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Do you suffer from this?

I saw a small sign which read: “Gratitude turns what we have into ENOUGH!” Wow, that is a powerful perspective. Two people eat the same meal. One was hungry and didn’t have the money to pay for it, but the restaurant owner decided to bless him with the meal, so the person was extremely grateful and thankful. The other person was upset and angry because that is not what he wanted to eat. It was the same meal. What was the difference? It was their perspective. The person that was grateful saw the value in the meal. He realized that he could not take that meal for granted. He could have gone hungry that day. Yet, God provided a wonderful meal for him via that generous restaurant owner. The other person takes every thing for granted.  Each meal, the car he drives, his health, his expensive condominium, his job and his prestige and influence. This kind of perspective lacks the appreciation of just how fortunate  we are when we are able to have the things we need or want. In truth, anything can be taken away from us in a heartbeat. People have lost everything in a fire, a flood, an earthquake, or a tsunami. Today we should really reconsider God’s blessing which is all around us if we have the right perspective! So what if we don’t have everything that we desire at this point. The important thing is that we have what we need. There are many around the world who live with very little and would greatly appreciate what we have right now! Well, are you grateful?

Ephesians 5:20 “Giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ”

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Is this true wealth?

Today, our society teaches that in order to be happy, we have to pursue great wealth and have many fancy things such as big houses and fancy cars. They believe that if you have these things, you will be happy. Yet the scriptures reveal that fallacy of that perspective. Proverbs 15:17 teaches this: “It’s much better to have a kind, loving family, even with little, than to have great wealth with nothing but hatred and strife all around you.” I have heard countless stories about those who had great wealth, yet were overwhelmed with stress, worry, a need to keep up appearances, etc. Today, many have even left the corporate world and have downsized into “tiny houses” just so that they could leave the stressed-filled corporate world. They realized that they were more happy with less, just as long as they were at peace, and were able to enjoy their families and sleep in peace at night. Finances are needed, but we need to be careful not to embrace a false notion of what makes one fulfilled and happy.  Make sure that in all of your getting and achieving, God is in the center of your life and home. He is our true provider. Also our highest achievement that will bring true fulfillment is having done God’s will in our lives, and having left a legacy that we loved and served our families and generation well. 

Proverbs 15:17 (TPT) “It’s much better to have a kind, loving family, even with little, than to have great wealth with nothing but hatred and strife all around you.”