Contentment

What do I have to experience and how long do I need to be content before I can honestly say, “I am content”?  Hum?  For me it seems easy to be satisfied for maybe 12 hours, but it then tends to slowly drift into the fog.  Could I be compartmentalizing contentment by saying such things as I’m happy with my wife but not with the quirks in my personality, my finances or the weather changes?  What exactly is the satisfaction Paul referred to when he wrote, Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.  I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little (Philippians 4:11-12, NLT2).  

I suspect many of us have very confused ideas of its value and what makes a person content. Some have said contentment destroys initiative to improve his or her financial condition or desire for excellence or better living conditions.  The truth they fail to grasp is that when the source of one’s contentment is their intimacy with God, the work He does through that person is most fruitful and significant.  Others subconsciously live with the notion if I could have this or that good thing I would be fulfilled.  Unfortunately, that one good thing is never enough.  All such artificial satisfaction is associated with our external circumstances.

The Holy Spirit was saying through Paul that the secret of enduring contentment is its source being internal rather than external.  True contentment is not related to possessions, popularity, looks or skill-set since those factors can only give temporary satisfaction.  Authentic contentment is rooted in something far more stable than our environment or pleasantries. It flows out of a conviction deep within us.  We experience it when the external things lose their grip on our soul (mind/emotions), and therefore no longer matter very much.  Paul’s contentment had become so much a part of how he viewed life that he was able to enjoy life regardless of his external situation—his possessions, popularity, persecution or any other suffering.  Rabbi Hyman Schachtel was credited for saying, “Happiness is not having what you want. It is wanting what you have.”  How very true!  If you fall short of this type of type of contentment, nothing is ever enough! 

What might it be like to be free of the ruthless tyranny of competitive jealousy, greed, envy or the nagging feeling that you want one more thing?  How does a person come to experience this level of contentment?  It requires a personal revelation that an intimate relationship with the Bible God is ALL a person needs.  If God is pleased with your core values and how you live them out, then your inner being will become like an artesian well of confidence, hope, joy and peace.  As the words of the old chorus go, “the things of this world grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace”. 

So, what among your cares of life have you been allowing to compete with the incredible security a more intimate relationship with our God offers you?  The symptom of that competitor is most likely linked to your base motivation for choosing how to use each of the 24 hours God has allotted to you.  Taking time to drill down to identify that counterfeit motivation and adjusting your life accordingly may very well be the most life-giving decision you will make—second only to your salvation.  Just imagine being fully satisfied with the delights within you that flow out of your close relationship with God in contrast to the restlessness of having the empty external attractions continually arousing the insatiable desire for something more. What are a few steps you can begin to take in order to discover and personally experience the secret of true contentment?

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