Rick Warren - The Law of Contentment—Part Three

Hey, everybody.

Welcome to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. Well, we're talking about

your money. That's right. We're continuing a powerful series called

Financial Fitness. Rick is opening God's Word and showing us

how to manage what we've been given with wisdom, faith,

and purpose. And I know if you apply these biblical principles,

you'll start to experience true financial freedom and lasting peace.

What do you say we join Rick for the final

part of a message called The Law of Contentment?

You know, one of my favorite things to do is

I put this ratty old chair, deck chair, on our slope.

We'd had this jet chair, I don't know, 10, 15 years,

maybe 20 years. I think I bought it at Target,

so it's not an expensive thing, and it sat in

the sun, and it's kind of, a couple of the

slats are broken on it, and I put it over

on the slope, and what I like to do is

climb over my fence and sit in that ratty chair

and watch the sun come up. This gives me great pleasure.

when I do this, to watch the sun come up

and just sit there in that ratty chair. Now, would

I have any more joy if it were a diamond-encrusted

Barca lounger instead of a ratty Target chair? No, no.

It would not increase my joy one bit. In fact,

there's an advantage to not having a diamond-encrusted Barca lounger.

It's better to have a ratty chair on a slope. Why?

Nobody steals it. I mean, if it were something fancy,

you know, people pick it up. But, you know, workers

and gardeners walk by and who wants that thing? You know,

so they just leave it there. What I'm saying is

you need to ask yourself, what do I enjoy that

I never think about it and I should take advantage

of it and I should be grateful for what I've got?

Now one of the benefits of having sent about 15,000

of you overseas on peace trips is you got to

see how the rest of the world lives. And that

makes you a whole lot more grateful. Because when you've

been to the places where I've been, into the favelas

of Brazil and the slums of Africa and the barrios

and the ghettos in the major cities of the world,

you see real poverty. And it makes me grateful for

stuff That we take for granted. You know what I'm

grateful for? What I enjoy? I enjoy hot water. Hot water.

I mean, for me, a shower is a spiritual experience.

I'm in there singing and Kay's going, shut up. No,

she's not. She doesn't. She's never once said that. She

sings harmony with me. And I just, I love hot water.

But I got a friend in Rwanda who told me

that during the war, he went nine months without a shower.

You know what I appreciate, what I'm grateful for? Ice.

Because if you've traveled anywhere in the world, you know

most of the world doesn't have ice. And they serve

you drinks at room temperature. I like my drinks cold.

I don't want to drink a room temperature Coke. or

room temperature water. I like ice. I'm grateful for ice.

You know what I enjoy? Internet access. You know, when

I travel, I don't need a fancy hotel. I mean,

you can put me up in the no-tell motel for

all I care. Doesn't really matter what I, but you

better have internet access. Because that's my connection. You think

about these things and you start being grateful and you

start enjoying the stuff you take for granted. You know

what I'm grateful for? Toilet paper. Toilet paper. You don't

know what you've got till it's gone. And I have

been a few places in the world where it was gone.

And it made me really grateful to have it when

I got back home. You need to ask yourself, what

am I not enjoying right now? You see, most of

us get into this, what I call, when and then thinking.

When and then, when this happens, then I'll be happy.

When I get a boyfriend, then I'll be happy. When

I get married, then I'll be happy. When I have kids,

then I'll be happy. When my kids go off to school,

then I'll be happy. When I get married again, then

I'll be happy. And on and on and on. It's

the when and then thinking. Listen, you are as happy

as you choose to be. Happiness is a choice. And

if you're not happy now, you're not gonna be happy later.

You are as happy as you choose to be. I

could take you to some of the worst places in

the world and show you two people living right next

door to each other and one is miserable and one's happy. Why?

Happiness has nothing to do with your circumstances. It has

everything to do with your attitude. You are as happy

as you choose to be. And if you're not happy

living on what you're living on right now, I can

guarantee you, you're not gonna be happy with any more.

Because you're always gonna want a little bit more. Happiness

is a choice. Happiness is something you choose to do.

And it doesn't cost anything to be happy. Friday was

Grandparents' Day. So Kay and I went to Grandparents' Day.

And you know, you go and you sit down at

these little tables with these little chairs where you got

one cheek on the chair, you know. And you color

and you play and we had a lot of fun.

And then we came to my favorite part of school,

which was recess. And so Kaylee and Cassidy and I

went out onto the field at recess, and we started playing,

you know, red light, green light, where, you know, there's

a fence which is safe, and you turn around and

you say, you know, green light, green light, green light,

and you're walking, and as you further get away, they're

coming to see how close you can get. Then you say,

red light, and you turn around, and they've got to

get back to the fence before you can tag them.

So I'm playing this with my kids. my granddaughters, and

after about three times, I got 50, 100 kids out

there playing red light, green light with Pastor Rick. And

so I'm walking across the field going green light, green light,

green light, red light, and 100 kids are screaming running back,

and I'm chasing them back. And we're having a good time,

we're doing this, and then I turn them into a

conga line. And we got 100 kids in the conga line, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun, dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun.

Red light, and they all go running back, And everybody's

having fun. I'm having fun. My granddaughters are having fun.

The kids are having fun. All of the parents are

having fun videotaping Pastor Rick look like an idiot. The

teachers are having fun because the kids are having a

great time. You know how much that cost me? Zero.

And I didn't need a video game. I didn't need

to take them to Disneyland. I was just having fun

with them. Kaylee turns around to all the classmates and says,

wherever Papa goes, he starts a party. Just being grateful

in the situation you're in, enjoying the day you've got.

I mean, really, would doubling your income double your joy?

Absolutely not. I probably know a dozen billionaires. Maybe more,

maybe 20. I could bring any one of them in here,

and they'd tell you this, money is a tool, Money

can make your life easier, but money will ultimately not

satisfy your life. Because no matter how much you've got,

when you can finally afford to buy everything you want,

that still won't make you happy. Because happiness is not found.

It's not life, liberty, and the purchase of happiness. Happiness

cannot be bought. It's internal. Happiness is a choice. We

always think, I don't have enough, I don't have enough,

I don't have enough. There's two ways to have enough.

One's hard and one's easy. Here's how you have enough.

Work more or want less. That's your choice. You could

work more or you can want less. That's how you're

gonna have enough. Well, I don't have enough. Well, here,

you got two choices. Work more or want less. The

law of contentment. I can't teach you these other principles

that we're gonna look at in the weeks ahead until

you get this one down. Now, 1 Timothy 6 says this,

verse 17. Command those who are rich in this present world.

Now let me just stop right there. That's you. You're rich.

You say, not me, I'm not rich. Oh yeah, you are.

If you live in America, you're rich. Let me put

this in perspective. If you have any coins in your pocket, any,

a few pennies, nickels, any coins in your pocket or

your purse, if you have any coins in a little

tray in your car, if you have any coins in

a saucer at home, you're already wealthier than about 78%

of the world. If you have a refrigerator, you're like

in the top 5%. You're wealthy. So get over it.

You're wealthy. You're rich. Now he says this. command those

who are rich in this present world to not be arrogant,

nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain,

but to put their hope in God, who richly provides

us with everything for our, notice, enjoyment. Now, I didn't

have time to put this other verse on your outline,

so look up here on the screen. The next verse,

verse 8 18, says this. Tell them to use their

money to do good. He's talking about to rich people.

They should be rich in good works and should give

generously to those in need, always being ready to share

with others whatever God has given them. Questions? Is it

possible to be wealthy and not materialistic? Yes. Yes, it is.

It is possible to be wealthy and not materialistic. As

long as you meet these four preconditions in 1 Timothy 6, 17,

and 18. He says as long as you don't become

proud of your wealth, you don't flaunt it, you don't

think you're better than anybody else. We always laugh about

how I wear this watch Thought I paid 17 bucks

for it at Walmart. You know what? It ticks just

as fast as your Rolex. I buy watches to tell time,

not to go. Okay? Don't show off. Don't become proud

of your wealth. Don't think you're better than somebody. Don't

put your hope in money because you can lose it. Says,

use your money to do good, and then he says,

share it with others. Giving is the antidote to materialism.

People say, oh, I'm not materialistic. Well, how generous are you?

You know one of the signs of materialism, it's not

the only sign, but one of the signs that I'm materialistic,

I get irritated if somebody starts talking about tithing. That's

a sign I'm materialistic. Because the reason I don't tithe

is there's just things I'm not willing to do without.

There's a word for that, materialism. I'm not willing to

do without these things. In fact, God doesn't need my money.

The reason he asked me to tithe is to teach

me to break the grip of materialism in my life.

God doesn't need my money. He does it for me

to break the grip of materialism. Now number three, third

way to learn the secret of contentment. Remember, life is

not about things. Life is not about things. I gotta

maintain the right perspective about possessions or I'll be possessed

by my possessions. I gotta realize none of it's gonna last. Otherwise,

I'm gonna be dissatisfied and discontent. Jesus says this in

Luke 12, verse 15. Watch out and guard yourselves from

Luke 12:15

every kind of greed. Because your true life is not

made up of the things you own, no matter how

rich you may be. I've said this so many times,

never judge your self worth by your net worth. Never

think your value is related to your valuables. Realize that

the greatest things in life aren't things. He said, life

is not about the acquisition of things. I didn't bring

anything into the world. I'm not taking anything out of

the world. And the stupidest use of my life is

to spend it building a pile. That's dumb. To acquire,

life is not about acquisition. Life is not about achievement.

Life is about relationship. It's learning how to love. Learning

how to love God. Learning how to love other people.

Everybody knows the prayer of Jabez, God enlarge my borders.

But the prayer of Agur is just as important, A-G-U-R,

that's his name. Prayer of Agur, Proverbs 30 says this.

Oh God, I ask you for two things, two things

from you before I die. First, help me to never

tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches.

Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if

I grow rich, I might deny you and say, you know,

who needs the Lord? Who's the Lord? And if I'm

too poor, I may steal and thus insult God's holy name.

Now this is what I call healthy, balanced perspective on wealth.

Most people are willing to pray the first half of

this prayer. God, don't make me too poor. And we'll

all pray that one. God, don't make me too poor.

Are you willing to pray the other half? God, don't

make me too rich. Because either extreme, can cause you

to forget God. Wealth can make you prideful, so who

needs God? And poverty can make you bitter. I need

to remember that my life is not about things. Finally,

number four, I focus on what will last forever. I

give my attention to permanent values. I build my life

on eternal priorities. I focus on what will last forever.

And nothing you see is gonna last forever. It's gonna

rust out, wear out, decay. Every possession is temporary. So

don't build your life on possessing possessions. This building will

one day decay, rust, and fall over. The trees out

here will one day die and shrivel. Everything is going

to vanish. In fact, the Bible says one day there'll

be a new heaven and a new earth. It's all

going away. There are only two things that are gonna

last forever. The word of God and people. The word

of God is gonna last forever. The Bible says heaven

and earth will pass away, but my word will never

pass away. The Bible says the grass withers, the flower fades,

but the word of God abides forever. This is why

you need to read this book, because if it's true,

it was a true 1,000 years ago, and it'll be

true a million years from today. Truth does not change. Now,

if I asked how many of you believe everything you

read in the newspaper, nobody raise your hand, or watch

on TV or the internet or in a magazine, But

if I asked how many believe what's in the Bible,

it's true, you'd raise your hand. Why do we spend

more time reading what we don't believe than what we do? Oh,

and there's one other thing that's gonna last forever, people.

One of two places, heaven or hell. You say, Rick,

you believe in heaven? No, of course I do, why?

Because Jesus said it's real, and Jesus is not a liar.

And he knows more about it than you or me.

And if there is no heaven or hell, then Jesus

coming and dying on the cross so you could go

there is a total waste. There is a real heaven,

there is a real hell. And we are to invest

our lives in people and building relationships and building love

with them. Look at this verse, 2 Corinthians 4. We

fix our attention, circle that, that means focus. Focus on

what's gonna last forever. We fix our attention, not on

the things that are seen, but the things that are unseen.

Because what can be seen only lasts for a little while, time.

But what can't be seen will last forever. So you

gotta decide, am I gonna build my life on acquisition

of things or relationships with people? Am I gonna focus

on people or am I gonna focus on possessions? Am

I gonna focus on riches or am I gonna focus

on relationships? So you got a choice to make and

that is where are you gonna get your lifestyle? Because

the world is telling you the exact opposite of everything

I've taught you today. Everything in the world, in fact

an entire advertising industry is built on the idea of

you gotta get more to be more happy, more successful,

more important, more valuable, more secure. So you gotta decide,

am I gonna listen to Madison Avenue or am I

gonna listen to the master? Am I gonna listen to

culture or am I gonna listen to Christ? Am I

gonna listen to the world or am I gonna listen

to the word? One will make you dissatisfied the rest

of your life, one will make you happy. Before we

can move to these other laws of financial freedom, you

gotta settle this issue of the law of contentment in

your life. And you have to ask yourself, what is

the primary purpose of my life? To just get more?

You gotta be kidding me. I'm leaving it all here anyway.

What do I think about, talk about, give my most to?

What am I living my life for? Just to get more?

There was a very famous philosopher woman millionaire in Orange

County died many years ago and at the funeral somebody said,

she took her life, she committed suicide. Somebody at the

funeral said, I don't understand it, she had so much

to live for. And I thought, no, wrong. She had

so much to live on, she had nothing to live for.

You may have a lot to live on, do you

have anything to live for? Do you have a relationship

with God? You see, I invite you to get off

the treadmill today and adopt God's value system. You see,

the myth of the world is you can have it all.

The truth is, you can't have it all, and more important,

you don't need it all to be happy. You don't.

You're as happy as you choose to be. And the

secret of contentment, if you don't get anything else, get this,

the secret of contentment is finding my security and my

self and my satisfaction Not in what I have, but

in whose I am, who I belong to. You find

it in Christ. Closing verse on the screen, Psalm 17.

But as for me, in other words, as opposed to

all those who are buying into the Madison Avenue shtick,

but as for me, my contentment is not in wealth,

but in seeing you and knowing all is wealth. Between us,

you and me, God, that's where my satisfaction, that's where

my contentment comes from, being in tune with my creator.

And when I awake in heaven one day, I will

be fully satisfied, for I will see you face to face.

Let's bow our heads. Are you suffering from the effects

of always wanting more? What are those effects again? Well,

you're tired all the time. You're in debt. You have

added expenses. You worry about your finances. You have conflict

over money. You are dissatisfied and you are envious of

what others have. These are the signs that you have

not learned the law of contentment. Would you pray this

prayer in your heart? Dear God, I have been fooled

into thinking that having more would make me more happy.

And God, I've been so busy trying to get more

that I've had no time to be grateful and enjoy

what I already have. And you have given me so much.

Forgive me for comparing myself to others. Forgive me for

coveting and comparing. Help me to find my security in you,

not in possessions. and not in what other people think

about me. I don't wanna be materialistic. I wanna be

generous with others. And to help me remember that life

is not about things, I wanted to develop the habit

of tithing to you. Most of all, Lord, I wanna

find my security and myself and my satisfaction in you, Jesus.

My finances are out of control and I need a

life manager. Jesus Christ, become the manager of my life.

Guide me in this area and in every other area.

I want to learn to love and trust you in

your name. Amen.

Did you just pray with Pastor Rick to accept Jesus? Well,

if you did, congratulations. And if you email rick at pastorrick.com

and let us know that you prayed that prayer, we're

going to send you some free materials to help you

on your spiritual journey. All right, if you're looking for

daily encouragement from God's Word, I'd like to invite you

to download the Daily Hope app. It's designed to help

you grow in your faith every day. It has easy

access to devotionals, audio messages you can listen to anywhere,

and video teaching right at your fingertips. You can even

search for topics that matter to you and set a

daily reminder so you never miss time with God. Just

search Daily Hope in the Apple App Store or Google Play,

and I hope it's a real blessing to you. Be

sure to join us next time as we look into

God's Word for our Daily Hope. This program is sponsored

by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.