Within a twenty-four hour
period, three stories caught my attention. All of them were true, but none of
them were related - or so it seemed.
The people in these stories
were not connected in any way - different times, nationalities and
circumstances made the likelihood of them meeting each other next to nil.
The first story was included
in a book about a German Air Force pilot who, during WWII, helped the crew of a
crippled American B-17 fly through German territory. That remarkable event was
the reason for the book. Later when he was injured and assigned to spend the
rest of the war in comfort at a resort facility - with good food, a soft bed
and relative safety - he attempted to hide his injury and instead reentered the
war effort. This was not the first time I became aware of men in wartime
refusing to leave their comrades.
The second story was of a
young American entrepreneur who became enormously successful, took advantage of
his newfound fortune by purchasing everything his heart could desire, and then
discovered he had trapped himself into a life of maintenance of the things he
had acquired. With that realization, he downsized completely declaring that he
was happier with less - much less. The one thing he would not change about that
period in his life was spending time abroad with a girlfriend who had shown him
how to live very simply and happily.
The third story was of a
poor woman from a third world country. She lived in a hut with no floor or
ceiling. Her daughter, who lived in America, enlisted the aid of a
compassionate American Christian who became her mother's sponsor and brought
her to the U.S. There, she lived in relative comfort without having to work or
struggle to provide for herself or others. She couldn't take it. She was
miserable, crying to be with the friends she had left behind. She returned home
to poverty and the life she knew so well.
These are just three
examples of a little known truth. Contentment does not come from comfort or
things, but from relationships. That is how God made us. We are meant to be
with and care about others. Choosing relationship over things may involve
abandoning personal comfort or a rich lifestyle, but the rewards of that choice
far outweigh anything that was given up.
Jesus, the Son of God, set
the example for this way of living when He became the Son of Man. He gave up,
for a time, all the riches of heaven so that He might provide salvation for
those who would believe in Him.
Paul, one of His apostles,
did the same thing. When he met Jesus, he left behind a life of privilege, but
he never looked back. His relationship to his Lord and his concern for his
brothers and sisters was the source of his contentment.
Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be
content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble
means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance
I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having
abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens
me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction (Philippians 4:11-14 NAS).
