I have learned the secret of being content.
—Philippians 4:12
Slick marketers keep our wants beyond our reach, enticing us to spend ourselves into a black hole of indebtedness.
They sucker us into believing that happiness is found in a new house, a new car, a new wardrobe. But it doesn’t take long for the new to wear off, and the itch to trade-up has to be scratched again.
Same thing with relationships. Husbands dump wives because they think someone else will make them happy. Wives ditch husbands because they think someone else will provide the excitement they’re missing.
Embracing the tenth commandment would spare us a lot of misery: “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife . . . or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Ex 20:17).
Keep a tight lid on your wants.