Building our Life with Biblical Contentment in Mind

I have mixed feelings about our new butter dish. For years we’ve had a fight with butter. There is something in it that is able to creep out of the dish and down its sides. It was like watching a low-budget 1960s The Blob from Outer Space movie. However, a few months ago, we killed the blob with a dish that had internal ridges.

For me, the dish symbolizes daily living. As times passes, we fill our castle with good things. We find clothes that we like, medicines that work, mattresses that are comfortable, a favorite chair, a cupboard filled with our favorite food, a perfect showerhead, toothpaste we like, a good toothbrush, AC that works, and, of course, the best of butter dishes.

There’s a twofold battle going on as we fill our castle. We fight for that which works in our lives, and we fight against that which attacks. Bugs get into the castle in the form of fleas, spiders, bedbugs, mosquitoes, and termites.

Then, there are the bigger bugs. Sue and I are blessed to have a chicken coop, which means we daily get fresh eggs that we can pass on to family, friends, and neighbors. But along with the blessing comes the curse. Rats have infested the coop, and raccoons have killed a number of our chickens.

“Hold onto the things of this world with a very loose hand. May we never be like the man who built bigger barns, to whom God said, “You fool. Tonight your soul is required of you.””

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Millions have worked hard to make their castle both comfortable and secure. But recently, massive fires, devastating floods, terrible tornadoes, and killer hurricanes have jumped the moat and destroyed castles, leaving their inhabitants with nothing but sad memories. I recently saw one shattered elderly man who had lost everything say, “Young people say that they will rebuild. I can’t.” What a tragedy it is when a tragedy leaves us with no hope.

So, our butter dish gives me instant and very mixed feelings. When I see it, I’m extremely thankful that I have a roof over my head. At the same time, I have a sadness for the many who suddenly have no home of their own. It also reminds me to have a resolution to keep my eyes on the Kingdom that cannot be moved. It reminds me to make sure that I have built my house on rock rather than on sand, to hold on to that which I have in Christ with both hands, and to hold onto the things of this world with a very loose hand. May we never be like the man who built bigger barns, to whom God said, “You fool. Tonight your soul is required of you.”

May we ever keep our eyes on Jesus:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13).