Mark 10:35-45, Contentment vs. covetousness (5)

Here are a couple of areas of “application” in learning contentment.

ii)      Learn to guard your eyes (Prov. 27:20; Josh. 7:20-21; Ge. 3:6).

(1)                        All the great stories in the Bible that highlight “temptation” involve the eyes.  Eve in Eden saw that the fruit was appealing.  David “inadvertently” saw Bathsheba while bathing.  Satan showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world.  The other senses can be a problem but the eyes are major in learning to be content. 

(2)                        We should be careful when shopping or when using media that contains advertising.  On that matter, several years ago I came across this list of questions to ask before making a purchase.  I can be quite “spur-of-the-moment” and found this helpful. 

(a) Can I afford it? 1 Tim. 5:8         (b) Can I be content without it?

(c) Will I still be able to be generous? 1 Tim. 6:17f; Prov. 3:9

(d)            Will I still love God?            (e) Will it make me anxious?

(f)  Am I being greedy or proud?    (g) Am I being hasty?

(h)            Is it a necessary debt? Rom. 13:8

(i)   Do I have all the facts?              (j) Have I sought advice?

(k)            Have I prayed about it?         (l) Will it honor God?

(m)         Have I asked God to provide it?

iii)            Learn to serve others with your possessions (Mk. 10:44f; Phil. 4:14).  Previously we noted 4 illustrations where God’s people were covetous.  What would have happened had their minds been renewed so that they saw themselves as servants of God and others?

(1)                        The Israelites were self-absorbed.  Yet, in the law, they agreed to serve God (Ex. 23:25-30).  What if that had been their attitude?

(2)                        Lot had every reason to serve Abraham, after all his uncle had done for him.  Yet he served himself and suffered for it.

(3)                        What if King Saul had a heart to serve God and Israel and then David?  He would have had a house established by God.  But he was not the man after God’s heart.

(4)                        What if Jesus’ disciples had a mentality to serve?  Unlike the other hypothetical situations, we can answer this question because from Acts 2 onward we can see what they were like.  They were no longer motivated by selfish ambition but by the desire to fulfill the great commission.  Peter was able to be submissive to Paul.  Paul, in the end, was able to see God’s blessing in and through John Mark who had initially been a disappointment.