May 6: Insight Post by Rusty Coram
Wednesday Insight Post
by Rusty Coram
There is a form of discontent that many of us live with. Actually, the goal of most advertising is to create in us a sense of discontent that drives us to buy something that will satisfy us. Usually, that satisfaction lasts only until a new version of what we bought is released. We are surrounded by messages that tell us we need something more to really be happy, and unless we are wise and careful, we fall right into the trap. One of the goals of simplicity is to “declutter” our lives so we can focus on what really matters most. In the New Testament letter 1 Timothy, we read, “6Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (NLT) Whether we are accumulating material things we think we need or filling our calendars with activities we believe we can’t live without, over time, we will find that we have crowded out what really matters and are increasingly empty and drained spiritually. Kim Feld gave a great tool to help evaluate our choices: the 5 “whys.” One way I have found helpful is to pre-plan the essentials I need to invest my time and money in, and then wrap my life around those pre-sets. For example, I make sure the first thing I read every morning is God’s Word. This habit is set. If I didn’t do this, I could easily “clutter” my time with all sorts of texts, emails, news feeds, etc., and then find my time focusing on God edged out. Contentment is a by-product of simplifying my life so that what really matters stays on top.
Rusty Coram
Senior Pastor
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org