Finding Real Contentment
A wealthy businessman was upset to find a fisherman sitting beside his boat. ‘Why aren’t you out fishing?’ he asked. ‘Because I’ve caught enough for today,’ replied the fisherman. ‘Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?’ the businessman asked. ‘What would I do with them?’ replied the fisherman. The businessman said, ‘You could earn more money, buy a bigger boat, catch even bigger fish and make more money. Soon you’d have a whole fleet of boats and be rich like me.’ The fisherman said, ‘Then what would I do?’ The businessman replied, ‘You could sit down and enjoy life.’ The fisherman said, ‘What do you think I’m doing now?’ Contentment comes from two things: great relationships and God-given purpose. The first great relationship you must have is with God. In the book of Job we read, ‘Acquaint yourself with Him, and be at peace; thereby good will come to you.’ The second relationship you must have and treasure is with your family. When you reach the end of your life that’s the relationship that will matter most. When it comes to God-given purpose, you must identify your core strengths, know what God’s called you to do, then go to work. Comedian Sam Levenson said, ‘My folks are immigrants. They fell under the spell of the American legend that said the streets are paved with gold. But when Papa got here he found out three things: (1) The streets are not paved with gold. (2) Many streets are not paved at all. (3) He was supposed to do the paving.’ What are you supposed to do? Do it, and you’ll find contentment.