Contentment and Its Enemy

In my early years as a follower of Jesus I became an avid reader of books that would help me grow in understanding the Bible and its relevance to the world around me.  One author who stood out to me because of the great impact he had on my thinking was Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer.  Even though I must admit feeling intellectually challenged by some of his writings, he had a way of cutting through the fog to the very heart of many theological issues.  My understanding of the nature of contentment I owe, in part, to his keen insight into the Scriptures.

In the last post I shared the idea that contentment flows out of trust.  The more we are able to trust, the more content we will become – if the object of that trust is actually trustworthy.  To better understand the nature of something, it often helps to know its opposite.  In other words, “Know your enemy.”  Since the opposite of contentment is being discontent, you might also suspect that discontentment is linked to the absence of trust.  Dr. Schaeffer took it a step further, explaining that discontentment is the direct result of coveting.

Now, being discontented does not necessarily imply having dire needs or facing harsh circumstances.  In fact, many people who enjoy great financial success, fame or achievement also struggle with discontentment, finding themselves constantly striving for more.  Striving for improvement can be a good thing, but not if is driven by an inward desire for self satisfaction.

My earliest experience with real discontentment was as a child in my primary school age years and is still vivid in my mind today.  It happened every year on Christmas day.  The anticipation had built up over weeks for that exciting moment when we opened our gifts.  It had started with the arrival of the Sears & Roebuck mail order catalog, commonly known as the “Wish Book,” that my older sister and I pored over to find the things that we wanted for Christmas.  When Christmas morning finally arrived, the excitement was always intense as we opened our gifts (not that we got everything we wanted).

By late afternoon my mood had totally shifted 180 degrees.  Having focused my attention all day on entertaining myself, I felt bored, let-down and very discontent.  The anticipation of how wonderful it was going to be to have these things had far exceeded the now fading satisfaction I was experiencing after getting them and playing with them for a day.

I am thankful, now, for that experience because when it came time to celebrate Christmas with my own family, I was determined not to focus so much attention on gift receiving.  Instead, we tried to emphasize remembering that it was Jesus’ birthday and honoring Him by making gifts for others and sharing part of our day with them.  We usually saved the bigger gifts for our children’s birthdays.

It’s fairly easy to see how coveting was behind my discontentment on Christmas Day.  I had focused for weeks on what I wanted, how I would play with my gifts and how much fun I was going to have.  The whole thing was about me and what would make me happy. 

But I was not coveting something that belonged to someone else, was I?  Well, yes, it belonged to the store (catalog company)!  But it goes beyond that.  I remember my well-meaning parents telling us kids not to say you want something that someone has, but to say you want one like it!  Somehow, that missed the point, because if there had not been another one like it, my heart’s attitude would have been that I still wanted what that person had.

But surely all discontentment doesn’t come from coveting…does it?  I believe it does.  See if you can think of a situation that does not fit the criteria.  Well, you say, what about the person whose marriage has been broken by an unfaithful spouse, or the employee who has been laid off as a result of favoritism, or the person who is struck by cancer that has tried to eat wisely and live a healthy lifestyle, or…?  The list could go on endlessly.

Each of these questions implies that suffering, especially if it comes upon us unfairly, justifies being discontent in our circumstances.  A quick look back at Paul in the prison cell immediately disarms this argument.  He was suffering in so many ways, and unjustly, yet he was content in these conditions.  But, surely it isn’t coveting to desire a happy marriage, or having a good job, or to live a healthy, active life. 

I’m sure that Paul longed to be free, traveling from town to town, preaching the Gospel and enjoying the fellowship of other believers.  This longing, however, was not something to cause him to complain, to make him bitter or to take control of his life. On the contrary, it was in this same letter to the Philippians that he encouraged his readers to “Rejoice in the Lord always,” and, “again, I say rejoice!”  Paul was always focused, first on the Lord, and second on others, not on himself.  He was truly content with being wherever the Lord wanted him to be and counted it a privilege to suffer for the cause of Christ.

To me, the clinching argument that all discontent arises from coveting was the realization that when I covet, I’m not just envying another person who “has it” better than I do.  In reality, all my coveting is ultimately against God.  It is saying to the Lord, “I deserve better than this,”  “You’re not really working this out for my good,” or “It’s not right that You’re withholding the blessing from me that You’re giving my brother.”  When the reality of this sinks in, we’ll be amazed how many times we’ve broken the tenth commandment, not to covet!

Finally, how can we attain to Paul’s attitude about suffering?  For most of us, we probably aren’t suffering as a result of our service for Christ.  But there’s one thing we can do.  We can turn whatever issue we’re facing into an occasion or opportunity for service.  We can give testimony to our trust in Him in our trying circumstances and seek to encourage others who are going through similar struggles.  We can learn to focus on the blessings we have rather than the ones we don’t have.  I’ve tried to remember thinking, as I’ve struggled with breathing over the past months, how blessed I am just to be alive and thankful for what the Lord has rescued me from. 

Dear reader, may the Lord reveal to you, also, the special blessings you have been given and help you to see how your suffering can become a unique opportunity to serve and honor Him.

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  – Philippians 4:13