By Cindy Nabb

My husband is a strong advocate for purity in our home.  He has taken steps to ensure purity in his own life and is actively teaching our children.  He has mentioned before in an earlier post that our sons know when to look away from certain billboards and certain establishments.  Well it occured to me the other day that our daughters need to have their eyes set on the prize as well.  They know that they too should turn their eyes from these same things but I don’t know if they know why.  While women do struggle with pornography, I would venture to guess that  women struggle more with being discontent.  Discontent with our spouse, our children’s behavior, our looks, our financial situation, our quality of life…well, you get the idea.

It seems almost daily we receive some sort of magazine, advertisment or catalog trying to sell us something.  My daughters have taken a liking to looking at these.  Harmless right?  As I was watching the little girls ooh and ahh over the latest dolls or the newest princess toys, it occurred to me how much discontent these items are bringing into our home and into the hearts of our children.  They were saying, “Oh Mommy isn’t this one lovely?”, “Do  you think Daddy will get me this one for   Christmas?”,  ”I don’t like this dolly (pointing to the one in her hand), I want this one! ”

Don’t we, as wives and mothers, do the same thing?  ”Her house is so much bigger, and she has it decorated so nicely, we need to do that to our house.”, “Look at the Jones’ new car!  Isn’t it beautiful?  Oh our car is fine, it’s not as pretty or as new but it’s fine.”, “Their kids are so obedient, they don’t have the same problems we do with our kids.”   “Wow, your husband took you on a trip for Valentine’s Day!”  These  statements may not sound like out and out discontent, but they are.  If we are comparing ourselves with others or comparing what we have to what others have it is the beginning of discontentedness.

I have found that if I don’t watch the home channels on TV, look through the ads in the Sunday paper or even peruse Craiglist the longing to have more or want more is lessened.  These things are like candy to my soul, they sweeten it for a time but in the end just make it rot, leaving me feeling empty and longing for more.  It isn’t feeding my soul like the water and nourishment I receive from God’s word, where I get filled up with a lasting food.

I challenge you (and myself), to fill yourselves with the real food of Jesus Christ and not with empty calories of this world.  Reading our bibles daily, more than once a day, and keeping our eyes on the prize, which is an eternity in heaven, where there’s nothing more to need, want or desire.