CONTENTMENT
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
Contentment doesn’t reside with entitlement or an I-need mentality; instead, it asks, “Give me this day my daily bread”—and that is enough.
Submit your personal story or favorite illustration, quote, Bible verse, etc. that illustrates a specific virtue to [email protected], then click on the virtue of your choice on the Virtues page to see your story or the stories and illustrations of others.
May 17, 2021
Proverbs 1:19 (MSG):
“When you grab all you can get, that’s what happens: the more you get, the less you are.”
June 1, 2021
Kurt Hand writes:
“I grew up in the countryside of Iowa, miles from the nearest town. I didn’t realize it at the time but an elderly couple who lived near my family displayed maybe the greatest example of contentment that I have ever seen in my lifetime. Ralph and Audrey Ball were a couple of saints the way I remember them. They lived on a very small farm up a long gravel lane rarely frequented by outsiders. My brothers, sisters, and I would occasionally wander to their home to be rewarded by a pear from the tree in their front yard or by a piece of candy cheerily given by Audrey. The reason I see them as the perfect example of contentment all these years later is because they lived a very long life of simplicity on that small farm and far as I know didn’t travel far and didn’t spoil themselves with many things. They certainly never moved to the city nor drove flashy cars but just worked hard on that farm to old age and finally to eternal life. When my wife and I feel like we are on the merry-go-round of life and far too busy to be content I think of Ralph and Audery Ball and the very simple but content life they seemed to have lived. What a great example of contentment and peace.”
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March 14, 2022
“I could feel a sense of contentment as if it were tangible. It wrapped around me like a protective coat, surrounding me in the warmth generated by my own happiness. For tonight at least, companionship and contentment walked hand in hand around La Kay Ancha. I knew this feeling from many past Purims. I just didn’t know what to call the feeling except happiness.”
From the book “The Juderia: A Holocaust Survivor’s Tribute to the Jewish Community of Rhodes” by Laura Varon and Roger Hoffman. Published 1999 by Praeger publishing.
A fantastic and poetic book, in my opinion. Out of print and hard to find a copy; I got mine on Ebay. (Art Nicklaus)