Tossing it back

During a Major League Baseball game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals last summer, a man named Steve Monforto caught a foul ball as he sat in the bleachers. Since fans are allowed to keep balls hit into the stands, Monforto handed the prize catch to his 3-year-old daughter Emily. But instead of treasuring the gift, she innocently tossed the ball back on the field!

As fans gasped and laughed, Steve simply hugged Emily and let her know that “she didn’t do anything wrong.” Fortunately for the smooth-fielding father, a Phillies representative brought him a new baseball to take home.

Just as little Emily didn’t see the value in the baseball, you and I sometimes don’t value what God has given us. Paul addressed this issue in 1 Timothy 6 as he implored his young protégé to be content. After warning Timothy about false teachers who are more interested in making a buck than blessing others (vv.3-5), he wrote, “True godliness with contentment is itself great wealth” (v.6). The word contentment in this context literally means “a perfect condition, not lacking anything.”

Does that describe you and me? Instead of being grateful for the gifts our heavenly Father has placed in our lives, sometimes we toss them away and grasp for useless stuff that we think we need. Paul nailed it when he wrote, “If we have enough food and clothing, let us be content” (v.8).

If we keep seeking stuff that “we can’t take” out of this world (v.7), we’ll only end up being “trapped by [our] many foolish and harmful desires” (v.9). There’s only one thing Paul tells us to “hold tightly”—the eternal life we have in Jesus.

Today, instead of moaning about your meager lot in life—tossing God’s good gifts back in His face—thank Him for all He’s given you.

PRAISE GOD
BLESSED BE THE ONE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD