Whenever I think of this particular scripture a scene from the TV Show Gilmore Girls comes to mind. This is a scene following the death of Luke's uncle. When he went to purchase the casket to bury him in however, the lid could not close, because the uncle had such a long list of his material possessions that he wanted to be buried with. He was going to take everything with him in the grave so that no one else could take them.
We spend most of our lives accumulating things, perhaps giving away a bag to charity here and there, instead of examining the very heart of the matter around material things, asking ourselves why we really want something. When we pause and answer that deeper question, we find that we want things because we have the false belief that that the thing itself will make us happy, instead of seeking to be content with what we have - which is exactly what Jesus warns against in today’s Gospel passage.
We also have a damaged relationship with the concepts of joy and simplicity. We all too often can find ourselves being content, or satisfied with our relationships, how much we love others and love God, and satisfied with our faith journey, how much time we put into serving God and other’s or praying or reading the scripture, but not content with the material things we have. It’s like we get it backwards, being content with the areas of our life we should be seeking to grow in while striving to accumulate more things than we could ever use.
How are contentment and simplicity related?
How are contentment and simplicity related?
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