There is one subject where practically everyone in the world is in agreement. That is the idea that “everybody else has it better than I do!” Who doesn’t know someone for whom things are not going “better” than for me?
Even though, in the western world, we live in one of the most prosperous societies that has ever existed on the face of the earth, many people still have a problem with greed – not only greed but also with being envious of what other people have. There is a huge problem in today’s society with envy. We just don’t seem to be happy with what we have – we’ve got to have more.
There is a very definite lack of thankfulness. There seems to be so much more dissatisfaction among so many and having more things has not decreased that. Having more goods, more services — more things — has not helped,
And it can also be a problem for those called in these end times. This dissatisfaction can be overcome… with God’s help. It is, in effect, a problem with our eyes. We don’t see what we should see. We need to see what God has done for us. The fact that He has chosen us to be His children. We must remember that He is preparing us for a new world.
Speaking of the Laodicean era, we read the following in the book of Revelation: “I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.” (Revelation 3:18).
What should we see? There are many things, but one important point is: What God is doing with us. Ancient Israel could not see what God was doing with them. 40 years of dusty wandering was too much for them. Liberation from slavery took a back seat to the “leeks and onions” they had enjoyed in Egypt.
We must realize that in this world there will always be things that we will have to do without. In one sense it is more difficult for use than for the Israelites because we are still in the middle of “Egypt.” The temptations are ever before us and that poses a challenge for all of us.
There is an important key, though, to mental and spiritual health. It is found in Philippians. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6).
Thankfulness and gratitude in the physical realm allow us to see what we have as sufficient. In the spiritual realm, much more than sufficient – we have
“Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14). A forward-looking, thankful attitude, aided by the power of God’s Holy Spirit, will give us the strength to continue.
Cliff Veal