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Gas Prices

You don't have to be a car owner to notice that the gas prices are out of control. I think twice before I start my engine to go anywhere. Anywhere. (Quick example: I LOVE shoes, but my favorite shoe store, though inexpensive, is just too far to drive to....it makes me sad.)

The other night, I watched a news report of a man who lost it at a gas station because the prices were too high (http://news.yahoo.com/video/bostonwbz-15750588/man-goes-into-rage-over-prices-at-brockton-gas-station-29085282.html). As I watched, I thought to myself, "Wow! Why doesn't he just take it in stride like everyone else?"

But do we really take it in stride? I find myself grumbling about gas prices and lack of money and the state of the economy quite often. It's easy to do. Especially if you are un- or underemployed. We may never outwardly act or react like the man in the news clip, but isn't our complaining spiritually the same?

The Apostle Paul told the Philippian church that he had learned how to be content in whatsoever state in which he found himself (Phil 4:11). How? Because he could do all things through Christ (v. 13). Contentment is not a natural state because we are programmed to be dissatisfied. It is through Christ alone that we can truly find peace and contentment in this life.

The inconvenient thing to do is to be satisfied by Christ...To enjoy plenty in a Christ-like manner and to deal with lack in the same way. Does it mean that we should become complacent and stagnant? Absolutely not! But it does mean that we have to surrender the idols of fairness and justice* and realize that in whatsoever state we find ourselves we can be content when we focus on Christ rather than the circumstance.

*A post about these "idols" is soon to come. Stay tuned.

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