{"id":8584,"date":"2019-08-14T06:34:57","date_gmt":"2019-08-14T06:34:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=8584"},"modified":"2019-07-23T14:46:06","modified_gmt":"2019-07-23T14:46:06","slug":"bomb-disposal-pt5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt5\/","title":{"rendered":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 5)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>From envy to contentment<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cI wish \u2026 I had their car.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cI wish \u2026 I had their house.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cI wish \u2026 I had their fitness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>\u201cI wish \u2026 I had their ministry, popularity, kids, teeth, status, pension, hair \u2026!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why are we not content?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In spiritual terms, we have something wrong with us. Even as Christians, saved by God\u2019s power, with the Holy Spirit within us and new life in Christ, we still live in mortal bodies. The old me is still here! Our mind and our body are influenced by our old nature which was ruled by sin. But wonderfully as Christians we are no longer to be slaves to sin, ruled by it, but slaves to righteousness and ruled by Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u2026 count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires.<\/p><cite>Romans 6:11-12<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Part of God\u2019s rule in us is to call us and equip us to grow into the new life, ever more like Jesus, ever more pleasing to God, and enjoying a life shaped by&nbsp;<em>holiness<\/em>. He calls us to put to death the old life and put on a new life, wear the character of Christ, with God\u2019s help to grow this in us. Like the apostle Paul, we can \u2018labour\u2019 for this, relying on God\u2019s \u2018energy, whichso powerfully works\u2019 in us(Col. 1:29).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We need this power if we\u2019re going to deal with the deadly sin of&nbsp;<strong>envy<\/strong>. Envy is fundamentallya sin which focuses on ourselves in competition with others. It is not about them, but what they have or who we perceive them as.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Envy implies a&nbsp;<strong>lack of humility<\/strong>, which resents the popularity and acclaim of others, and is discontent with what we have.<\/li><li>Envy implies a&nbsp;<strong>lack of security<\/strong>in who we are, who God has made us \u2013 for example, our wealth, status, talents, spirituality, or appearance.<\/li><li>Envy clearly shows a&nbsp;<strong>lack of gratitude<\/strong>, a&nbsp;<em>discontentment<\/em>with the present state of affairs. A lack of gratitude before God for what we do have and enjoy, focusing instead on other people\u2019s blessings, perhaps not seeing their burdens or failings.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We are more likely to be envious of someone of whom we can realistically measure their wealth, status or popularity in our own terms. We are unlikely to be envious of a Saudi prince for his \u00fcber-wealth of 100\u2019s of billions, or of a global popstar for having millions of Twitter followers, or of a President\u2019s power. We are more likely to envy our neighbour, work colleague or friend, i.e. someone in our \u2018orbit\u2019. And more likely for their car or house than their superyacht.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God has generously provided us with a full toolkit to dispose of these deadly sins. His Spirit is with us, his word has power, prayer connects us to him, and strength comes from godly friends standing with us. Open the toolkit, put it to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Envy can be replaced with contentment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Contentment. That sublime quality from God. A shield of peace against flaming arrows that would rattle and undermine us. Growing in contentment frees us to enjoy life, to bless others, to rest from worry and striving for more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\"><p>\u2026when God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work \u2013 this is a gift of God.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p><cite>Ecclesiastes 5:19<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps we just need to count our blessings, not those of other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Bomb Disposal is <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/Bomb-Disposal-Dealing-Seven-Deadly\/dp\/1983877743\" target=\"_blank\">Available on Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt5\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From envy to contentment \u201cI wish \u2026 I had their car.\u201d \u201cI wish \u2026 I had their house.\u201d \u201cI wish \u2026 I had their fitness.\u201d \u201cI wish \u2026 I had their ministry, popularity, kids, teeth, status, pension, hair \u2026!\u201d Why are we not content? In spiritual terms, we have something wrong with us. Even as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":8567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[1724,1725,1726,1490],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-2es","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8591,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt9\/","url_meta":{"origin":8584,"position":0},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 9)","date":"11 September 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"God\u2019s grace and our character Through this series of blog posts we\u2019ve explored something of the seven deadly sins, what they can do to us, what they might look like in everyday life, where the world might reflect or even celebrate them, and some encouragements from the Bible as we\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8582,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt4\/","url_meta":{"origin":8584,"position":1},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 4)","date":"7 August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From lust to love When an unexploded bomb is discovered in one of the many harbour and dockyard areas which operate around the English Channel, such as an old WW2 mine or a payload from a bomber, the Royal Navy will often tow the device out into the Channel before\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8588,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt7\/","url_meta":{"origin":8584,"position":2},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 7)","date":"28 August 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From anger to peace In August 2017, more than 60,000 people were evacuated from their homes in Frankfurt after an unexploded bomb was\u00a0uncovered during construction work. The 1,400kg device\u2013\u00a0codenamed \u00a0'Cookie' by the RAF\u2013\u00a0was dropped by a British wartime bomber in WW2. That\u2019s quite some cookie. The evacuation was one of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8562,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal\/","url_meta":{"origin":8584,"position":3},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 1)","date":"17 July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Dealing with the Seven Deadly Sins When I look out of the kitchen window at home, I marvel at how prolific and healthy the garden is.\u00a0\u00a0Not the good stuff (flowers or shrubs which we might actually have chosen and planted) but the weeds \u2013 they seem unstoppable!\u00a0\u00a0Every nook and cranny\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8578,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt3\/","url_meta":{"origin":8584,"position":4},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 3)","date":"31 July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From greed to generosity The experience of Britain in the early 1940\u2019s demonstrated again and again how an unexploded bomb (UXB) in an oil refinery, a railway yard, or a factory could create wider chaos in the transport links. It would disrupt the network of communications \u2013 railways especially \u2013\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8573,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/friends-of-cvm\/bomb-disposal-pt2\/","url_meta":{"origin":8584,"position":5},"title":"Bomb Disposal (Pt 2)","date":"24 July 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"From pride to humility When you do a good job, it\u2019s nice to get the appreciation, the praise; just a simple \u201cthank you\u201d can make a difference to the whole day. That might be from solving the missing number on a spreadsheet, bringing a team member up to speed on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Friends of CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/bp-book.jpeg?fit=1000%2C697&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8584"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8584"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8597,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8584\/revisions\/8597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}