As a young boy, I owned a pet hermit crab named Crusty. His cage contained several spare shells that I painted (blue, red, purple) so that as he grew, he could move into larger homes at his leisure. I wanted Crusty to choose one particularly large shell, so I decorated it to make the armor more appealing to him.
After applying glow-in-the-dark paint on the outside, I bedazzled the shell with jewels and glitter, even gluing a small race car to the top. What crab wouldn’t want to live in this masterpiece?
Crusty lived for quite a while, growing and trading shells to fit. But he never chose the one I wanted him to have. Although beautiful, it was just too big for him.
As an adult, I wasn’t quite as wise as Crusty. Before learning better, I embraced the mindset that a bigger home was better. Each time I moved, I upgraded but still hankered for other houses that were larger, prettier, or sporting better enhancements.
Even now, there are times when I just want “a little bit more.” Why can’t I learn contentment? It’s because my selfish human nature desires to acquire-to own more, be richer, have more power, more room, better clothes and cars. My heart is not fixed on the eternal (God and His kingdom) but rather on the temporary pleasures of this short life.
God’s Word tells us, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and becontentwith what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” Hebrews 13:5 (NIV).
Yet, rather than being grateful, how easy it is for us to want just a little more than what we already have. I want to be like Crusty, satisfied to have only what is necessary. To pursue contentment in all things, that is my heart’s desire. Because only in Christ will I find true satisfaction.
If you’d like to learn more about contentment, check out this article.
