What’s in Your Backpack?

By Bill Naron         

A couple of months ago, in a desire to allow our home to be more efficient, my wife and I began the process of purging. We chose to start with the children’s rooms. The reason for starting there was simple: they had too many toys! Our children had this interesting habit of taking a backpack and stuffing it full of toys. Then they would just walk around with it while playing whatever game they were playing. We were both so confused by this behavior and tried to reason out why they did this. The conclusion that we finally came to was that the children had too many toys.

            Proverbs 27:20 says, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” By our own human nature, we desire to gain more and to have more. Like the proverb says, our eyes are never satisfied.

            As I have pondered the words of this Scripture and as I reflect on the words of Pastor Steve, I ask myself, Are my eyes satisfied? Am I content with the things that the Lord has given to me? Am I content with where God has placed me?

Our contentment is not just being satisfied with the physical items we possess. Our contentment is also a matter of being satisfied with where God has placed us. No matter who you are, God has given you defined life roles. Whether we are fathers or mothers, or teachers, or husbands, or wives, or students, it is important for us to identify the roles that God has given us and understand them.

The word content is defined as “being in a state of peaceful happiness.” Are you in a state of peaceful happiness? Is your backpack light or heavy? The Apostle Paul says in Timothy, “But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” Paul lets us in on the secret: the only thing that matters is seeking after the Father. All the possessions we can gain mean nothing, because we cannot take them with us.

It is often stated that we should not be like the world and chase after material objects. In fact, in Romans, Paul tells us not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. We pray that God would guard our minds and our hearts. But have we ever thought of guarding our time and efforts?

How we prioritize our lives and how we fill our time give such a picture of what matters the most to us. This is why it is so vital to understand what the roles that God has given us are. Otherwise, we become like children whose backpacks are full of stuff. Filling our backpacks with commitment after commitment, we walk around or run around so busy, yet we do not seem to see the results that we thought we would. The stuff in our backpacks is taking up space and is hindering us from doing the things God has called us to do.

            I would challenge you to sit down and list out the roles that God has placed you in. Guard your time, and guard your efforts. Use your calendar and time to help enable your family and yourself to flourish. May your joy be full and may you be at peace with the time and season that God has you in.

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