Throughout man’s sordid history, people have mocked, rejected, and forsaken the Lord. They have chosen to look to gods that cannot save or help.
People in the world are generally quite self-centered. Even saved people are often lovers of their own selves instead of preferring one another.
Do you want God's respect? The Lord said, “to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.”
The idea of the word respect is that an individual looks at two things and chooses to look at one of them a second time demonstrating favouritism.
Paul and Barnabas admonished the heathen to turn from “vanities unto the living God.” One cannot trust in the Lord and simultaneously trust in anything else. In order for an individual to be saved, he must repent of trusting in anything other than the Lord. One aspect of repentance involves ceasing to trust vanity and turning one’s faith toward the living and true God. This saving faith needs to become a living faith following salvation. Believers should consistently turn from “vain thoughts” and love the law of God (Psalm 119:113). They should turn from the vain labours that spend their strength for nought (Isaiah 49:4) and be “steadfast . . . in the work of the Lord” knowing that their “labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58). Additionally, believers should turn from “vain words” (Ephesians 5:6) and hold “forth the word of life” (Philippians 2:16).
Contentment is a learned virtue, not one with which man is born. If it were natural and easily accepted, every man would be content. Instead, it requires much effort and sacrifice on the individual’s part. The apostle Paul learned how to be content by not allowing his circumstances to control or adversely influence him. If he found himself abased (brought low) or if he abounded (overflowed), he knew how to remain contented. He considered both situations to be completely within the will of God. He believed that his circumstances were not to determine his satisfaction levels. So it should be with Christians today. Whether a Christian abounds in wealth or wants in poverty, he should rejoice for God’s provision. This will only result from a supreme love for God.
The words content and contentment infer that one is satisfied with life's present conditions (Genesis 37:27; Exodus 2:21). Living contently is the opposite of wanting (Philippians 4:11) and covetousness (Hebrews 13:5) and is strongly associated with godliness (1 Timothy 6:6). Interestingly, contentment is a learned behaviour that believers must put into practice on a consistent basis throughout life. No one is born into the world content. Yet, once learned and practiced consistently, Christians will experience contentment in spite of any circumstance faced. Unfortunately, far too often, Christians exhibit no more contentment than non-Christians. In fact, believers seem to desire and covet the things of the world more and more with each passing year. This covetousness combined with a lack of contentment amongst Christians results in less godliness and a closer association with worldly pleasures.
