ODJ: Simple Things

May 2, 2016 

READ: 1 Timothy 6:5-10 

So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content (v.8).

It was 2 a.m. and we’d just completed 26 hours of air travel—including connections. Lines of bleary-eyed passengers queued to get through customs. Most of us had just one thing on our mind—getting home and falling into bed.

In front of me stood a mother and her daughter. The girl, perhaps 2 years old, was wide awake and wandering around the terminal. Beckoned by her mother, she returned to the line as their turn at the customs desk neared.

I drifted off in a daydream for a moment, then returned to see the woman at the counter. But I couldn’t see the girl. Where was she? Glancing down, I found her. She had a red crayon in one hand, a yellow crayon in the other and was sitting on the terminal floor quietly drawing.

That simple scene spoke volumes to me. Surrounded by bedraggled adults weary from their travels (and perhaps from life itself), this little girl evidenced simple joy. It appeared to me that piece of paper and a couple of crayons was all she needed to be content.

Jesus spoke to the importance of true contentedness in life (Matthew 6:19-24)—that it isn’t found in simply having more and more (Luke 12:15). The apostle Paul said something similar, reminding Timothy that a love of money leads to ruin (1 Timothy 6:9-10), but contentment can be found with just food, clothing and godliness (vv.6-8).

In a world obsessed with stuff that will ultimately leave us empty, this is good news. Real contentment can be found in the simplest of things, like righteousness, peace and joy (Romans 15:13). Like sunsets, mountain hikes and unexplored country roads.

So let’s rediscover the simple things that bring deep contentment. Let’s thank God for all His perfect gifts.

—Sheridan Voysey

365-day plan: Esther 1:1-22