Same vs. New
Comparison kills my contentment. The problem is I have been trained to love new and to despise same.
Billions of dollars have been spent by advertisers every year to tell me one thing: be discontent and dissatisfied with your life. It doesn’t matter if I am making minimum wage or mega money, the message is that “more” of whatever it is, newer and better, is around the corner and waiting. So, I chase “it” just as long as it is new and it makes me feel new. I buy things I don’t need with money I don’t have to impress people I don’t even know. New is the hero, and same is the villain.
Porsche dealers, adult bookstores — even your local marriage counselor — are all in business and going strong because of men’s insatiable bent toward “new.” The mentality corrodes and eventually erodes our satisfaction with what God has called us to keep, cultivate, and be thankful for.
The turning point in this battle comes when we risk embracing God’s purpose in what we lack; more specifically, when we allow our character to be shaped through contentment with less rather than constantly devoting our time, thoughts, and God-given talents to acquiring stuff.
Lack of contentment is devastating to faith in a God who loves us and uses every situation to build us into the unique person He has created us to be, whereas Satan has the opposite intention. Don’t be a patsy.
Father, you are my sufficiency, you are my new and my better.