Goldilocks and the Quest for Contentment

…give me neither poverty nor riches, feed me with the food that is needful for me…Proverbs 30:8b

Do you remember Goldilocks? The young lady who broke into the Bears’ house and found things to be either too big or too small, too hot or too cold, too hard or too soft. She struggled with finding her “just right” things. She muttered and mumbled because things weren’t just right (never mind the part they weren’t her things, to begin with), but finally fell asleep after eating perfect porridge and resting in a perfect bed.
We all have a little Goldilocks in us. We are constantly searching for our “just right” stuff. We crave more thinking having more will stop us wanting more.

Contentment is the elusive sweet spot between having too much and not having enough. If we have too much we become self-sufficient and forget about God. If we have too little, we become resentful and blame God.
Proverbs 30:8-9 wisely tells us that the key to contentment is the fear of the Lord. Satisfaction only comes when we rest in Him. We can tell ourselves all the lies we want about how “if only I… then…“but the truth is there should be no “if” to begin with. Our lives begin and end with God. He is our provider. He is our source. He is our strength. All that we have comes from Him.

Goldilocks could have saved herself some angst by staying at home, eating her own food, and sleeping in her own bed instead of searching in someone else’s house for something better. The quest for better doesn’t lead us to the best.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray, He didn’t start with “if you… then you…” he started with:
“Our Father in Heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10.
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Our “just right” starts with our Father in Heaven, not with the Bears’ house next door.

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