The fruit of goodness is very flexible. It evades a legalistic definition. Why do we like rules? So, we can get around them. If we know what is allowed or what is not allowed it gives us the knowledge of how to achieve our goal legally. But when we have such a flexible rule like if you know it is good to do, do it. Well, that takes away all our evasive techniques.

There is that joke among Christians don’t pray for patience because bad things are going to happen to you. This is a rooted in truth. A joke is one thing, but some elder Christians actually advice against praying for patience. This is bad advice. We shouldn’t avoid doing hard things because we want to avoid pain.

Romans 12 and 13 give practival tips for bearing peace. We are going to exlore those today.

Come with me as we explore Joy, the second fruit of the Spirit.

Love is the sugar that can be found in the rest of the fruit of the Spirit. It is the thing that makes the other fruit sweet. The reason we love fruit more then vegetables are because they are sweeter.

Today, I want to give you some practical strategies to be in a place of contentment. We know we should be content. We know discontent is a spiritual place we don’t want to be in. We know it isn’t an emotional place we want to live in. So how do we stay content?

Practical strategies for contentment

Praise and thanksgiving

What you consume

What you talk about

Giving generously

We have increased goods and blessings for the purpose of blessing which produces thanksgiving to God! Think about a fellow believers response when you supply a need. You bring them groceries, repair their car, mow their grass and they say Praise God!

Motivation matters. Paul says giving out of bounty and abundance verses taking because you want what someone has is what matters. The NLT says willing gift not grudging. If you are not content you will never have enough left to give. If you are not at a place of sufficiency you will never have enough to spare. However, if you are looking around at your bounty you can always find something to give.

Contentment allows us to pursue the right goals, God’s goals, our own goals, not our neighbor’s goals.

Contentment allows us to make long term choices, instead of short sighted choices. Contentment allows us to choose wisely. It is the foundation that helps us do hard things to accomplish important goals. One of the enemies of contentment is coveting.