Read
15Greed has twins,
each named “Give me!”
There are three or four things
that are never satisfied:
16The world of the dead
and a childless wife,
the thirsty earth
and a flaming fire.
Reflect
The text that we just read introduces us to some illustrations drawn from the natural world. These are all examples of things that are never sufficient, are never satisfied, forever insatiable and which always want to receive. The author basically wants to illustrate the behaviour of human kind. It is part of human nature to covet things, to habitually desire always more without, however, ever being able to find true satisfaction and contentment from material things. We crave, for example, owning a certain electronic item, having such and such an automobile or clothing. In spite of all the advertising, the publicity and the commercials deployed to win us over to their products, we still, in the end, do not find any lasting satisfaction or value in just . . . “things”!
Who can ever fill and satisfy our hearts, but God? Most people think only about material things and, somehow, believe that their contentment is dependent on them. The truth is, ironically, that their pursuit of material things actually deprives them of this contentment. The only way to live out contentment is to be able to see things from God’s point of view. The apostle Paul speaks about this and reveals to us the secret found in 1 Timothy 6,6, “And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have.” In Jesus Christ, I have all I need in order to feel fully satisfied. My soul is filled to capacity with eternal and lasting benefits.
With Jesus Christ I can live, so to speak, as a thermostat as opposed to a thermometer. A thermometer can change nothing about its environment. It simply indicates the fluctuations of the constantly changing temperatures. A thermostat can stabilize surrounding conditions and even change them if necessary. With Christ living in me, I find in him all the contentment and the resources to deal with all of life’s demands.
Respond
Lord, You are the only one who, by your grace, can fill my soul and satisfy my needs, my wants and the wishes of my heart. I want to put my confidence in you, knowing full well that I have everything I need in you. Amen.
Donald Tardif
Donald has worked as a custom broker and international freight forwarder. His Biblical training was with L’Institut Biblique du Québec. In 2006, he took an early retirement and assumed the leadership of La Ligue pour la lecture de la Bible in Quebec, after having been on the board of directors for a few years. He retired from Laligue pour la lecture de la Bible in 2017. Donald is married to Jeannine and they have 3 adult children and 8 grandchildren.