“I have learned to be content
whatever the circumstances”
(Philippians 4:11)
Reflection:
“I want” gets in the way of “I am.”
We can become so pre-occupied with a vision, a dream or a fantasy that we fail to appreciate our present reality. In doing so we can deny who we are, ignore our present situation and fail to appreciate the people and beauty that is around us.
Coveting as God refers to it in the Tenth Commandment is not a desire for proper growth and development but a driving greed and lust for something different or for more – whether or not it is properly available. Jesus recognises that the sin is not only in the action of seeking to acquire the object of our desire but in the focussed use of our imagination as well
“But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:28)
In it all we take our attention off God as God and look instead to a god of pleasure and self-satisfaction. We very often fail to see the real cost to ourselves or to others.
Paul Getty was at one stage the richest man in the world and his books are studied for advice on how to succeed and to acquire wealth. He was totally ‘dedicated to his work’ and wrote that he had led ‘an exciting and rewarding life.’ In an almost throw-away comment he admitted that his (five) marriages had ‘suffered and fallen’ apart.
Response:
Take time to appreciate your blessings of the day – the beauty of creation, the special people, the wonder of life, the love of God Himself. Acknowledge and express it.
Prayer:
Father thank you for my today. In it there is wonder and beauty and love, and such special people. And most of all there is You – ever-present, ever-loving, ever-sustaining. Bless You Lord. Amen.
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The Soaring Eagle 