
Thankfulness now. That is the recipe for happiness now. Be grateful to God. In everything, give thanks.
At the end of the day, money is utterly worthless. You can’t take any of it with you; it’s all gonna burn!
Whether you have a little or a lot, the key to joy is the giving of thanks. And if you are going to fantasize about anything, fantasize about the presence of God . . . about seeing him face to face, about standing before his throne and hearing his voice. And at the end of the day you will find that these are not fantasies at all, because God is present, and he is drawing you into a face to face encounter with him, and he has called you to come boldly before his throne of grace.
Stop praying for money. Jesus said to give no thought to it. Instead, seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. And all these things will be added to you as well.
Getting your mind right in regards to God’s blessing and provision will prepare your heart to steward it faithfully when he decides to give it to you. So get your mind right!
