Connections and Contentment

This morning, I went for a walk in beautiful autumn sunshine.  As I went along, I greeted people with a cheery ‘Good morning!’  I was struck by what a difference those two words made.  Some people were startled to have some unknown woman smiling and speaking to them, some removed their eyes from their phone screens to look back at me, others, who had been walking along in a shroud of alone-ness, brightened at my greeting and all, without exception, smiled, replied and walked on with a renewed vigour in their steps.

I have a friend with speech and mobility difficulties, his mind doesn’t work very quickly, and he cannot hold long conversations but, whenever I see him – usually sitting on a bench at our local shops – his face lights up and he gives me a hug and a kiss.  We have a brief conversation, which usually follows the same format, and then we part, both of us with a smile on our face.  He blesses me every time.

I so admire my friend, he doesn’t try to prolong a conversation, which would be difficult for us both, but he says what he wants to say, expresses his love and is then content to sit and watch the world go by until giving me a wave as I return from my shopping. 

Contentment is a rare emotion these days; we look at the world news, our local news, our workplaces, even our homes, and we recognise a widespread feeling of discontent. 

1 Timothy 6: 6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

The Apostle Paul was writing (incidentally, another means of connecting with people), to the younger Timothy, who had taken on the role of Pastor for a very disparate group of people in the local church; slaves, masters, widows, church leaders, grandparents etc.  He recognised that, just as is the case today, people were often striving for ‘bigger’, ‘better’, ‘more’; and Paul advises Timothy to remember that “we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.  But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (v7-8).

In light of the discontent around him, Paul encourages Timothy to “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called.” 

We, too, as followers of Jesus, are called to ‘take hold’ of eternal life.  To take hold of something takes thought, action and effort.  Perhaps, part of our ‘taking hold’ can be making connections, bringing the love and joy that we know in Jesus, into the lives of others, through a smile or a greeting, and, just maybe, helping them feel some contentment through the connection.

As the old song says, “Love is something if you give it away, you end up getting more.”