The key to contentment is understanding that God has placed you where He wants you to do the most good. Jesus said that we would always have the poor with us, because He knew that sickness, human nature, and many other things combined to mean there would always be poor people around. You might think, “I’d be very good with a million dollars; I would never waste it.” And, that could be true. Many people who get a lot of money all at once go broke fast by spending too much, but some don’t.
But, if you don’t have that kind of money, that’s because God wants you on His team in a different place than someone with a million bucks would be. Just like someone who wishes they could play center – and might be great at it – plays guard instead. Magic Johnson is a great example. The basketball great filled in for the injured center and scored over 40 points in an NBA Finals game. He could have scored tons more points if he always played center. But, he was best as the guard leading the great “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s, not as a high scoring center elsewhere.
Most people like to be noticed; they like to be the center in that scenario, not the guy who passes the ball, because the scorer gets more attention. Let’s take another example of people who are rich. If you had the talent, you could be a big Hollywood star. Maybe you’d avoid the mistakes that most make. Some people would look at you and say, “Look at him/her, I want to be like that.” But, there’s a big problem with that. You can’t reach people as well that way.
I’m not saying famous people can’t reach others. There might even be some who read this. If so, great; let God use you to be a Godly example to others by following the Lord, and doing what you know would please Him. Keep your mind, and perform in a way that keeps othres’ minds, on those things of Philippians 4:8 and such, as we mentioned. Wholesomeness, loveliness, virtue, etc.
Most readers won’t be famous, though. God has put you where you are, because it’s easier for you to reach your neighborhood that way. As much fun as it would be to have a rich person come to your neighborhood, they would just leave the next day. They might leave behind plans for something like a new rec center. If they’re Christian, they might make a great speech about following the Lord. But, while they can reach more people for a while, you can reach the people where you are every day. And, many of them might take weeks, months, or years of one on one discipleship to come to Christ and grow in Him. We can’t buy people’s salvation or discipleship, though with lots of money we can support missionaries to those places. And, we should give to missions.
However, we also need to love others, not just give to please others. That means accepting that God gives some people wealth, others, not, and others He puts on the road to it. Whatever the situation, they need His love.
