Contentment is one of the most important blessings God has granted us. It makes you feel that you are always in God’s care, and you covet what you do not possess. This, in turn, makes a person good-natured, generous with affection and friendship. The person who is content with God’s blessings upon him and looks at them with a look of contentment and satisfaction cannot ever envy anyone, or harbor malice toward those around him in anything. Consequently, God protects him from the malice of the envious and the spiteful. In addition, it is worship and drawing near to God.
It is recounted that in ancient times, there was an old woman living in her house in the small village. No one visited her, for she was solitary. Unfortunately, she was extremely greedy and extremely stingy. Even if a needy person came to her, she would close the doors of her small houses, so that she would not be forced to host one of them and give him from what God had given her!
One day, an old man passed before her door, greeting her before he entered his house quickly. Before she went, the old man greeted her with peace, smiling to her. The old woman said to herself that she would be tricked by him, perhaps obtaining some food or drink. The man sensed her thinking and said to himself: “It appears she is stingy and does not wish to give me anything.” So he proceeded to cast the greeting upon her again and informed her that he was a traveling wayfarer and his food had run out, despite his having no money to spend on anything other than himself. He asked her to give him a small loaf of bread to sustain his hunger. The greedy old woman refused and entered to bring for him after minutes, carrying a dry loaf of bread that crumbles if touched.
The man sensed that his trick was successful. He said: “I will make her regret what she did.” He said to her: “Beautiful bread, but I would teach you how to bake bread properly, so that it becomes valid for eating.” The old woman as soon as she heard him said to him: “Why?” He answered her: “I would not say anything, but I would ask you by God to return to me what you heard.”
So he said to her: “I would always say that if you brought me some fresh bread and fresh butter and curd and dates, I would teach you the way to bake bread with, until it becomes valid for eating.” The greedy old woman hurried to her house and brought everything the wayfarer had requested. He stood, baked the bread, and placed some of it before him. Whenever he found a loaf, he would throw it and say to the old woman: “Partake with me.” She took a small loaf to see if it had baked, but she broke the white tooth inside her mouth. The man abandoned her, saying to her: “If you had been content with what you possessed and thanked God, you would not have lost the tooth you possess.” He set off after the greedy, stingy old woman had eaten the bread, a harsh and severe lesson.