Is your heart at peace?

"A heart at peace gives live to the body, but envy rots the bones." Proverbs 14:30

I read this verse yesterday, and it got me thinking. Above the words "at peace," I had previously written "content" in my Bible.

Can you identify people in your life who aren't content? I can. They gripe, whine, and complain about what they don't have. They are always wanting more, more, more (more money, more things, more attention, more power). They are so busy doing all the time that there is no peace in their lives. It makes me nervous to be around such people who are never happy and never satisfied.

What about those who are content? They just act differently. They are pleasant to be around. They are genuinely happy for you when you have something new or share an accomplishment. Also they don't try to "one-up" everything you say or do.

It's easy to see things and wish we had them. We can dream up ways that our lives would be better or our jobs easier "if only I had......." We have to learn to be content with what we've been given. It's okay to better ourselves and work to improve our lives for ourselves and our families. I think we need to be careful, though, not to become so driven by these pursuits that we lose focus of truly important things in life (which aren't things or power or name brands or big bank accounts!).

So are you content? Is your heart at peace?
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This quote was in our newspaper recently.

"You have not lived a perfect day, even through you have earned your money, unless you have
done something for someone who will never be able to repay you." Ruth Smeltzer