Discontent?

 

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. Philippians 4:11

 

I would like to go to Europe or have three vacations a year.

I would like to eat in fancy restaurants.

I would like to have lots of friends “liking” everything I say and do in life and ministry.

I would like God to heal every illness in my family.

On Facebook, someone is reporting at least one of these things every day, so it looks like everyone is doing them all the time. Except. Me.

A girl can get a little jealous….until she looks closely.

Describing Facebook and Twitter once, someone said that Facebook is like a family dinner and Twitter is more like a cocktail party. Your more intimate relationships are on Facebook and you just get a few lines with someone on Twitter.

I have come to see Facebook more like a class reunion. We clean up, put on our best clothes, do the make-up just right, and post  it for all to see. There is a lot of reality hidden away at home that we do not take there.

This is not true for everyone. Some do “air their dirty laundry” and we hate it. Complaints about co-workers, or how bad things are for someone in that situation are uncomfortable to read. They are less comfortable to respond to in a constructive way.

That is not to say that I want us to pretend all is well if it isn’t. I have seen people more hurt by the responses they get to a difficult post than helped by “venting” publicly.

So, I ask, how reliable is what we “feel” as we scroll through the posts about trips, ministry successes, perfect children, and pictures of delicious looking food from fancy restaurants? Do the people behind those posts live lives more blessed than you and me? Trouble free lives, with more money than they know what to do with?

I think not. It just isn’t what they are talking about publicly.

The Bible teaches us that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God – even when they look that good on Facebook!

Envy, jealousy, covetousness, these are all sins that can lead to another sin of discontentment, as we wish we were living someone else’s life.

I live in abundance. As the Psalmist says, “The lines have been drawn for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance (Psalm 16:6).”

If this does not “feel” true for you and me, maybe we need a break from Facebook, or, at least to reconsider why we are there, especially if we are becoming discontent with what the Lord has provided for us.

How generous is our God? How thankful are we? Father, forgive our discontent.