6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
As a child, I learned the lesson of contentment living in a small 3 bedroom rambler in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. I never saw our family as 'rich' in a material sense as my dad always believed in buying used cars. Our cars weren't pretty to look at and I guess the thing that was most noticeable was our home on the block was the only one without a garage. When I asked my dad why we didn't have one, he told me that the VA GI bill at the time wouldn't allow the extra expense for one.
Whether that was true or not doesn't really matter, but I do remember countless 'really' cold mornings seeing the light go on in the hallway and watching dad trot out to start both cars at 1 am, 3 am and 6 am just so he would be able to get to his Electrical Engineering job at Northern States Power company. I remember many mornings joining dad as I was instructed to sit in the frozen car as jumper cables were attached and at my dad's command starting the car. It was those mornings I wondered if only we had a garage I would be sleeping soundly in my bed.
My dad grew up in the family of his deceased mother when she died suddenly shortly after childbirth, and when his own father was so traumatized by that loss that he was unable to care for his two sons. He was a veteran of world war 1 and for a period of years was hospitalized at the VA medical center. It was a time when we didn't know much about PTSD.
I tell you this because tragedy changes people. It changes people in such a way that they take life much more seriously than before. For many, it is no longer an issue of self-gratification and material attainment, but survival. It is as though people inflicted with tragedy are in the muddy trenches trying to protect themselves from any further harm.
There was one other thing my dad taught me. He taught me that no matter what you are feeling it is important to get out of bed and go to church and trust God. The famous saying, 'let's not cross our bridge until we come to it' was often one I heard from my dad. Whenever any of us felt afflicted he would utter that saying. The bible teaches that same thing in 1 Peter 5:7 when we are reminded to 'cast our anxiety on him because he cares for you'.
The lessons my father taught me stuck with me decades later and especially came to fruition when my 10-year-old daughter died and I was left with the task of asking God to help me raise my surviving son. We were in pain, fighting in the trenches of life, trying to keep additional harm coming to us when God kept reminding me that we were going to get through these dark days of tragedy and come out the other side stronger, more resilient and filled with the joy of the Lord.
If there is one final lesson to those afflicted by grief, it would be keep getting out of bed and worship our redeemer King Jesus. The wounds he endured upon the cross are a reminder to us all that He understands our pain and wants to walk with you through whatever suffering you are enduring.
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