Toddlers live by nine laws for personal property:
1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours.
6. If I'm building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks just like mine, it's mine.
8. If I think it's mine, it's mine.
9. If it's yours and I steal it, it's mine.
It seems that many people never outgrow this mindset.
Instead, methods for acquiring property just become more sophisticated. (Think: interest rates, bank fees, taxes, advertising, sales pitches and the like. Less sophisticated ways are home invasions, bank robberies, car thefts and shoplifting.)
Many people believe they deserve what everyone else has, or even more than others have. We are not taught to be content with what we have. We are not taught to be grateful for what we receive.
When was the last time you received a thank-you note for giving a child a present? When was the last time you wrote a thank-you note?
People want to be content. We want to be comfortable. For the most part, we would be content if we recognized what brings us physical contentment: food, shelter and clothing. With these needs met, most people would be content — if they only let themselves be so.
God cares for our needs. But his care rarely is recognized. Jesus said, "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. If God so clothes the grass of the field, will he not much more clothe you?"
Here is a challenge: for one week, don't complain about what you lack. Instead, give thanks to God for what you have.
God cares for your needs — not your wants. And there is a huge difference.
The Rev. Mark Broadhead is pastor at Laurel Hill Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church of Crestview.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: BROADHEAD: God cares for your needs — not your wants