The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

"Many men and women who do not know their own hearts would fain have as prosperous a position as others, but if they knew their own hearts they would know that they were not able to manage it.
Suppose one of your little children of three or four were crying for the coat of her sister who is twelve or perhaps twenty, and said, 'Why may not I have a coat as long as my sister's?' If she had it, it would soon trip up her heels, and scratch her face. But when the child comes to understanding, she is not discontented because her coat is not as long as her sister's, but says, 'my coat fits me,' and therein she is content. So if we come to understanding in the school of Christ we will not cry, Why have I not got such wealth as other's have?, but, The Lord sees that I am not able to manage it and I see it myself by knowing my own heart. There are some children who, if they see a knife, will cry for it because they do not know their strength and that they are not able to manage it, but you know they are not able to manage it and therefore you will not give it them, and when they come to sufficient understanding, they will not cry for it.
Similarly we would not cry for some things if we knew that we were not able to manage them.
When you vex and fret for what you have not got, I may say to you as Christ said, 'You know not of what spirit you are.'

Jeremiah Burroughs (1599-1646) Photo by Harnois Yves