Be Content Context

“Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” - Hebrews 13:5

It’s not saying, “If you’re poor be content with being poor or if you’re fruitless, be content with being fruitless, or if you’re injured/wounded be content with ‘being a blessing’ through your injury/wound.” No. If you’ve been hurt spiritually or emotionally or physically and it’s never healed because you keep ignoring it by saying to yourself, “I’m sacrificing myself to be a blessing for others!”

Stop it. You need to heal. You have no business pretending everything is all right, or labeling your slow demise, life-resentments, physical ailments as “sacrifice” and “being tough” or “being strong.” That’s pride and it’s killing you inside both spiritually and physically. Don’t die for me. Live with me and in/for Christ.

The verse above is saying, don’t covet another person’s life. Don’t wish you had their lot. Keyword up there: covetousness. If you want improvement in your own life, tell God! Set your desired goals and pray for wisdom to forge plans. Take the first step of that plan and commit to the plan. Ask God to give you courage and zeal to see it through and expect and know that He will help and He is with you. “If God is for you, who can stand against/thwart you and succeed?” If you’re supposed to be content to sit unchanging from your position because you shouldn’t need anything, why did you receive Christ in your life? You needed salvation, strength, love, wisdom, victory- victory over what if you have salvation? You need God for everything, have you ever listed exactly what you need from your heavenly Father? ‘Patience’ is a glossing answer, don’t use it lightly.

Christian: “Is it ‘God’s will’?”

It is God’s will for you to live life. He said to acknowledge Him in all that you do, not wonder what’s the “right or wrong” occupation. He told you what’s sin and what isn’t. You have knowledge of good and evil. You also have the Holy Spirit of Truth. Nothing you choose can thwart His plan for you which is to be an example of Christ and tell others of Christ. Whatever you choose to do in this life, that’s where you will be glorifying God and testifying to others by how you live your life with and in Christ.

God isn’t looking down at you, hoping you can read His mind and choose the “right job” that He’s pre-selected for you.

God: “Aw nuts. Henry chose to be a bricklayer. That’s not what I intended for him to be. Now I can’t bless him because that occupation wasn’t ‘my will’ for him. Well, he missed his chance. Guess I’ll give his photography job and all its blessings to someone else. I’m disappointed in Henry. I can’t bless him until he ‘gets right’ with me. Someday he’ll figure out he has to quit that job and become a photographer. Can’t bless him until then.”

Henry quits his job and becomes a photographer.

God: “He’s too late. I gave the opportunity to Kenny. At least he’s a photographer now, but he’s going to have to learn the consequences of missing opportunities. He’s going to have to figure out how to ‘get right’ with me.”

Jesus: “Father, I thought I was the one who made mankind ‘right’ with you.”

God: “Well, Jesus, you only saved them from hell. All these mistakes man keeps making are on their head. Your blood didn’t cover any of that. Sorry, Son.”

You might say about that last part, “What Christian would say and believe that?!?” *I’ll tell you: when putting it so bluntly, no one would claim to believe that about God. But anyone who starts out believing “they’re out of God’s will” by making a mistake whether it be a black sinful one (adultery, murder, stealing, porn, etc.) or a white sinful one (yelling at a brother, holding years of grudges, cheating in the game of Monopoly,) or a stupid mistake like purchasing a car that has bad gas mileage, investing in stock without understanding how it works and losing their money, or procrastinating finishing their “to-do” list until it’s become a huge load that you’re despairing over, will ultimately become caught up in staring at their filth and imperfectness that they judge themselves undeserving of anything more than grace enough to get them salvation.

Yes, they’ll believe they’re going to heaven, but they’ll live now in constant self-condemnation. Then when they see others not burdened as they, they’ spiritualize it by telling themselves and others that it’s humility to call yourself unworthy of God’s love, and it’s humility to be content with scraps, it’s humility to beg and plead and hope God wants to help you or heal you. You live in constant “sacrifice” with all of your trials and tribulations of broken stuff, having “no money” and “no time” and “nothing that you wanted.” Joy and peace have escaped you.

That’s the result of staying in your head, never hearing anything more than what you’ve taught yourself from bad teachings, and not confronting said teachings.

Addressing the list afore mentioned, no matter which of these (or insert your own kind) that you’ve done, you are always “right with God” because and only because of Jesus’ blood that God looks at and sees. God does not impute your sin to you. Instead, He imputes righteousness to you. If you believe otherwise, you eventually come to the belief that God keeps blessings from you and you are undeserving of His favor because you aren’t getting “right with God.”

Stop. The very reason Jesus came and became a man without sin was because man couldn’t get “right with God” with their will power. Jesus had to come and be that perfect man and sacrifice for us because history shows we couldn’t reach perfectness on our own. We won’t be perfect until we get out of these bodies and have new ones when Christ returns, yet here you are trying to “get back in God’s will” so you can start getting blessed as if God was far from you and as if your own efforts could earn His grace and favor.

Note: how can you ask for anything if you don’t believe the person you’re asking desires to give you what you’re asking for? How can you receive anything (blessings and life changing instances in this case) if you never believe God wants to give them to you? If you can’t receive Christ without first believing, then… you can’t receive blessings if you don’t believe they’re for you or that God desires to give them.

Come on, people. “Be content with such things as ye have.” Read the context please. Above all, get wisdom and get understanding. Discern the word of God.“ I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live. Yet not I, but Christ, lives in me. Though I live this life in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me.”

We are living by faith in the Son of God because we do keep making mistakes in this flesh. That’s why we have to believe and have faith in Jesus that His blood is powerful and keeps us white as snow no matter how bad we mess up, because He was already punished for every misdeed we’ve ever done and ever will do. How else can we get back up again? Without knowing Jesus covers us in His righteousness, how could we ever lift our heads up and walk with a straight back without shame, guilt, or condemnation? Without Jesus, how could we have hope for living in this life as well as the next?

If you’re not dead, stop pretending you have a right to do nothing like a dead man. As long as you are breathing, you have a purpose and that is to live by faith in Christ. People should be able to look at your life and recognize you’re beautifully different. So, what difference would that be?

That’s an entirely incredible other subject. Won’t you go read what Jesus and your heavenly Father have to say about this? If stuff like this doesn’t interest you, then ask God to grow your interest in Him and the hope and joy and promises for living in this life!

Don’t tell me, “What hope and joy? This life sucks! Look at the pedophiles, the rape, baby murders, men and women’s fallen standards; God just needs to come now and end all these atrocities!”

Yes, there is suffering in this life, but while we are here, we are supposed to be living a life of victory over fear. “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from evil.”

“A thousand shall fall, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come nigh thee.” We are supposed to be living in a victory battle and in the joy of the Lord. We are supposed to be reaching out to others who are suffering and searching for this unspeakable joy and peace and wisdom only found in Jesus! We can’t reach everyone, but we (as individuals) are not asked to. It’s well enough that we reach the people who cross our paths as we live. Live and thrive and be fruitful, not just exist.

Questions: If you were in a position to do anything about this world’s atrocities, would you do anything? You’re not petitioning your statesmen right now. You aren’t getting involved with your community and speaking up for pro-life, logical thinking, the grace of Jesus to other weak Christians who believe God is far from them; you’re not being a calm and authoritative voice against the manipulation and hypocrisy you vehemently despise.

If you will do nothing now, maybe saying “I’m just one person” or “I don’t have the opportunities or means,” or “There’s no time left to do anything meaningful because Jesus is coming in less than a few years if that,” then how can you profess you’d do something face-to-face with the matter?

How is it logical to expect an opportunity for addressing these life atrocities to appear if you don’t even show interest to make a stand or find a means to express what you believe about these things?

If you don’t practice verbally articulating your thoughts into words, whether in private or in front of family and friends (who want you to succeed in this, and can offer you sincere correction or amendments on your efforts or even play devil’s advocate to help you brush up on a gracious defense) how can you expect to convince others, let alone communicate clearly?

Why will they listen if you can’t or won’t speak up? Will you just seethe inside when you learn they believe in abortion, and feel justified for thinking all the terrible names you can label them? Or will you be deeply saddened because that’s just more proof that Jesus needs to come end the evil in this world soon?

That last “argument” for a Christian’s lack of initiative “Jesus is coming” is a pessimistic way to see the 2^nd Coming. You’re using Jesus as an excuse for inactivity? For lack of vision? How can you call yourself a warrior for Christ? You’re supposed to be a warrior against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

You’re supposed to be living and thriving in Christ, not dwelling on how Jesus coming again is going to “interrupt” your life thus making your work towards your dreams a wasted effort. Will you tell a child to not bother growing or learning because dad is coming home soon and will just carry him everywhere and get him everything?

Don’t you know there’s life in heaven? You’re not just going to be singing in the choir; there is life and purpose. God already has angels surrounding Him, worshiping Him non-stop. He doesn’t demand that of man. We were made in His image with a mind for creation. Don’t you think we have more purpose than singing? So why aren’t you using your minds here on earth in preparation for using them in heaven?

Hebrews 13:5+6 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things a ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”

Wow. God told us He would never leave or forsake us so that we could boldly declare that He is our helper (in everything! How can He help if you’re not doing anything or even asking with anticipation that He shall say “I will”?) and that we will not fear what other people can do to us.

*Special note: when a Christian sins, no that was not “God’s will” for you to do that, and it was not okay with God that you did that. But because Jesus already received your punishment for that sin, God will not punish you for it, and consequences of sin are not punishments from God.

If you are a Christian struggling with vices, the keyword is struggling. A struggle means you don’t like it. You aren’t reveling in it; you’re sickening yourself that you keep succumbing. Asking, “Where’s the victory? How can you call yourself a child of God?”

Answer: you take every one of your thoughts that exalts itself against the knowledge of God (against what God has declared to be), and you bring it to the obedience of Jesus. Which was His work at the cross to free us. You don’t tell yourself “I know what He did,” you don’t read it once, you read it over and over.

You do that for the health of your teeth, don’t you? Every morning and night you brush them even though you ‘already did it.’ You don’t say “I brushed my teeth this morning how is doing it again going to help?” No, you simply keep doing the action because you believe that you have to be repetitive and diligent in order to see results.

Why wouldn’t you take the same desperate and yet God-declared only-successful action for the sake of your spirit and life with just as much diligence and vigor? You aren’t dousing yourself in the love of God to save your soul but for this life which you want to be like Christ and show others the love of Jesus! Jesus breaks the chains. The vices let you go when you bring the knowledge of the love of Jesus into the situation, and you act and live like it’s reality not just in the bible.

*2nd special note: God’s will is not a dictation over your life. It’s how He desires you to live your life, and what He is going to do for you in this present life.