The Legacy JourneySample

Content in Everything

When it comes to money, we have three lenses through which we can view what we have. Two of them are unhealthy—even toxic. The third represents a proper approach to what God has given us.

One way we can choose to view wealth is with a spirit of pride, which says that everything I have comes from me. My hard work made it all possible. I’ve struggled with this one because I appreciate hard work and self-reliance, but the spirit of pride has nothing to do with God’s Spirit.

We also can view wealth with a spirit of poverty. This spirit says that everything I have is evil because it comes from the devil. It feeds on guilt and shame, and it’s running rampant throughout our culture—even within the church. But the spirit of poverty offers another warped view of our resources.

The healthy, biblical view of wealth is the spirit of gratitude. This spirit acknowledges that everything we have comes from God and He expects us to use it for His glory. Gratitude pushes me to change my family tree and to make a difference in the world.

I think Paul understood the spirit of gratitude. In fact, I believe he nurtured it so he could experience contentment in every situation. In Philippians 4:11, he said that he had learned how to be content regardless of his circumstances. That sounds really good, but the fact that he wrote those words from jail reminds us that it wasn’t just theory for Paul. He lived it out.

Being content in everything isn’t easy, but adopting the spirit of gratitude can make a big difference in your life. If you’re running a little short on contentment these days, check to see if you’re also running short on gratitude. The two go hand-in-hand because The Legacy Journey is a journey of contentment.