Most folks set their sights too high. They demand too much of life…. Let me tell you…the happy man is the man who is content with just what he needs…just so he has it regular.”
                    –Louis L’Amour  (Where the Long Grass Blows)                     

       “But as for me, it is good to be near God.  I have made the Sovereign LORD my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds.”
                    –Psalms 73:28 (NIV)
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               “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”
                          –Philippians 4:11(NKJV)

Paraphrase:  “I find a sufficiency of satisfaction in my own heart, through the grace of Christ that is in me.  Though I have not outward comforts and worldly conveniences to supply my necessities, yet I have a sufficient portion between Christ and my soul abundantly to satisfy me in every condition.”  (Jeremiah Burroughs)  We see that contentment is closely related to yesterday’s study regarding gratitude and thankfulness.
     I recall an old Gene Autry movie (yes, I know some of you don’t have a clue).  There was one scene that comes to mind.  An eastern woman was posing as a cattle rancher.  Gene asked her what kind of cows she raised.  She hadn’t a clue, then spotted a box of condensed milk that had on the label, “our milk comes from contented cows.”  She immediately said, “we raise contented cows.”  No clue, and more, we don’t have much of a clue today what contentment is.  We have the means, the availability, the goods, and yet we are probably the least contented people in the world.
     We have to realize that contentment is a soul business.  It is being satisfied with what God does; knowing you are in good condition.  External contentment doesn’t last long.  Man wants freedom, he claims that he is free, even in Christian circles, but they are slaves to their passions, their desires, their want of material things, and it doesn’t stop there as the next step is more, better, bigger, louder.  People stand in line for a movie, a game, a new phone.  The one who is discontented will also find that their heart is unruly.  They are not satisfied for any length of time with what they have, therefore it comes forth as anger, bitterness, and hatred.
     There is a need for the soul to be silent before God.  Yet so many prefer the noise of the crowd, the stadium, the concert.  No wonder they cannot have a quiet spirit.  No wonder they are in turmoil.  Jeremiah Burroughs says that, “Christian contentment is that sweet inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every direction.”  Contentment being a soul business is being satisfied with what God does; knowing you are in good condition.  The world seeks to deceive us by presenting contentment as having more than we already have.  We have not only enough, but we have all we need.  It is important as we go through this life that we realize the things of the world are temporal, they are but momentary and not everlasting.  We need to be good stewards in the things we already possess.  We need to fulfill our duty of serving God in the circumstances in which we find ourselves.  It is the battle between self-sufficiency versus God-sufficiency.
     Let me finish with some thoughtful words by Richard Dresselhaus.  Perhaps if we would evaluate ourselves more we might be more content.  He says:
          Gratitude–you can’t complain and give thanks at the same time.
          Grace–you can’t complain and still live in the fullness of God’s favor.
          Worship–you can’t glorify God while complaining about His ways.
          Service–you can’t have a positive impact on people…and be negative at the same time.
The words of the Amplified put it this way, “satisfied to the point where I am not disturbed or disquieted.”  Learn to be thankful, learn to be content.  As these become part of your lifestyle and character then more will be added.  Know this, “It is possible to have enjoyment all your life if you take it from the hand of God.” (Ray Stedman)

He realized how easy it is to become so obsessed with the less important things and forget about eternal matters.”
                    –B.N. Rundell  (Bear Gulch)

       “Since then we have been given a kingdom that is ‘unshakeable’, let us serve God with thankfulness in the ways which please him, but always with reverence and holy fear.”

You don’t talk to skunks unless you plan on getting sprayed.”
                    –Rod Collins  (Bitter’s Run)

       “The righteous hate what is false, but the wicked make themselves a stench and bring shame on themselves.”
                    –Proverbs 13:5 (NIV)
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          “Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.  The memory of the righteous is blessed, but the name of the wicked will rot.”
                    –Proverbs 10:6-7 (NKJV)
          “The godly are showered with blessings; evil people cover up their harmful intentions.  We all have happy memories of the godly; but the name of a wicked person rots away.”
                    –Proverbs 10:6-7 (NLT)

     I have fond memories of my Grandma working in the kitchen, striving to put something good on the table for us to eat, and almost always there was some kind of dessert.  I can see her in my mind’s eye sitting on her bed, Bible in hand, reading it.  Perhaps you have fond memories of someone, a memory that might make you smile.  I like what the NKJV Study Bible says about these verses:  “When a person’s name was remembered by future generations for good, that person’s life was believed to have been of great value.  But when the memory of a name rotted away, it was as though that person had never lived.”
     Have you noticed in the recent decades that there is an attempt to smear the lives of the men and women of the past.  Don’t recall the good, but instead show that they were bad, evil people.  Why?  It is part of the attempt of wickedness to discredit good.  We see so often today that there is an attempt by the media to make the criminal the victim.  There is an attempt to cover up evil intentions.
     In reality, now in this life, we are building character.  It is who we are.  “Character yields a present blessing or a present curse.” (J.L. Flores)  How we deal with life, with others, and most importantly with God speaks volumes of who we are.  “The just man’s memory is blessed because he leaves behind him reproductions of his own character.” (Flores)
     Perhaps you have heard this said, “He’s just like his dad.”  Or, “she takes after her mother.”  This is true for better or for worse.  All of life reproduces itself, not just genetically, but realistically as well.  As Christians, born again believers, it should be our life goal to be like our Father in heaven.  We should seek to emulate the holy walk of Jesus and let the fruit of the Holy Spirit be nurtured in our lives.
     Evil abounds, that is a fact.  When I was a principal I had a good idea of what the home was like when I looked at the child.  I remember one event when I had to bring in a parent because the boy was speaking out in obscenities–the mother came.  I asked where he got this talk and what straight out told–“that’s the way his father speaks at home.”  Look at the news, see the evil, and realize that it will and does have an effect.  But know this–these verses will have their complete fulfillment at the Great White Throne.  Evil, those who rejected the redeeming sacrifice of Christ will be judged, found guilty, and cast into the Lake of Fire.  There will be no memory of them; it will be as if it has rotted away.
     However, there is the other side, as Dan Dick writes, “The memory of the just is truly blessed.”  It is blessed in this life and will continue on into eternity.  Therefore, one of the most important things a person can do is leave a lasting, godly legacy.  “Such is the blessing and curse of God, long after the men had passed into eternity.” (Charles Bridges)  We choose today whom we will serve and it will carry into eternity.  Choose wisely–that is what the book of Proverbs is all about.

He had never allowed himself to dwell on the darker times, for to live them once had been more than enough.”
                    –Elmer Kelton  (The Good Old Boys)

       “As God’s messenger, I give each of you this warning:  Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you.”
                    –Romans 12:3 (NLT)
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Are you feeling poorly?  Got the blahs?  The mulligrubs?  Are you chanting the old ditty, “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I’ll go eat some worms?”  Take heart then–you might be on the right track.  But let the Holy Spirit be involved.  You don’t beat yourself up, that is a form of narcissism.  Psychologists say that devaluation is one of the four types of narcissism which is not a trait of the Spirit.  However, recognizing our sinful state is a step towards the kingdom of heaven.  Proper evaluation is a good thing; knowing our condition in life actually depends upon the Lord.  I normally do not use the CEV translation, but I like the way it puts this beatitude.

               “God blesses those people who depend only on him.  They belong to the kingdom of heaven!” (Matthew 5:3)

     To be poor in spirit is to recognize our need of a Savior, of a Sustainer, of a Guide through this life.  It is the poor in spirit who receives grace, for he understands his condition before God and bows before Him in humble recognition that he is a sinner who is in need of repentance.  Thomas Watson said that, “A man never comes to himself until he comes out of himself.”
     Before going further, recognize that poor in spirit is not spiritually poor.  Actually the poor in spirit are spiritually rich.  John wrote in Revelation, “Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’–and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked–” (3:27, NKJV)  The spiritually poor person has no sense of his poverty while on the other hand the poor in spirit knows his condition.  Renouncing wealth, and other such things as the monks did does not make one poor in spirit.  Being poor in spirit is not self-denial.  “To be ‘poor in spirit’ is to acknowledge our spiritual bankruptcy before God.” (John Stott)
     The poor in spirit have nothing to offer to God, nothing to plead, nothing with which to buy the favor of heaven.  Gone are indulgences! (That is true legalism.)  The “poor man” is one who is afflicted and unable to save himself and must turn to his only source of help–GOD.  Then we see true humility begin to develop.
     It is the poor in spirit, this truly humble person who bows in delight, yet wretchedness before the Lord that will have the kingdom of heaven.  The poor in spirit have learned to trust and obey and that obedience makes us a citizen of heaven.  Watson calls this the “jewel of poverty,” that we are citizens of heaven.  We are entitled not to all of Christ’s riches, and we are safe and secure in His will.  Basil, who was a fourth century bishop and church leader said this, “The hope of a kingdom should carry a Christian with courage and cheerfulness throughout all his afflictions.”  It is the poor in spirit who have a proper sense and perspective of this evil world, yet it is they who receive the kingdom.
     Let the words of Peter get you out of those mulligrubs and don’t go out swallowing a bunch of worms, leave that to the fish.  Peter declares, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9, NKJV)  The poor in spirit are rich in the Lord–he is part of the chosen generation, a special person to the Lord.  D.A. Carson confirms this when he says, “The natural conclusion is that, though the full blessedness of those described in these beatitudes awaits the consummated kingdom, they already share in the kingdom’s blessedness so far as it has been inaugurated.”