Contentment: The Grass Isn’t Always Greener on the Other Side

1 Timothy 6:6 – But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Sometimes things that appear to be good aren’t. Besides, that green grass on the other side is going to need to be mowed more often than the shorter dull green grass.
 
Why do we think we have to keep working harder to buy the things we want when they’re not good for you? With me, I enter the candy department of a grocery store and chocolate calls my name. Chocolate isn’t bad for everyone, but it’s not good for me because it causes acid in my stomach and inflammation of my joints. So, chocolate may appear to be good for you when it isn’t for everyone.
 
We can get ourselves in a lot of trouble if we’re always looking for something better. There is always a price to pay for our bad choices. We may think we can do everything, and go anywhere, but if you’re a person who struggles with emotional pain, we have to be careful. There may enter a person in your life who seems to be honest and looking for a new friend. Yet, if you investigate their background, you might find a wake of hurt people in their past. But how do you know if that new friend is alright for you? And how do we know that greener grass is better for us?
 
Being content with what we have can form a protective shield around us to keep us from always looking for something better.
 
Let’s say you have a nosey neighbor that lives in the apartment above you. This neighbor seems to be watching what you’re doing all of the time, and they even ask you what you’ve been doing or are going to do. It could be that they’re just being friendly but being too friendly can often push people away. It may even feel like they’ve overstepped your boundaries. Every time you open your door it seems that this neighbor is right there. So, what do you do? Do you consider moving? What if that green grass of not having that nosey neighbor may end up in the new place with having a neighbor who yells at you, who keeps their tv too loud or knocks on your door all of the time to ask for something. You can see what I mean. The grass on the other side can often have weeds intertwined that you can’t see. And those weeds could do you in.
 
Becomingminimalist.com posts the article, “The Unmistakable Freedom of Contentment: How to Find This Unmistakable Freedom,” provides us with some ways to find contentment. First off is practice gratitude. A grateful person is one who has learned to focus on the good things in their life, not the things they lack. Another way is to take control of your attitude. Your happiness is based solely on your decision to be happy. One more that I like is stop comparing yourself to others. Comparing your life with someone else’s will always lead to discontentment.
 
Take a look at the Bible verse above. It is great gain to be content. That means that being content can bring about the reward of peace and balance in your life. Always looking for more will only cause you to think less of yourself and the life you lead. 

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