Happiness vs. Contentment.

Hebrews 13:5
5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”

I'll start you off with some definitions from dictionary.com
Happiness: (noun) the quality or state of being happy; an agreeable feeling or condition of the soul arising from good fortune or propitious happening of any kind; the possession of those circumstances or that state of being which is attended enjoyment

Contentment: (noun) the state of being contented; satisfaction; ease of mind; gratification

Happiness and contentment may not seem all that different, but they are.

Have you ever heard of the phrase, "Money can't buy happiness?" Well I don't think it's really true. I also know of a play I've been reading in English class where justice is literally bought. A woman donates one million dollars to the town only if she can first get justice...by someone in the town killing the man who betrayed her.

Back to reality, we know money can make us pretty happy because we can buy a house with it, go to the movies with it, and go to the football games with it. While these things may make you happy, it's not going to be an eternal happiness. Those things will need to be replaced...a newer house and a newer movie. Also, once your life on Earth ends, it won't matter what material things you had or what you bought from your wish list.

The passage above says to strive for contentment, not happiness. Be satisfied and appreciative for what you have.

It's not always easy to be content. Trust God. Know that everything you have is a blessing from God. God will never stop providing the necessities.

"The most valuable things in life are not measured in monetary terms. The really important things are not houses and lands, stocks and bonds, automobiles and real state, but friendships, trust, confidence, empathy, mercy, love and faith." ~Bertrand Russell

"Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have." ~Unknown