Johnny has three M&Ms. He takes four more from his sister. He eats two of them. He gives one to his brother. He eats two more. How many M&Ms does Johnny have?
Not enough.
Johnny does not have enough M&Ms.
Johnny will never have enough M&Ms, because he will never be satisfied. And such is life.
Contentment is easily one of the most annoying aspects of faith. I say “annoying” because nobody likes the process of learning to be content. It is hard. It is much easier to pursue selfish goals and pleasures in life than to learn to be happy in our current state. It goes against the grain of all we are.
The biggest misconception regarding contentment is that it is a feeling; and a feeling that will come automatically. We think we will wake up one day and no longer desire more.
News flash: ain’t gonna happen.
Humanity is restless; on a continual quest for more. Our bodies are designed to require more of everything. And the highs we feel eventually require more of whatever induced them to give us the previous effect.
"All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing." -Ecclesiastes 1:8
We always want more. And that will never change. This is not always a bad thing in itself, but the Bible speaks of contentment as something to seek.
"But godliness with contentment is great gain." -1 Timothy 6:6
So how do we achieve contentment?
I believe one of the keys to contentment is embracing the idea that we will never have enough. Knowing how to draw the line somewhere because the desires will never end.
These lines are often biblical lines. The Bible says a man should have no more than one wife; so he should draw the line there and stay faithful. And likewise his wife to him. The Bible says we should not covet what other people have. So we should draw the line at enjoying what we have, not longing for what other people have been blessed with.
See, God is protecting us and others from the dangerous consequences of unrestrained desires. Very few alcoholics and drug addicts started knowing that they would not be able to control themselves. Most believed they could handle the chemicals in their brains. But they quickly found they were wrong.
The quicker we learn to embrace the state of having unfulfilled longings, the sooner we can embrace God’s plan. It takes patience to submit to God’s will. Our faith is built on hope for the future. We do not yet have the fulfillment of what we are hoping for.
"For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” -Romans 8:24-25
The apostle Paul himself learned the secret to contentment.
"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:12-13
His secret: Christ’s power. We cannot be content without Christ. This is evident through the endless wandering of those in the world. Without the Holy Spirit inside of us, leading and guarding our hearts, we would never be comfortable in our own skin.
Does this make it easy? No. Does it make it possible? With Christ, a resounding YES!
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