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Contentment One of the great mysteries of Christianity is
contentment.
At least one must presume it is a mystery, because so
few
people live it. Yet
contentment is not something that’s
found; it is an attitude.
Balance
There are many people who seemingly have little or no
regard for material possessions. They accept poverty as
a
normal living condition, and their major concern is
where
they will sleep that night or eat that day. In contrast
are
the affluent, who have the best our society has to
offer at
their disposal. Their houses, summer cottages, winter
chalets, and automobiles are the envy of the community.
Does either scenario bring contentment? No!
If money can’t buy contentment and poverty doesn’t
provide
it, what is contentment and how is it attained?
Contentment, contrary to popular opinion, does not mean
being satisfied where you are. Rather, it is knowing
God’s
plan for your life, having a conviction to live it, and
believing that God’s peace is greater than the world’s
problems.
So often Christians get so involved in the day-to-day
activities of earning a living and raising a family
that
they forget their real purpose in life: to serve God.
They
discover that their lives are out of balance and don’t
know
how to bring them back into balance. So, they buy more
things or get rid of things in order to bring back the
balance. However, nothing seems to work.
Christians get trapped into a discontented life by
adopting
worldly goals: more, bigger, and best. The Bible
identifies
these as indulgence, greed, and pride. For a while
after
accepting Christ as Savior, there is a peace and a real
willingness and desire to commit everything to God.
After a
while there is a tendency to fall back into the same
old
routine of desiring and getting more, rationalizing
that
somehow it is “serving the Lord.” The evidence to the
contrary is a lack of peace, a lack of spiritual
growth,
and a growing doubt about God’s ability to provide.
In today’s society it’s not normal to step down. Once a
certain level of income, spending, and lifestyle is
attained, most will go into debt in order to maintain
that
level. Stepping down to an affordable level is
considered
failure. Yet, contentment can’t be achieved without
personal discipline and staying within the lifestyle
parameters God has established, based on His provision
(Luke 12:15; 16:13-14).
In poverty, the issue is usually black and white—you
either
have it or you don’t. In affluence, the deception is
much
more subtle, because anxieties and worries are not
usually
related to the lack of things but rather the loss of
things. In essence, most affluent Christians fear they
might lose the material things they have acquired.
Unless
they are so detached from the goods that they must be
willing to lose them they won’t find real contentment.
That
does not necessarily mean that they have to surrender
all
of their material possessions. It means being willing
to do
so.
God’s plan for contentment
Although many Scriptures teach about the dangers of
material riches, God’s Word does not teach that poverty
is
God’s alternative. God wants us to understand that
money is
a tool to use in accomplishing His plan through us. If
we
are to find true contentment we must
establish some
basic
guidelines.
Establish a reasonable standard of living. It is
important
to develop a lifestyle based on conviction, not
circumstances. God will assign Christians at every
economic
level. On whatever level He has placed you, live within
the
economic parameters established and supplied by Him.
Just
having abundance is not a sign of God’s blessings.
Satan
can easily duplicate any worldly riches. God’s
abundanceis
without sorrow and is for the purpose of bringing
others to
Christ.
Establish a habit of giving. Along with the tithe, God
desires that every Christian provide for the needs of
others through the giving of offerings, gifts, and
personal
involvement.
Establish priorities. Many Christians are discontented—
not
because they aren’t doing well but because others are
doing
better. Too often Christians look at what they don’t
have
and become dissatisfied and discontented, rather than
thanking God for what they do have and being content
with
what He has supplied.
Develop a thankful attitude. It is remarkable that in
America we could ever think that God has failed us
materially. That attitude is possible only when we
allow
Satan to convince us to compare ourselves to others.
The
primary defense against this attitude is praise to God.
Satan uses lavishness and waste to create discontent
and
selfish ambition. Thankfulness is a state of mind, not
an
accumulation of assets. Until Christians can truly
thank
God for what they have and be willing to accept God’s
provision, contentment will never be possible.
Conclusion
Contentment is so far removed from many Christians that
it
seems that they will never be able to find it or be at
peace. However, contentment is not something that must
be
searched for and found. It is an attitude of the heart.
Once the attitude has been modified and all has been
transferred to God, contentment will be evident.