Living in a Well

   I was reminded this week why I am not Joel Osteen fan, or an advocate of the "prosperity gospel." I was sitting having a cup of coffee and the local coffeeshop had Olsteen's television broadcast on in the background. He was closing out a sermon with an illustration about a frog that lived in a well. I will try to condense it down for this post.

   "There was a frog that lived in a small well and was happy that he had all the water he could ever want. One day he climbed to the top of the well and saw a pond much larger than the well and was excited about this new habitat he could live in. From there he traveled till he found a lake the size of an ocean . . . and on it went." The application was, God wants you to have this and so much more. Why limit yourself to the humble dwellings around you. Just believe and you can achieve.

   Most of you who know me, or have read my posts understand that I am a huge advocate of having a positive outlook on life and pursuing your dreams. To me, that is a lot different than "God wants you to have everything you can imagine." Whatever happened to "godliness with contentment is great gain" (I Timothy 6:6). The little frog was happy with his accomodations until he saw something bigger and better. Isn't that what the advertising industry does to us everyday. They create a percieved "need" that isn't a need at all, but a want.

   As I get older, I find peace and comfort in simplicity. I look around at all I have accumulated and I have to ask myself, "to what end?" The first time I returned from Africa in 1987 I had this urge to sell everything. I was ashamed I had so much and the rest of the world had so little. Like most people that feeling passed and I got caught up in the "keeping up with the Jones' mentality." No longer is my desire for simplicity and a knee-jerk reaction to world poverty, or an emotional response to some "save the children campaign," I want contentment.

   I want more than to learn contentment, I want to exercise that kind of peace in my life. It is a hard discipline and television doesn't help. Cookings shows make me want food, home improvement shows make me want change, television advertising makes me want ______________.

   So to all the Joel Olsteens in the world I have this to say. Quit preaching to us about having it all, or that God wants us to have this or that - I have seen a world of sorrow from people who say, "I did this, or bought this, because God wants me to be happy." Try teaching people about contentment, about living a quiet and peaceful life. Give them the tools to cope with grief and poverty and heartache and sorrow. God help me that whatever state I find myself in, "therein to be content."