My brethren, the reason why you have not got contentment in the things of the world is not because you have not got enough of them. That is not the reason. But the reason is because they are not things proportionable to that immortal soul of yours that is capable of God Himself. Many men think that when they are troubled and have not got contentment, it is because they have but a little in the world, and if they had more then they would be content. That is just as if a man were hungry, and to satisfy his craving stomach he should gape and hold open his mouth to take in the wind, and then should think that the reason why he is not satisfied is because he has not got enough of the wind. No, the reason is because the thing is not suitable to a craving stomach.
— Jeremiah Burroughs (1599–1646), Puritanischer Pastor
Topics: Meaning & Identity, Money & Possessions
Occasions: For Reflection
Jeremiah Burroughs
Jeremiah Burroughs (1599–1646) war ein englischer puritanischer Geistlicher, der nach Jahren im niederländischen Exil als Prediger in London wirkte und an der Westminster-Synode teilnahm. Er wurde vor allem durch sein seelsorgerliches Werk über christliche Genügsamkeit bekannt und vertrat kirchenpolitisch als einer der „Dissenting Brethren“ die Selbstständigkeit der Ortsgemeinden. Heutigen Bibellesern begegnet er als Ausleger, der reformierte Theologie mit lebenspraktischer Seelsorge und dem Vertrauen auf Gottes Vorsehung in Krisenzeiten verband.
All quotes by Jeremiah Burroughs (5)
You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in you.
Augustine of Hippo
Jesus calls us not to a new religion, but to life.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
I am the prodigal son every time I search for unconditional love where it cannot be found.
Henri Nouwen
To love a person means to see them as God meant them to be.
Fyodor Dostoevsky
Inner dignity remains, even when performance capacity and social role decline.
Anselm Grün
There is a God, and I'm not him.
John Mark Comer
God has put eternity into our hearts and filled it with longing.
John Piper
Prayers are tools not for doing or getting, but for being and becoming.
Eugene Peterson