Hop Off That Treadmill

Not that I speak in respect of want; for I have learned, in whatever state I am, therewith to be content.  Phil 4:11 KJV

  Trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents. Counting the nickels, sitting on the dimes, and picking up every penny. Striving, constantly striving for more. For some, it's a never ending battle. Always trying to upgrade, get more, do better, running around like a hamster on it's little treadmill.

  Think of children. Want drives them absolutely mad at Christmastime. The anticipation gnaws at them until sleep is almost impossible. They've made their little lists and cannot wait, literally cannot wait to rip through the gifts to see the objects of their affection. But in a couple of days... you know how it goes. Disinterest. On to something else. On this you can depend. So this mindset starts in childhood.

  I had five apartments in four years. Always upgrading. My mom used to call me her gypsy daughter. Each apartment was always better than the last for my son and me, until I got tired of moving. My cousin Tyrone, God rest his soul, and others got tired of moving me. Decided to seek permanence. I decided to get off the treadmill and buy.  Being the hamster can be exhausting. Many of us succumb to the hamster complex. Can't stop buying, especially those addicted to trying to keep up with others on their own treadmill.

 Nicer car, bigger house or apartment, designer labels, jobs to careers, vacations stateside to worldwide, wives to trophies(lol), always on the quest to get more, thinking, once I obtain such and such, do such and such, see such and such, I'll be content. But sadly, it's a never ending battle.

  Then there's technology. The latest phone, tv, or gadget. iPhone has a new version of their phone yearly and the other companies aren't far behind. The iPhone 11 I'm certain will perform the same tasks as the XR, but by golly you must have it. Televisions are much of the same, a few months after you purchase yours, here comes one with a new wrinkle. And as for gadgets, Alexa has been challenged by Google home. Which to get? There's always something new.  

  In addition to all that, we're aging. A number of us are nearing retirement. So we simply must beef up the 401K, the Roth, our savings and anything else to get us to the promised land in retirement. Again, there's ALWAYS SOMETHING! You're probably thinking, this is all about the under 40 crowd, huh, boomers? Well I know a couple of 50s plus still on that treadmill, one a little older than your truly and one pushing 70, not allowing themselves the rest from many decades of labor that they deserve, but constantly trying to acquire more and more and more. What they still doesn't get is that with their advancing age, they're just setting themselves up for more health issues than they currently have, and their kids will be back here, enjoying all the fruits of their labor, all because they couldn't bring themselves to stop the quest to keep acquiring more and learn to finally be content. I might add, they're all men. This is not an indictment on working. Some really love the work they do, and it's not done in the furtherance of getting more stuff.

  But, the question is, high long did the "high" of the new last. Until it's first thousand miles, or after a move when everything was in its place, after you wore something a couple of times, after a few paychecks with the increased income, when you've visited every place you're interested in seeing, or when the trophy wife started nagging or getting a little long in the tooth? The highs from things never last. EVER. There's a place inside us all that seeks contentment. Freedom from constantly trying to obtain things that lose their value once we bring them home.

  Now, don't get me wrong, if you've outgrown your space, or if you're riding around in a death trap, you should seriously consider upgrading. Not necessarily from a one bedroom apartment to a five bedroom house, or a Chevy Cavalier to a Cadillac Escalade. But what you can handle, within budget, not taking into thought others suggestions or making purchases to keep up with others. DO YOU!

 Again, the question is how to get off that treadmill?

  I think, in my humble, we must break free of the desire to want everything we see, because we feel we're entitled, have worked hard for it, everyone else has it, or just as parents used to tell us, because. There is only one who can fill the deep longing in our hearts that push us to try to satisfy the longing with material things. Matthew 6:19-20 says Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasurers in heaven where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Constant wanting and obtaining is simply trying to fill a void we aren't capable of filling, unless we fill it with the Lord. Only He can fill the constant yearning. I believe He implanted within us this need to need Him. To desire Him. Nothing else satisfies. We run around like chickens with our heads cut off. Always on the lookout for something new and improved. I suggest being on the lookout for Someone tried and true, the Author and Finisher of our faith. If we do this, we'll look around and see we're off the treadmill. Chilling. Filled with gratitude for those gifts we already possess. And at last CONTENT.

Ninakupenda