“Contentment With A Goat.” (copy) (copy)
One of the secrets to being content is often a matter of perception: how do you see your circumstances? There once was a Jewish man in Hungary who complained to his Rabbi, “Life is unbearable. Nine of us are living in one room. What can I do?”
The Rabbi answered, “Take your goat into the room with you. Do as I say and return in a week.” The man was skeptical but obeyed. He went home and brought his goat into the room. Now there were nine people in one room, plus one goat.
A week later, the man returned to his Rabbi more distraught than ever. “We can’t stand it,” he complained. “The goat is filthy!”
The Rabbi replied, “Go home and let the goat out, and come back in a week.”
A week later, the man returned radiant. “Life is beautiful!” he declared. “We enjoy every minute of it now that there is no goat. There are only nine of us in the room!”
That humorous story illustrates how a different perspective on a person’s circumstances can make a big difference in their attitude.
Contentment isn’t something we hear a lot about today because that would be bad for many businesses who are constantly bombarding us with ads to buy their products that will “make our lives easier.” For some folks, the American Dream means: buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like. But that attitude just creates a desire for more stuff and discontent.
The Apostle Paul told his protégé Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:6-8= “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with these things.” (MEV) Paul told him that food, clothing and shelter are what we need. If we have anything else on top of those we are blessed indeed.
America has been so blessed it seems many people have a hard time separating their ‘needs’ from their ‘greeds.’ They’ll go into debt to buy what they want then end up begging for what they need. One of the greatest lessons parents can teach their children is there is a big difference between what they want and what they need.
One day, a teenage boy saw a new pair of tennis shoes in the mall window and exclaimed, “I NEED those $200 tennis shoes.”
His dad said, “You don’t NEED $200 pair of tennis shoes when a $30 pair does just fine.”
“But, dad,” the boy wailed, “everybody’s wearing them!”
“How much money do you have?” his dad asked.
“$40.00.”
“Then what you NEED is $160.00 more… or stick to your budget!”
Contentment doesn’t mean to give everything away and become poor yourself. It means to enjoy what you have, be a good steward of what God’s given you. Contentment also brings a great promise with it. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:5= “Let your lives be without love of money, and be content with the things you have. For God has said: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’” (MEV) Did you catch that? The promise that God will never leave nor forsake us is directly tied to us being content! The fact that God is with us should help us to stop coveting what other people have and be thankful for what He’s given us. Yet it seems many people are too busy comparing what they’ve got to what their neighbor’s got... forgetting that without God they wouldn’t have anything at all.
We need to remember that greed and discontent is what turned Judas into a traitor. So, the next time you’re tempted to complain about your circumstances, remember that God is still with you and He can take care of you. Ask God to give you a different perspective of your circumstances and be content. Or just bring a goat into the room!
