I recently read that a child smiles about four hundred times a day while an adult-only manages twenty. I am sure we could speculate on reasons that may be true. I wondered if that estimated number applied more to American children or those in a third-world country. It captivated me when, on a mission trip to Africa, seeing children there laugh and play all day with an empty plastic water bottle, an adult had thrown away. It caught my attention because I see a child playing with a pricey toy then leaving it in the street if another child shows up with a more popular toy.
Could the smile variance have anything to do with the level of contentment of a child and an adult? A child can be happy and content to play all afternoon with a refrigerator box when an adult would soon fold it up and throw it away—unless he thought up something to do with it like catch oil drips from the family car.
There is no end to craving something more. Contentment is the foundation of true happiness. Happiness that comes from fulfilling a desire is like a mirage in the desert—it is only a figment of the imagination. It is like planning for a dream vacation only to find out shortly after arriving at the location the air has nearly gone out of the balloon. Contentment alone offers the best path to true happiness.
After expressing his gratitude when he received a gift while in prison, the apostle Paul wrote, actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content, whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy, whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Philippians 4:11-12 (MSG) Notice what he wrote after living in that prison for several years. When requesting prayer for himself. He asked them to pray that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6:19-20 (ESV) That prayer request is stunning to me! I suspect I would have been feeling sorry for myself and requested prayer to be delivered from being chained to prison guards!
Paul could only make that kind of prayer request because he had virtually “kissed that chain that bound him” which liberated him from his circumstance. His dreams now focused on being able to speak boldly about the good news of the kingdom of God when standing before the most powerful man in the world, the Caesar of Rome. The contentment he wrote about in his letter to the Philippians was not religious rhetoric, it was the real deal. Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have. Paul found full contentment in his intimate relationship with Christ. Anything more than that was nice, but unnecessary. Happiness will only be a fleeting shadow for those who cannot appreciate what they already have. As Paula Rollo said, contentment does not mean that I desire nothing. It is the simple decision to be content with what I have.
Do you have that kind of contentment? Or, do you want wealth, power, the esteem of others, or success that must be more satisfying than the life you live? The face of contentment is genuine gratitude, a very grateful heart. If you find you have been chasing happiness yet lack contentment, I strongly urge you to pause long enough to realign your values so you can be content with what you already have.