The Joy of Contentment

One would have to go to great extremes to go a day without being exposed to some form of advertising. Everywhere we look we see the constant bombardment of goods and services. "According to advertisers, children under age 3 represent a $20 billion market." "As children take in multitudes of commercials, they learn to place worth in material possessions. As they grow, this materialism can contribute to discontentment, unhappy relationships and drug or alcohol abuse."

The impact of advertising and the desire for more are so pervasive that we find the words "wants" and "needs" interchangeable. How often do we say things like... I need lunch, I need a new phone, I need a new car, job, more money, bigger house. None of these are truly needs; they are merely wants.

Most often, we want what we do not need, yet what we really need, we do not want. There is no joy in discontentment. In Philippians 4:10-13, Paul shares the wealth of joy we can find in contentment.