Gratitude

Gratitude and contentment - two words with riches that can't be measured. Happiness doesn't lie in owning things but may bring anxiety instead, especially if using a credit card with a running balance.

We see ads telling us that that we 'need' possessions to make us happy. I get very annoyed with ads portraying new vehicles...owning one of these supposedly will give you a 'rich' life. For many, the opposite becomes true when yet another payment adds to the stress level. I love that simple bumper sticker that reads, "Don't laugh - it's paid for!"

The truly content people I am blessed to know may not have a lot of material possessions but do have something that is in short supply these days...gratitude!

I once read a story of a simple living Christian who was watching his neighbour move in with all the latest 'toys'. He went over to his new neighbour and said, "Neighbour, if ever thou dost need anything, come to see me, and I will tell thee how to get along without it." He echoed what Henry Thoreau (1800s) said, "A man is wealthy in proportion to the number of things he can afford to do without."

Be chronically grateful. Keep a list of what you are grateful for and that list may well surprise you. "Perhaps we are so glutted with luxuries that we have forgotten how to enjoy our necessities." (W. Wiersbe)

I Timothy 6