Jesus said to them, "Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one's life does not consist in the abundance of possessions."

As we look at the topic for this morning, "cultivating contentment," I am reminded of a prayer that John Wesley adapted to be used for renewal services. In the prayer we find these words:"I am not longer my own, but thine. Put me to what thou wilt, rank me with whom thou wilt. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee, exalted for thee or brought low by thee. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and heartily yield all things to thy pleasure and disposal."A pretty courageous prayer! And words appropriate to the discussion of true contentment.

In contrast to that ideal of contentment, of resting in God, is the prevailing winds of our culture. Let's call it the pursuit of the bottomless acquisition pit – meaning that we have been caught up in trying to fill the void, the holes in our restless souls with all the things we can in hopes that this will lead us to contentment. It is a pursuit that blinds us from what is already in our midst, immobilizes us from action … makes us think we don't have enough to get anything done. A small example: Years ago, when my son Daniel was 7 or 8 he had a day off from school and was spending some time at the church office. We had gotten a new filing cabinet and were trying to put the hardware together for the hanging file folders. They were meant to be fitted for a number of different sized drawers and so the length of the metal rods was too long. We thought we were stuck because we didn't have a saw. Daniel kept insisting we had all the tools we needed, but we kept on wondering who we could call that might have the necessary saw. Persistently he told us we didn't need one, we already had what we needed. All we could see was a hammer and a flat head screw driver. He finally showed us that we could score the metal by using the tools at hand and then bend it apart. How many times have you been convinced you couldn't get something done because you were unable to see all the gifts already in your midst … instead focusing on all that you didn't have?

Unfortunately, it sometimes takes a disaster for us to know that everything we have is temporary. Having been at the aftermath of a few natural disasters I have witnessed how ugly our possessions become, particularly after flooding. Last Sunday, we prayed for Rory Stout who is already in New Orleans to work in the ninth ward that is still recovering from Hurricane Katrina. My daughter was in that area last October and was struck by how little had been cleaned up – finding that people had simply run from the flooding and never came back … refrigerators still filled with rotting food, and all their possessions covered with mud and mold through the house. Earlier this week I was talking to a couple from the Los Angeles area, telling them about the video segment we will be seeing later on the California fires. Turns out they had been very close to the fires and on evacuation alert … they'd already had to think through what they would take if they had to run. If you had minutes to get out from your home, what would you take?

We are a discontent people … suffering from as our study book says, Restless Heart Syndrome … we are never satisfied, going from one thing to the next … scarcely enjoying something before wanting something more. First let me remind us that not all discontentment is detrimental for us. God has made us to be constantly pursuing God. There's a beautiful hymn that expresses that: "As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after you. You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship you. You alone are my strength my shield, to you alone may my spirit yield. You alone are my heart's desire, and I long to worship you." (FWS #2025) We are designed to be always striving after the things of God, wanting more and more of God's presence in our lives.

All too often instead of that healthy discontentment, we find ourselves in the hopeless kind of discontent … 'the grass is always greener on the other side, nothing I have is good enough, if only I had what she has' kind of discontent. What in your life needs adjusting in order to pursue God's purpose for you?

I would suggest the first place to start is what parents often call "attitude adjustment." You know that place … when your heart is just in a snit about everything you have and everything you don't have, and all that is wrong with your life. Hamilton reminds us of the Presbyterian pastor that says, "whenever we find ourselves discontented with something or someone say: It could be worse." Monty Python would sing it in his song from The Life of Brian: "Always look on the bright side of life." The beautiful words we read this morning from Philippians were written from Paul's prison cell in Rome as he waited news of his possible execution. As we learn to look on the bright side we also develop gratefulness for all the gifts we have instead of always focusing on what is wrong.

In our attitude adjustment we need to figure out how God is calling us specifically to pursue true satisfaction. We gather as the church – those who have decided to follow Jesus. But, for each one of us that happens in specific ways. Again, God has made our souls restless in our constant pursuit to find God … but if we get so caught up in hopeless discontent we will never discover the depths of who and what God has created us to be. All through the seasons of our lives it is our task to be pursuing God's tasks for us, deepening our spirituality, plumbing the depths of God's love for us … discovering how God calls us to be in love with the world, relentlessly seeking justice for all.

If we are to be serious about this pursuit of true contentment, we've got to find the time and place for it … and we have to simplify lives that are overcomplicated with too many things to do and too much stuff to keep track of. What are you willing to do, what are you willing to change, what are you willing to give up in order to, as Jesus put it: "love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as your self?"

If you are reading along in Enough you found some suggestions about where to begin in this pursuit. First, reduce consumption … something that as a congregation we are taking seriously as we seek to be a Green Faith sanctuary. I love the questions as we make a purchase – do I really need this, and why do I want this … I would hook on to that an earlier question – for how long will this make me happy? Remember when you were a child and you just had to have a certain toy or the newest game? Bugging your parents over and over again that this was the one thing you just had to have … telling them you'd be happy for the rest of your life if you only had this one thing? Where is that toy now? Our adult desires for gadgets and the like are not really much different.

Entertainment. Some of you know I'm a big fan of instant parties. Rather than spend a lot of time cooking and the like, I will call a group of people together and invite them over, asking them to bring an appetizer to share. No one is too frazzled, and we get to spend some time in good company. My family has taken to celebrating Christmas in a way that is an extension of that idea. Ministers are busy that time of year and on top of it everyone is going all out for celebrations. Years ago I stopped trying to do it all. Now, we celebrate Christmas on what is known as Twelfth Night. Our holiday "deadline" is no longer December 25th, but January 5th. It's a lot less stress this way … and a good way to take real advantage of the after Christmas sales! We United Methodists know how to throw the simplest and best party of all – covered dish dinners!

As we examine all that we do in our lives, the question becomes whether our restless hearts are restless for God, or have we given in and become restless for things that will never fill us to our heart's content. Strive for true simplicity that your hearts might freely pursue the abundance of God's love for you and others.

Again we are reminded by our Gospel text – life does not consist of the abundance of our possessions.

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