Are You Content?

Hebrews 13:4-5 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
 
HEBREWS gets personal. To this point the teacher has encouraged the church to continue forward in faith. The LORD God is faithfully completing his salvation plan begun in Eden. You can believe your holy Father when he says, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
   God spoke this comforting promise to Israel as they prepared to enter the Promised Land. Moses was saying goodbye and commissioning Joshua to be Israel’s next leader. The LORD wanted his people to know he would provide all of their material needs. He would guide them through the battles and prosper them in the planting and harvesting of their crops. The nation would grow under his care if they followed God’s commands.
   Be content with what God has given you. If you are married, enjoy your spouse. Work on keeping your love for each other alive and thriving. Ephesians 5:33 each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.  And be satisfied with your possessions. 1 Timothy 6:8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 
   The sin nature is an unfulfilled nature to pursue what we don’t have. We have been taught that more brings happiness. What we have seems to be too little when we consider what others enjoy or possess. “Something more” is always the reason for the discontented heart.  
   Marriage fidelity is more than about the relationship between a couple. It is essential to the church. We remember marriage is the first relationship God created between two people. It is a holy promise from God that two people will become one flesh to enjoy and satisfy each other. The marriage relationship is so important to God that he often called Israel his wife to highlight the intimate relationship he desires to have with them. And the church is the bride of Christ. Churches become less when its members break or ignore the marriage covenant. When couples live together outside the marriage bond, it’s as if each is committing adultery with the LORD. They covet uncommitted relationships for the sake of convenience and self-pleasure. And wandering from the marital bed is rejecting God’s creative grace. He has given you your spouse, so you would have a loving, nurturing life together. What else would we want?
   Yes, it takes effort to accomplish this. But such marriages do happen when the LORD God is at the center of the union. 
   And do not let a desire for more money lead you to sin. There are many principles in the Bible to help you most effectively use what you have. Yes, you can work to increase your income. God is certainly not against wealth. But he does not want the love of money to be your god, to be the guiding force of what you do and you are. The LORD God wants to be your El Shaddai, your Provider, guiding you to do what is right and to become who you are.