Contentment part 2

I also had permission to publish what Kasey’s Aunt Trudy wrote back to her. This is good advice to all of us.
“I have a game I play with myself. I normally won't look at fliers or catalogs (or go shopping) unless I need something and am planning to make a purchase. (All it does is to tend arouse the greed monster in me and major discontentment!) But, if I do look at one of them and I find myself saying, "I think I need to get me one of those.", then I ask myself a bunch of questions.
1). Why? Do I really need it?
2). What purpose will it serve?
3). Will I be able to share it with others and minister to them through it? (Like, my carpet shampooer that cost a lot but that everyone at church and in the family uses.)
4). Can I keep it from controlling me?
5). Is it what God wants me to do with His money He's given me???

Usually that stops about 90% of my purchases!!

There's also a series of great questions in 1 Corinthians that apply to contentment.

1 Corinthians 6:12 - "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial." Is what I'm longing for going to be beneficial in the way God defines beneficial?
1 Corinthians 6:12 - "Everything is permissible for me - but I will not be mastered by anything." Is this going to become something that will take over my life? Will it be something that I will begin to treasure more than God and what He has provided?
1 Corinthians 10:23 - "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is beneficial."
1 Corinthians 10:23 - "Everything is permissible for me - but not everything is constructive." How will this encourage and strengthen my walk with God? How will it build others up or meet a need?

These verses help me a lot with finding contentment both with money and with my circumstances. I can offer a "sacrifice" to God of my rights (everything is permissible)!
I've also always been struck by the fact that in that passage you quoted about food and clothing, he doesn't list housing! Of course, that was in the Middle East where it is warm most of the year. But, could I be content without a house of some kind??? Hmmmm.
I know that what I've written goes back more to the financial, and your thoughts were on contentment overall. You've hit the nail on the head. I think financial discontentment is just a symptom of a deeper root of overall discontentment. I think discontentment is also a sin, because it's really an accusation at God that He has not provided what I really need - that I know more than He does what is really needed. At it's root, it's a lack of faith in the goodness of God's character or in His ability and power to provide what I need. When you look at it as the sin of unbelief, it becomes a more critical issue to deal with in your life.
So, thanks for the challenge this morning!! Great job!!!
Love,
Aunt Trudy”