What does it look like?
How does one know if they're content?
How does one become content?
Why is contentment so important?
Contentment doesn't have a "look" necessarily, but it definitely has a presence which can transcend any feeling by far. For those of you who may not really know what contentment is, here's what Dictionary.com has to say about it:
Content [kuh n-tent] adjective satisfied with what one is or has; not wanting more or anything else.Satisfied? To clarify, let's look that word up, too:
Satisfy [sat-is-fahy] verb to fulfill the desires, expectations, needs or demands of (a person, the mind, etc.); give full contentment to.Okay, so to be content means to have one's desires, expectations, needs or demands fulfilled. What does this mean in our current world? Is it possible for anyone to ever be content?
In this technology-driven world of instant gratification, have-it-your-way and enough-is-never-enough mentalities, contentment may seem impossible. So how do you know if you're content?
Maybe you have the job of your dreams, the pay you deserve, the family you've always wanted. You might call this happiness. Does being happy mean you're content? What happens when a job is lost? What happens when you or a family member is diagnosed with cancer; when life becomes less about living and more about surviving? Or worse, what happens when someone you love dies? Where's the happiness then? Is it possible to be content in these circumstances?
It is entirely possible, albeit not easy, but completely within your reach to be content even in the midst of life's disasters. This is what I mean when I said contentment transcends feelings. The difference between the two is:
Happiness is a feeling......contentment is a choice.
You've been knocked down. Life is far from happy. How is this satisfying? Let's go back to the definitions. The interesting thing about this definition of "satisfy" is that three of the four words used to define it are self-centered and biased: desires, expectations and demands. All three of these items vary depending on the person with whom they originate. You may desire wealth while someone else desires family. You may expect obedience while someone else expects cooperation. You may demand perfection while someone else simply demands effort. Each of these items are variables tailored to each person. If we take these ever-changing descriptors out, we are left with the one thing which is the same for everyone: our needs.
You might say you need a four-bedroom house, a job with paid vacation time; maybe you "need" a new phone with all the new features. But do you really need it? Do you need to see every blade of grass on the football field via your high definition TV? Do you need the fancy wedding and the debt that comes with it? Despite our skewed Western-World definition of a "need", our basic, human needs that go beyond culture and country are a better starting point for our definition of contentment.
Every human has basic needs. Here is a small checklist to assist in you're journey to contentment:
1. Food: Do you have food to sustain your body?
This may be a tough one for some. There are countless people in this world suffering from malnutrition for many reasons. Thus, food is a need that's not always being met for many.
2. Water: Do you have access to safe drinking water?
Like food, clean drinking water is a rare commodity in unacceptably large portions of the world. Again, it's a need that's not always being met.
3. Shelter: Do you have access to a means of shelter to protect you from inclimate weather and other possible dangers?
This, too, is inaccessible for some. Even in the "richest" country in the world (the U.S.A.), there are thousands upon thousands of people homeless and in the streets. Is this basic need of yours being met?
Take step back now and look at this list. I think we would all agree that these are three of the most basic needs every human being has. Sadly, this short list is missing the most basic need of all: love. I could go on and on with other more specific needs that satisfy the emotional and spiritual being rather than these three basic needs which only satisfy the physical, but I'll sum it up in this one word.
Love.
It is what thrust forth our existence in the first place. It is what sustains the world around us, fills our lungs each day and allows us to exist without lashing out at each other with animal-like malice. Whether you've experienced love in a marital, parental or friendship state or not, it is a basic need of every human being to be loved and to love others. We can fight it all we want, but we need love. Without it we are nothing.
How does one get contentment out of love? Follow me for a moment as I diagram this most important necessity of life.
The Bible tells us:
I can speak from personal experience that faith in Jesus Christ has given me a level of contentment that I never felt before. At my families most dire times--financial crises, health crises, spiritual crises--knowing that I had Christ at my side, even carrying me at times when my body was too weak, made all the difference. Where worry used to dwell, confidence in God's provision through the love of Christ took its place. This is the difference between happiness and contentment. God promises to provide for those who believe (Matthew 6 and Luke 12), so as a believer, why would I have any reason to be discontent?
Now you're probably thinking...wait, WHAT? Didn't you say contentment was a CHOICE? Yes, I did. I'm sure there's plenty of believers out there who do NOT feel content. That's understood. It took me years after accepting Christ to really understand contentment. Here are a few reasons even believers have trouble being content:
1. We humans like being in control. The problem with this is that God demands our reliance on him: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..." (Proverbs 3:5)
2. We get distracted by the day-to-day: We get so blinded by the daily grind that we forget that God promises to provide for us. Pair that with our addiction to controlling things, and POOF, contentment is out with the trash. "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." (Luke 12:29-31)
3. Like others, we confuse happiness or success with real contentment. It is easy to think you're content when the world's at your feet, but what about when you're face down in the gutter of life, footprints on your back, and no one to call to bail you out? "In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud..." (Psalm 81:7)
4. Understandably, we may get upset, even angry with God when it seems like our prayers aren't being answered. The truth of it is, "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; The Lord accepts my prayer." (Psalm 6:9) "The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand." (Psalm 20:6)
It is very difficult to let go and let God be in control of our lives, but with that choice--that decision to follow Christ--you are choosing freedom from the bondage of discontentment. This, my dear readers...This is what it means to be content. Choose Christ and choose to wake up everyday with the knowledge that God loves you and he's taking care of you. (How he chooses to provide for you? Well, that's for another blog entirely.)
The Bible tells us:
"God is love". (1 John 4:7-11)
"The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame." (Isaiah 58:11)The Apostle Paul writes:
"...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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 4:11-13)
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength..." (1 Timothy 1:12)Paul says Jesus is the secret to being content in all circumstances. No matter your level of employment, your income, your family status, your health status...the peace that comes with faith in Jesus (Romans 5) satisfies the soul. It is through Christ's love and strength that each of us can be fulfilled and content.
I can speak from personal experience that faith in Jesus Christ has given me a level of contentment that I never felt before. At my families most dire times--financial crises, health crises, spiritual crises--knowing that I had Christ at my side, even carrying me at times when my body was too weak, made all the difference. Where worry used to dwell, confidence in God's provision through the love of Christ took its place. This is the difference between happiness and contentment. God promises to provide for those who believe (Matthew 6 and Luke 12), so as a believer, why would I have any reason to be discontent?
Now you're probably thinking...wait, WHAT? Didn't you say contentment was a CHOICE? Yes, I did. I'm sure there's plenty of believers out there who do NOT feel content. That's understood. It took me years after accepting Christ to really understand contentment. Here are a few reasons even believers have trouble being content:
1. We humans like being in control. The problem with this is that God demands our reliance on him: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..." (Proverbs 3:5)
2. We get distracted by the day-to-day: We get so blinded by the daily grind that we forget that God promises to provide for us. Pair that with our addiction to controlling things, and POOF, contentment is out with the trash. "And do not set your heart on what you will eat or drink; do not worry about it. For the pagan world runs after all such things, and your Father knows that you need them. But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well." (Luke 12:29-31)
3. Like others, we confuse happiness or success with real contentment. It is easy to think you're content when the world's at your feet, but what about when you're face down in the gutter of life, footprints on your back, and no one to call to bail you out? "In your distress you called and I rescued you, I answered you out of a thundercloud..." (Psalm 81:7)
4. Understandably, we may get upset, even angry with God when it seems like our prayers aren't being answered. The truth of it is, "The Lord has heard my cry for mercy; The Lord accepts my prayer." (Psalm 6:9) "The Lord gives victory to his anointed. He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary with the victorious power of his right hand." (Psalm 20:6)
It is very difficult to let go and let God be in control of our lives, but with that choice--that decision to follow Christ--you are choosing freedom from the bondage of discontentment. This, my dear readers...This is what it means to be content. Choose Christ and choose to wake up everyday with the knowledge that God loves you and he's taking care of you. (How he chooses to provide for you? Well, that's for another blog entirely.)
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