Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20
How do you find contentment in a dissatisfied world? How do we find satisfaction in a world that is never satisfied with what it has; a world that is never pleased with what it has accomplished, always complaining about the present, that the present isn’t good enough, always looking for the next big thing to come down the road. How do you find contentment amid such dissatisfaction and unhappiness?
There are dissatisfied people everywhere we go. I recently read a poem by Jason Lehman entitled, “Present Tense”. He writes:
“It was spring. But it was summer I wanted, the warm days, and the great outdoors.
It was summer. But it was Fall I wanted, the colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
It was fall. But it was winter I wanted, the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
It was winter. But it was spring I wanted, the warmth, and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child. But it was adulthood I wanted, the freedom, and the respect.
I was twenty. But it was thirty I wanted, to be mature, and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged. But it was twenty I wanted, the youth, and the free spirit.
I was retired. But it was middle-age I wanted, the presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over. But I never got what I wanted.”[1]
Every one of us can think of at least one person we know who is never satisfied with their situation in life. We all know someone who is a “complainer” or a “whiner” always finding the negative in someone or in someone’s life situation. We all have a tendency to complain and whine from time to time. We complain about politicans: their greed, lack of understanding, their poor decisions. We whine and complain about young people today wondering why they don’t come to church and follow the traditions we’ve always known and followed. We complain about the church and its leadership that they are not doing enough to visit and care for members of the church, failing to connect with the youth in some meaningful way, and that the demands of the pastor’s family takes the pastor away from shepherding the church members. My children whine and complain about wanting candy before dinner or to stop at Shipley’s for donuts or to buy a new toy every time we go to the store.
In her book, "Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now", author Maya Angelou has a whole chapter on the subject of "complaining." Angelou says that when "whiners" would come into her grandmother's store in Arkansas, she would go through a routine that would begin by quietly beckoning Maya to come closer. Then she would bait the "whiner" customer with "How are you doing today, Brother Thomas/Sister Harriet?" As the complaining gushed forth, she would nod or make eye contact with Maya to make sure she heard what was being said. As soon as the "whiner" left, her grandmother would ask Maya to stand in front of her. "And then she would say the same thing she had said at least a thousand times before. 'Sister, did you hear what Brother So-and-So or Sister-Much-to-Do complained about? You heard that!' And Maya would nod. Mamma would continue, 'Sister, there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake up again. Sister, those who expected to rise did not .... And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of that plowing that person was grumbling about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.'"[2] We all know someone who is never satisfied. For them contentment is an allusive dream.
I believe that one of the main reasons for such dissatisfaction in our world is because we have forgotten who we are. We have forgotten who we are as people created in the image of God.
The Ten Commandments remind us of this. It serves as a central pillar in Israel’s understanding of its relationship with God. Therefore, it is one of the most significant contributions of the Old Testament to our theology. They project a basic principle throughout Western civilization that there are certain moral principles that go beyond the present and can be traced back to the Creator. The Declaration of Independence observes that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator…” and it serves as one of many instances reflecting the influence of the Decalogue on human life and thought.
They list the fundamental obligations of people toward God and toward one another. God comes first, but the respect owe to God cannot be separated from justice and one’s relationship to one’s neighbors. They express the divine-human relationship in verses 1-4 and 7-9, while verses 12-20 speak to human concerns.
On the divine-human commandments, we could classify all of them under the theme of “avoiding idolatry”. Remember that the Hebrews lived and practiced their faith living amongst many peoples who practiced some form of pagan worship. The Decalogue built a hedge of protection around God’s people. If the people remember who their God is, then it is likely they will remember who they are as people created in God’s image.
The remaining commandments, focusing on our relationships with one another, are a direct reflection of our relationship with God. They are the commandments that establish the basic structure of our modern day society; solidify the trust and interdependence found in our community life guiding us as we learn how to be content and satisfied with who we are and what we have.
There is a question that hangs in the air in corporate boardrooms and at cocktail parties, in IPO road shows and at the kitchen table: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
How much money -- to compensate you for your work? How much time -- to devote to your family? How much public glory -- to satisfy your ego? How much opportunity for private reflection -- to deepen your understanding? How much STUFF is enough? And, no matter how much stuff you have, how do you find contentment?
But while the question "How much is enough?" may not be new, the velocity, the intensity and the scale of the answers that people can choose from today ARE new. Choices -- in work and in life -- are coming at greater speed, from more directions, and with consequences that are more immediate and more dramatic than ever before.[3]
We live in a time in history in which it appears to be almost impossible to satisfy our appetite for more and more. This is one topic the Decalogue addresses in several ways. Greed can start in a person’s desire to care for themselves and their family. All too often, caring can devolve into excessive self-centeredness, even self-indulgence. What begins in a desire for security, morphs into pure greed…and greedy people rarely enjoy happiness. The greedy person can never get enough. They are never satisfied with what they own, with what belongs to them. It has become more and more difficult to maintain a sense of balance regarding our use of food, gadgets for home or office, clothing, vacations, entertainment done on our behalf as we look on. The Ten Commandments free us from these “other gods” and more: the god of goals, the god of people, the god of stuff, the god of status.
As God’s people today, the Decalogue is more than a list of rules and regulations. It is God’s gracious gift to all stewards of Jesus Christ by which we are provided with the means to respond to God’s love. They are the instrument placed in our hands by a loving and protective God, by means of which we express our acceptance of all God is and does. This is how to be content in a dissatisfied world. Amen.
How do you find contentment in a dissatisfied world? How do we find satisfaction in a world that is never satisfied with what it has; a world that is never pleased with what it has accomplished, always complaining about the present, that the present isn’t good enough, always looking for the next big thing to come down the road. How do you find contentment amid such dissatisfaction and unhappiness?
There are dissatisfied people everywhere we go. I recently read a poem by Jason Lehman entitled, “Present Tense”. He writes:
“It was spring. But it was summer I wanted, the warm days, and the great outdoors.
It was summer. But it was Fall I wanted, the colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
It was fall. But it was winter I wanted, the beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
It was winter. But it was spring I wanted, the warmth, and the blossoming of nature.
I was a child. But it was adulthood I wanted, the freedom, and the respect.
I was twenty. But it was thirty I wanted, to be mature, and sophisticated.
I was middle-aged. But it was twenty I wanted, the youth, and the free spirit.
I was retired. But it was middle-age I wanted, the presence of mind without limitations.
My life was over. But I never got what I wanted.”[1]
Every one of us can think of at least one person we know who is never satisfied with their situation in life. We all know someone who is a “complainer” or a “whiner” always finding the negative in someone or in someone’s life situation. We all have a tendency to complain and whine from time to time. We complain about politicans: their greed, lack of understanding, their poor decisions. We whine and complain about young people today wondering why they don’t come to church and follow the traditions we’ve always known and followed. We complain about the church and its leadership that they are not doing enough to visit and care for members of the church, failing to connect with the youth in some meaningful way, and that the demands of the pastor’s family takes the pastor away from shepherding the church members. My children whine and complain about wanting candy before dinner or to stop at Shipley’s for donuts or to buy a new toy every time we go to the store.
In her book, "Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now", author Maya Angelou has a whole chapter on the subject of "complaining." Angelou says that when "whiners" would come into her grandmother's store in Arkansas, she would go through a routine that would begin by quietly beckoning Maya to come closer. Then she would bait the "whiner" customer with "How are you doing today, Brother Thomas/Sister Harriet?" As the complaining gushed forth, she would nod or make eye contact with Maya to make sure she heard what was being said. As soon as the "whiner" left, her grandmother would ask Maya to stand in front of her. "And then she would say the same thing she had said at least a thousand times before. 'Sister, did you hear what Brother So-and-So or Sister-Much-to-Do complained about? You heard that!' And Maya would nod. Mamma would continue, 'Sister, there are people who went to sleep all over the world last night, poor and rich and white and black, but they will never wake up again. Sister, those who expected to rise did not .... And those dead folks would give anything, anything at all for just five minutes of this weather or ten minutes of that plowing that person was grumbling about. So you watch yourself about complaining, Sister. What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.'"[2] We all know someone who is never satisfied. For them contentment is an allusive dream.
I believe that one of the main reasons for such dissatisfaction in our world is because we have forgotten who we are. We have forgotten who we are as people created in the image of God.
The Ten Commandments remind us of this. It serves as a central pillar in Israel’s understanding of its relationship with God. Therefore, it is one of the most significant contributions of the Old Testament to our theology. They project a basic principle throughout Western civilization that there are certain moral principles that go beyond the present and can be traced back to the Creator. The Declaration of Independence observes that, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator…” and it serves as one of many instances reflecting the influence of the Decalogue on human life and thought.
They list the fundamental obligations of people toward God and toward one another. God comes first, but the respect owe to God cannot be separated from justice and one’s relationship to one’s neighbors. They express the divine-human relationship in verses 1-4 and 7-9, while verses 12-20 speak to human concerns.
On the divine-human commandments, we could classify all of them under the theme of “avoiding idolatry”. Remember that the Hebrews lived and practiced their faith living amongst many peoples who practiced some form of pagan worship. The Decalogue built a hedge of protection around God’s people. If the people remember who their God is, then it is likely they will remember who they are as people created in God’s image.
The remaining commandments, focusing on our relationships with one another, are a direct reflection of our relationship with God. They are the commandments that establish the basic structure of our modern day society; solidify the trust and interdependence found in our community life guiding us as we learn how to be content and satisfied with who we are and what we have.
There is a question that hangs in the air in corporate boardrooms and at cocktail parties, in IPO road shows and at the kitchen table: HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
How much money -- to compensate you for your work? How much time -- to devote to your family? How much public glory -- to satisfy your ego? How much opportunity for private reflection -- to deepen your understanding? How much STUFF is enough? And, no matter how much stuff you have, how do you find contentment?
But while the question "How much is enough?" may not be new, the velocity, the intensity and the scale of the answers that people can choose from today ARE new. Choices -- in work and in life -- are coming at greater speed, from more directions, and with consequences that are more immediate and more dramatic than ever before.[3]
We live in a time in history in which it appears to be almost impossible to satisfy our appetite for more and more. This is one topic the Decalogue addresses in several ways. Greed can start in a person’s desire to care for themselves and their family. All too often, caring can devolve into excessive self-centeredness, even self-indulgence. What begins in a desire for security, morphs into pure greed…and greedy people rarely enjoy happiness. The greedy person can never get enough. They are never satisfied with what they own, with what belongs to them. It has become more and more difficult to maintain a sense of balance regarding our use of food, gadgets for home or office, clothing, vacations, entertainment done on our behalf as we look on. The Ten Commandments free us from these “other gods” and more: the god of goals, the god of people, the god of stuff, the god of status.
As God’s people today, the Decalogue is more than a list of rules and regulations. It is God’s gracious gift to all stewards of Jesus Christ by which we are provided with the means to respond to God’s love. They are the instrument placed in our hands by a loving and protective God, by means of which we express our acceptance of all God is and does. This is how to be content in a dissatisfied world. Amen.
[1] Jason Lehman, Present Tense. Written when he was 14.
Copyright c1989 by Jason Lehman, Woodbridge, Connecticut. Used by
permission.
[2]
Maya Angelou,
Wouldn't Take Nothing for My Journey Now
(New York: Random House, 1993), 85-87.
[3] "How
Much Is Enough?" Fast Company July-August 1999, 110.
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