{"id":4506,"date":"2019-02-28T09:03:48","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T15:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nafwb.org\/?p=4506"},"modified":"2019-02-28T09:03:48","modified_gmt":"2019-02-28T15:03:48","slug":"the-greener-the-grass","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/the-greener-the-grass\/","title":{"rendered":"The Greener the Grass"},"content":{"rendered":"

Part eleven of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Habit #10 \u2013 A Successful Person Has Learned to be Content<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Kevin Riggs<\/strong><\/p>\n

The parable is told about a young man named Pakham who inherited his father’s farm. While the\u00a0farm was large, Pakham wanted all the surrounding land. His\u00a0dream was to have the largest farm\u00a0around. He would not be satisfied until\u00a0he owned more than anyone else.<\/p>\n

One night, through a dream, an angel\u00a0told Pakham he could have all the\u00a0land surrounding his farm that he could\u00a0walk off in one day. The only provisions\u00a0were his journey had to end at sundown,\u00a0and he had to start and end at\u00a0the grave of his father. Excited about\u00a0the opportunity, Pakham awoke the\u00a0next day at the crack of dawn.<\/p>\n

He started from his father’s grave in a\u00a0slow, steady stride, trying to pace himself.\u00a0Hour after hour he hurried through\u00a0the fields adding acre after acre to his\u00a0spread. At noon, urged on by the time, he\u00a0skipped lunch and quickened his pace.\u00a0By three o’clock he was running for all\u00a0he was worth, sweating and panting profusely. As the sun started setting he ran\u00a0faster in an effort to complete the deal.<\/p>\n

Just as the sun dropped behind the\u00a0last hill, Pakham sprinted as fast as he\u00a0could over the last hundred yards up to\u00a0his father’s grave. Pakham had made it!\u00a0He owned land as far as the eye could\u00a0see. His farm was now the biggest. He\u00a0had all the land he needed. Now he\u00a0could live his life in happiness. So he laid\u00a0his head on his father’s tombstone . . .\u00a0and died of exhaustion. While he now\u00a0owned thousands of acres, all he would\u00a0use was a plot six feet long, two feet\u00a0wide and six feet deep.<\/p>\n

Do you see yourself in that parable?\u00a0Always striving for more than you now\u00a0have? \u00a0Working hard to obtain for the\u00a0sake of obtaining? Running yourself\u00a0ragged while never enjoying life? Never\u00a0satisfied? Never content? That parable\u00a0convicts me of my own discontentment<\/p>\n

The Tenth Commandment <\/strong><\/p>\n

Commandment Ten states, “Thou\u00a0shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house,\u00a0thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s\u00a0wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant,\u00a0nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any\u00a0thing that is thy neighbour’s.” Covetousness\u00a0is at the heart of most sins.<\/p>\n

In Moses’ day wealth and success\u00a0were measured by the size of a Person’s\u00a0family, and the number of his\u00a0servants and livestock. At the heart of\u00a0Commandment Ten is looking at\u00a0what someone else has, becoming\u00a0jealous of that person for what he has,\u00a0and desiring what that person has to\u00a0the point you cannot be satisfied until\u00a0you have it yourself.<\/p>\n

Unquenchable Appetite<\/strong><\/p>\n

I struggle with covetousness. Every\u00a0few years I start to yearn for a new automobile. I always want to update my\u00a0laptop, and I continually wish my\u00a0church were more like the one down\u00a0the road. Why can’t I be happy with\u00a0what I have? Why do I strive so hard\u00a0for things that will never satisfy?<\/p>\n

One reason is because of my\u00a0hunger for significance. I have a desire to be important. I want to know\u00a0people appreciate me. When I start to\u00a0wish for more and more, I have to ask\u00a0myself, “Kevin, are you wanting more\u00a0so you can say to people, ‘Hey, look at\u00a0how important I am?”‘ If that is my\u00a0reason for wanting more, I have violated\u00a0Commandment Ten.<\/p>\n

I also have a hunger for security. I\u00a0want job security, financial security,\u00a0medical security and retirement security\u2014all of which makes me strive\u00a0for more and more. Don’t misunderstand;\u00a0there is nothing wrong with\u00a0these hungers, but there are wrong\u00a0ways to satisfy them.<\/p>\n

Contemplating these two hungers\u00a0have brought me to two truths. First, the\u00a0things of this world will not satisfy because\u00a0God did not create me to be satisfied\u00a0by them. Second, only a personal\u00a0relationship with God will satisfy my\u00a0hunger for significance and security.<\/p>\n

Habit Ten <\/strong><\/p>\n

The Tenth Commandment reads,\u00a0“Thou shalt not covet . . .” From this\u00a0Commandment comes the Tenth\u00a0Habit: A highly successful person has\u00a0learned to be content. <\/em>To be content\u00a0means I am satisfied with where I am\u00a0in life, with what I have, as well as with\u00a0what I do not have. \u00a0As long as I strive\u00a0for more, I will never be happy. If I want\u00a0to be successful, I must learn to utter\u00a0the words, “Enough is enough!”<\/p>\n

Easier said than done. It is so tempting\u00a0to want a better job making more\u00a0money. Our materialistic culture makes\u00a0it natural to want bigger houses and\u00a0nicer cars. It is easy for a wife to wish her\u00a0husband were more like someone else,\u00a0or for parents to wish their children were\u00a0more like someone else’s. Still yet how\u00a0many times have you (or I) wished\u00a0our churches and pastors (or parishioners)\u00a0were more like someone else’s\u00a0church and pastor (or parishioners)?<\/p>\n

To be content doesn’t mean I don’t\u00a0try to better myself or improve my situation,\u00a0but it does mean I am satisfied with\u00a0what I now have. It does mean I live\u00a0within my means. It does mean I don’t\u00a0overextend myself. If a highly successful\u00a0person has learned to be content, that\u00a0means contentment can be learned.\u00a0How? The Apostle Paul gives insight into\u00a0contentment in Colossians 3:1-11.<\/p>\n

Rearrange priorities <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul writes, “Set your affections on\u00a0things above, not on things on the\u00a0earth.” \u00a0The Ten Commandments tell\u00a0me what my priorities should be: (1)\u00a0God first (Commandments 14); (2)\u00a0Family second (Commandment 5); (3)\u00a0Others third (Commandments 6-10). \u00a0I\u00a0find it interesting that nowhere in God’s\u00a0priorities are “things” or “stuff.” If I am\u00a0ever going to learn to be content, I must\u00a0make my priorities God’s priorities.<\/p>\n

Remember who I am in Christ <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul continued, “For ye are dead,\u00a0and your life is hid with Christ in God.\u00a0When Christ, who is our life, shall appear,\u00a0then shall ye also appear with\u00a0him in glory.” My life is not some cosmic\u00a0accident. My life “is hid with\u00a0Christ,” no place is more secure, and\u00a0no relationship is more significant. No\u00a0achievement will make me more important\u00a0than I already am in Christ, and\u00a0no failure can change how God feels\u00a0about me. The more I remind myself\u00a0of this, the more content I will be.<\/p>\n

Redirect Behavior <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

In Colossians 3:5-11 Paul discussed\u00a0how the believers in the church used to\u00a0act. In the middle of these verses, he\u00a0states, “put off all these . . . .” Instead of\u00a0being envious, I need to rejoice in the\u00a0blessings of others. Instead of being selfish,\u00a0I need to share what I have. Instead\u00a0of wanting more, I need to be content.<\/p>\n

One day a man went into his back\u00a0yard and laid a small circle of poison\u00a0around a hill of stinging ants. Thinking\u00a0the tiny granules of poison were food,\u00a0the ants began to pick them up and\u00a0carry them throughout the colony.\u00a0Later in the day, the man went to see\u00a0how well the poison was working.\u00a0Hundreds of stinging ants were carrying\u00a0the poison down into their hill.<\/p>\n

Then the man noticed a hole in the\u00a0circle of the poison. Some of the poison was\u00a0moving in the opposite direction\u2014away from the hill. Some smaller,\u00a0non-stinging ants had found this\u00a0“food” and were stealing it from their\u00a0neighbors. Thinking they were getting\u00a0the other ants’ treasure, they were unwittingly\u00a0poisoning themselves.<\/p>\n

When you see someone with more\u00a0than you have and are tempted to covet,\u00a0beware: What you think is a treasure\u00a0may turn out to be the very thing\u00a0that poisons your life. A highly successful\u00a0person has learned to be content.<\/p>\n

Article adapted from Contact <\/em>magazine, December 2002.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Part eleven of an eleven-part series on \u201cHabits of Highly Successful People\u201d Habit #10 \u2013 A Successful Person Has Learned to be Content By Kevin Riggs The parable is told about a young man named Pakham who inherited his father’s farm. While the\u00a0farm was large, Pakham wanted all the surrounding land. His\u00a0dream was to have the largest farm\u00a0around. He would not be satisfied until\u00a0he owned more than anyone else. One night, through a dream, an angel\u00a0told Pakham he could have all the\u00a0land surrounding his farm that he could\u00a0walk off in one day. The only provisions\u00a0were his journey had to end at sundown,\u00a0and he had to start and end at\u00a0the grave of his father. Excited about\u00a0the opportunity, Pakham awoke the\u00a0next day at the crack of dawn. He started from his father’s grave in a\u00a0slow, steady stride, trying to pace himself.\u00a0Hour after hour he hurried through\u00a0the fields adding acre after acre to his\u00a0spread. At noon, urged on by the time, he\u00a0skipped lunch and quickened his pace.\u00a0By three o’clock he was running for all\u00a0he was worth, sweating and panting profusely. As the sun started setting he ran\u00a0faster in an effort to complete the deal. Just as the sun dropped behind the\u00a0last hill, Pakham […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pastors"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4506"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4507,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4506\/revisions\/4507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nafwb.org\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}