Deconstruction: The Living Room – Technology Cannot Love You - Wednesday
Today’s Verse
Psalm 119:37
Turn me away from wanting any other plan than yours. Revive my heart toward you. (TLB)
This week, we’re discussing significantly better things than viewing computer screens. Today’s suggestion? Choose contentment. The happiest people I know do that—and yes, it’s a choice, not a feeling.
Dr. Richard Furman, co-founder of World Medical Mission, spent years doing surgery in remote parts of Africa. As he traveled, he often read tombstones in local cemeteries. Once, he noticed a grave marker with one word: “Satisfied.” Etched below was “Psalm 17:15.” When he got home, he looked it up. “I will be satisfied when I see you face to face.” Succinct but powerful.
Are you satisfied? If not, what might change that? Would your answer involve external things (circumstances) or internal things (spiritual)? The answer, of course, lies in your perspective. Bear with me. Is God supreme in your life? Is He an acquaintance or a friend? Is any relationship more crucial? Do you know why you’re here? As the Westminster Catechism puts it, “The chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
What would change if you believed that? I suggest the answer would include contentment. We'll always be content when we’re living out our primary purpose.
Years ago, I visited the Smithsonian National Museum. Just inside the door, in an alcove, was an art exhibit called “The Throne of the Third Heaven of the Nations’ Millennium General Assembly.” There were 180 pieces in the arrangement—from tables to chairs and decorative items—all pulled together by James Hampton, a quiet, virtually unknown janitor from the Washington D.C. area. His passion was to depict God’s Throne Room.
The collection was found in his garage after he died in 1964. He had worked on it for 20 years, and no one knew. Pieces were made from cast-off items—old furniture, aluminum foil from store displays, bottles, cigarette boxes, wine bottles, used light bulbs, cardboard, insulating board and sheets of transparent plastic—all precariously held together with glue, tape, tacks and pins.
On the bulletin board in the garage, he had copied this verse from Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” He believed people needed a vision of the glory of God, so he set out, single-handedly, to give it to them. We know very little about James Hampton, just his simple, passionate heart for God.
REFLECTION
Are you passionate about God’s glory? Is He on the Throne of your life? Dear one, you’ll never be truly satisfied until He is. It’s perpetual contentment. It’s what we’re made for! By the way, here’s a link to Mr. Hampton’s exhibit. Enjoy!
