We are in the third week of looking at the Beatitudes which are found in Matthew 5. Each of these beatitudes tell us how to be blessed. “Blessed” means more than happiness. These beatitudes don’t promise laughter, pleasure or earthly prosperity. To Jesus, “blessed” means having hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances. To find hope and joy, which is the deepest form of happiness, we need to follow Jesus no matter what the cost.
Hopefully, as we look at a beatitude each week, it will help us to understand how we can experience this hope and joy that Jesus speaks of…regardless of what is happening around us. Yes, even when our world seems unhinged.
This week we are exploring the third beatitude and I will share it from the New International version of the Bible…and then from the version The Message…which puts it in today’s language.
Matthew 5:5 in the NIV reads: “Blessed are the meek; for they will inherit the earth.”
The Message reads: "You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.”
I think a lot of people today are not content. We have been so programmed to always want more, to get ahead, to do better than the person next to us. No matter what we have, it’s never enough. Maybe we need to ask ourselves, “Are we content in any circumstance that we face?”
Social media has had a huge impact on our lives…some things have been good and some have been bad. When it comes to contentment, I think sites like Facebook and Instagram have played a huge role in causing many to be discontent. I believe the reason is that we often don’t post those things from our day that don’t look “pretty”. Those times when we lose our temper with our kids…our spouse…or our coworkers. We don’t post when our house looks like a bomb went off or when we’ve driven through the drive-thru lane for the fourth time in one week to quickly get our kids fed… before dropping them off at yet another practice.
Instead…we post only the highlights. We get those beautiful children of ours perfectly posed to make it appear that they always get along and life is perfect…and then we quickly snap a picture before they start killing each other because one of them is breathing the other one’s air. Yep, I’ve been there. And the same can be true for vacations…jobs…marriages…even the home in which we live. Only posting those flawless moments can make it appear to others that you don’t ever struggle and as we all know…there isn’t anyone who never struggles.
It's often hard to be content…when what you see on social media only reminds you of what you don’t possess. They have a nicer home…they have better behaved children…they have better jobs with better pay…they have an amazing spouse who spoils them…they get to go on exotic vacations. None of these things are wrong…but to a person who is struggling with being content…they are all just reminders of what they wish they possessed.
Allow me to let you in on a little secret. No one’s family, home, job, marriage or even vacation is perfect. And in the end…none of those things will bring true contentment. Yes, they can bring you joy for a season…but no possession or no other person will bring you lasting, everyday contentment.
Paul shares in Philippians 4:11-13 in The Message about being content: “Actually, I don't have a sense of needing anything personally. I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”
The secret to true contentment is to get to the place where Christ is enough. Nothing else is needed…beyond Christ…to make us content. No matter what life throws at us…or what circumstances we find ourselves in…we can be content. To do this, we need to rely on God’s promises and Christ’s power to help us. If we are always wanting more, we need to ask God to remove that desire and teach us contentment in every circumstance. He has promised to supply all our needs, but in a way in which He knows is best for us. Whatever we need on this earth, He will supply.
We must remember, however, the difference between our wants and our needs. Most of us want to feel good and avoid discomfort or pain. Many of us want just a little bit more than the next person. We need to realize that we may not get all we want. When we learn to trust in Christ, our attitudes and appetites can change from wanting everything to accepting His provision and power to live for Him. That may mean that our health may not be perfect, and our possessions may not make someone else drool. But when Christ is enough…we can be content in knowing He will take care of all our needs and walk with us every step of the way.
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are—no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.”
Contentment can’t be bought…but it can be experienced when Christ is enough. If this is something you are struggling with today…why not give your desires and your wants to Jesus and trust Him to give you what you need. Only then will you be truly blessed.
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