Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods;
though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. Psalm 62:10

Everything about our society screams “you are dissatisfied”: look better, get richer, get better clothes, buy a nicer car, send your kids to the best schools, become more intimate. Yes, it’s the nature of marketing but it goes beyond the field marketing.

Two years ago I visited a cobbler on the outskirts of Hagerstown Maryland. I was running an errand for my wife. Mr. Eby worked out of his garage and he repaired shoes for a living. That’s it. Soles, heels, insoles, cleaning, everything dealing with the shoes you and I wear. He mentioned that he had work stacked up for about 3 weeks. He lived in what was probably a 2 bedroom ranch with about a third of an acre. He was very similar to the man I wrote about last year, Charlie (ironically, their homes were less than a half mile apart). By society’s superficial standards, Mr. Eby was a failure. What I saw, though, showed me that all the glitz and glitter is just that! He had none of it because he saw it for what it was. Here was a man at peace with repairing shoes and living a quiet and peaceful life. Like Charlie, he was a man of peace. He was satisfied with going to work each day and fixing shoes. Mr. Eby didn’t have a lot, but he didn’t need a lot.

That’s the kind of contentment I want in my life. I’m not there yet, but I know what it looks like.