Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. (1 Tim 6:6 - NLT)
The Rat Race; that is the term to describe a pointless pursuit of things and in the end finding out that ultimately, you haven’t achieved anything that is of value. We are caught up in the hunt for riches which consumes us and takes over our inner most being. It dictates our thinking, directs our actions and steals one of the most precious commodities we have; our time.
This, however, was never the plan. In every man and woman, just as there is an internal need to be loved, there exists an internal need to happy, and wealth brings happiness. Or so we are told. An Australian study has found that once we are above the poverty line, money only makes a small contribution to our level of happiness. It also found that when people reach the average income level, it virtually makes no difference to our happiness. Another study found that even though people are earning more today than ever before in history (because of equal opportunities, minimum wage, raises etc.), general happiness has not increased dramatically. Studies vary as to how many lottery winners go broke after only a few years of winning millions. Most prove that around 75 and 90% file for bankruptcy. Happiness, I believe, can only be obtained through contentment.
This, however, was never the plan. In every man and woman, just as there is an internal need to be loved, there exists an internal need to happy, and wealth brings happiness. Or so we are told. An Australian study has found that once we are above the poverty line, money only makes a small contribution to our level of happiness. It also found that when people reach the average income level, it virtually makes no difference to our happiness. Another study found that even though people are earning more today than ever before in history (because of equal opportunities, minimum wage, raises etc.), general happiness has not increased dramatically. Studies vary as to how many lottery winners go broke after only a few years of winning millions. Most prove that around 75 and 90% file for bankruptcy. Happiness, I believe, can only be obtained through contentment.
For we brought nothing into the world, and obviously we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we have food and clothing, with these we shall be content (satisfied). (1 Tim 6:7-8 - AMP)
The Amplified bible defines contentment in 1 Tim 6:6 as ‘a sense of inward sufficiency’. In other words; the idea that something is enough. That sounds crazy right? I mean, can you really ever have enough? However there are great advantages to being content. Bible commentator Chuck Swindoll, highlights three important benefits of contentment i.e. it allows current enjoyment rather than constant striving, it gives us freedom to recognise and applaud another’s achievements without being overcome by envy and jealousy and it helps us develop a spirit of gratefulness. Just imagine for a second if all the energy you spend on chasing after riches was lifted off your shoulders. That will take at least ten kilos off and a couple of centimetres off your waist line.
But as for you, O man of God, flee from all these things; aim at and pursue righteousness (right standing with God and true goodness), godliness (which is the loving fear of God and being Christlike), faith, love, steadfastness (patience), and gentleness of heart. (1 Tim 6:11)
Let’s get practical. Firstly, count your blessings; you would be amazed at how much you have if you just open your eyes. Many are not lucky enough to be sitting on a chair and reading this blog. Secondly, flee from THE PURSUIT of riches. In other words run away from it, shun it. It is interesting to note however that there is nothing wrong with being rich or making a lot of money. Problems arise when we focus on the creation, and lose sight of the Creator. Lastly, pursue godliness. God knows what you need, and if you strive to be fully satisfied in Him, He will take care of you (Matt 6:31-33). He already has. He is all sufficient.
I would love to see some comments on this one. All relevant comments will be put on my ‘further insights’ page at my discretion, even if you disagree.
With Love
Yunam
7 comments:
all i can say like my mother would say , money is a root of evil. Money has been the sources of many conflicts in allot of family. When dad always told me that money is not everything, but just a comodity used to get item that you are more likely to dispose off one way or another.
This is a GOOD Read, may we all pursue God for contentment rather than things HE created.
WOW! I love how u write. You so REAL. And the studies u made! Well researched! Jus proves how much the world needs God, if only we'd seek Him first. This was mos def God inspired :) I like this quote: " Happiness, I believe, can only be obtained through contentment" coz its true! Its one of those amazing realisations/revelations i discovered this year. keep blogging! the truth must be heard :)
My dear Unam,
you know what makes your words and messages so special? It is that they hold true for all people regardless if they are Christians, Atheists, Moslems or whatever. Although you cite the bible, what you write is helpful for everyone.
The most important aim of all beings is to be happy, but however, people have lost and are continuously loosing their view for what really makes them happy. Money can bring happiness in some cases, even though you might have a lot of material goods. To me, for example, expensive clothing and furniture is not that important, what is important to me is to be able to travel and meet people, get to know their cultures, experience new things (from Skydiving up to research in townships) and to get a broader view on things (especially sustainable development)without being too much influenced by the limited view of my culture/country/social group or whatever. But I need lots of money to do that travelling and spending that money for travelling and getting to know the world makes me really happy. That is the only thing I would say, where something you buy yourself with money makes you happier.
Otherwise, I feel so oppressed by all the material goods I have. Is there anything more pleasant than travelling with light luggage and getting to know people?
Apart from that travelling thing, money causes wars, conflicts, people selling themselves (e.g. prostitution) or others (e.g. child labour or slavery). Money is like a drug which lets you strive for it each second, forgetting about the important things in life (love, nature, friends, family, happiness...).
There is a reason for some people wanting to flee from this so called affluenza! In the long-rich countries where affluenza has taking over long ago, there are small villages where people try to live subsistent, the way we did hundreds of years ago. They commonly call it Eco-Villages as they are not only trying to get rid of money issues, but also trying to live an eco-friendly lifestyle with healthy foods they grow themselves, renewable energies, exchange rings for things.... and helping each other, no matter what material goods or how much money they have.
- see next post -
Creating and living in these villages is the opposite of what happens in poorer countries, like South Africa. The people in South Africa mostly belong to the new consumers as Myers & Kent (2004) describe them. Here`s an extract from my Master`s thesis. I will submit the thesis in 2 weeks. It is about sustainable alimentation in South Africa.
..."It is the biggest consumer boom ever known in such a short time [and] the biggest revolution in history” is how Myers & Kent (2004, p. 3) describe what is going on in today’s consuming society. This revolution is brought about by one billion so called new consumers which have emerged in 17 developing and three transition countries (including South Africa) since the 1980s (Myers & Kent 2003, p. 4963). These consumers have climbed up the ladder into the middle classes (also called the new [urban] middle-classes or new rich) and have the financial ability to not only consume goods to satisfy basic needs, but also to buy some luxuries (Myers & Kent 2004, p. 4; Lange & Meyer 2007, pp. 3f.). In general, they have decent diets, buy fashionable instead of functional clothing and prefer throw-away products instead of unpacked ones, they have their own cars and air-conditioned single-family houses (Myers & Kent 2004, p. 4). In combination with the consumption patterns of the long-rich consumers, multi-dimensional problems arise . These are caused by the consumers’ attitude which is described by Myers & Kent (2004, pp. 3f.) as follows: “Since [the people] have found it hard to meet even the most basic needs, their credo has been that more of anything must, by definition, be a good thing. Result: A seeking after ever-greater consumption, indeed limitless consumption”.
- see next post -
What I wanna say in relation to your post, Unam, is that people living in poor circumstances or having lived in such for some time associate money with the consumption of goods and services and that is something they strive for because they have suffered so much from being poor and not having enough money. A lot of the people in countries like Germany have already experienced the oppressing feeling of affluenza, but the people coming from rural to urban areas or living in townships and the like have not experienced something like that. I`m sure none of them would say: Let`s built an Eco-Village and stay subsistent - money doesn`t matter as long as we are not hungry and do not freeze.
How can we prevent these people to do the same mistakes my country (and other western countries of course) did and the consequences they have gone through? I know that Christians would say that we should tell these people to be content with God in their hearts and to live through Gods love. But it is a matter of fact that people which are getting wealthier lose the strength of their beliefs. Why are there so many people in Germany not going to church, not praying, not believing in God? It is because they do not feel a need to. Many people pray when they suffer from something, but if they are content, they forget about God, Jesus and the Ten Commandments. I`m sorry to say, but this is what has mostly happened here in Europe. So taking into account that the people get kinda deaf for Christianity when it comes to making, owning or spending money, what can we do to educate those people about the hidden oppression of affluenza and about how money is destroying love in our world? I think we need something like you are doing, Unam. We need people that strongly believe in God but who are open-minded to see the world in a realistic way, meaning that you see the world as a whole and the lives of the people in the context of a globalised world with all its implications. I think it is easy to just cite the bible and to tell the people what God want them to do, but it takes thinking to relate the words of God to what is actually going on this world. And you did/do that, Unam, by relating Christian beliefs to scientific or other findings and happenings (e.g. science of happiness research). I think that is what the people need to understand in which direction our lives should go. Every education – no matter if it is religious, alimentary or whatever – needs to be related the people’s actual practices and should not be too aloof (away from their actual lives).
Hopefully, my words did not displease you, Unam, and your readers as you are strong believers (by the way, I also believe in Jesus, but I`m not such a strong believer as you all are, I do not like the way Christianity is practiced in Germany, what I feel and believe I have it in my heart). I just want to discuss, I don`t want to harm anybody’s feelings. It is just thinking aloud, not knowing the right answer myself, but trying to understand the world and the people living in this world.
Bless you all! Warmest regards from Germany. Mareike
- END - Sorry for that three long posts :)
Oh, sorry, I want to add something which might be interesting in terms of a reduced monetary growth. My Master's thesis is also including the theory of post-growth economics which you might not have heard about. Here is a link to a good paper from my Prof: http://www.centos.uni-oldenburg.de/download/Einblicke_8.pdf
In short this theory is about the following:
According to Paech (2009, p. 26),
“an ecologically and socially sustainable economy must be free from all dependency on growth and subsequent pressure for growth, including
•the innovation orientation of modern market economies,
•the present monetary and interest-earning system,
•expectations of high profit,
•external supplies of resources based on a model of global division of labour,
•a culture of unquestioning pursuit of material self-actualisation”.
Hope you enjoy reading his article! :)
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