Last weekend in the sermon, Tim Hampton and I were trying to unpack contentment. We said that contentment is so elusive because there are so many things that will steal away our sense of being satisfied. It is like the child who is playing contentedly in the backyard with her friends until they hear the song of the Good Humor Truck and now they are discontentedly scrambling for money to buy their favorite ice cream with the hope of finding contentment again.
The premise of our culture is that contentment is for sale.
Herein lies the rub. I am a fairly contented person provided that I am not aware of other options. I like the seven and a half foot ceilings in my house until I see nine foot ceilings in somebody else’s house. I try to enjoy what they have and be genuinely happy for them and the airy feeling above. But the evaporation of my contentment is to dwell on what I don’t have and to demand I have what they have.
I really like the newer, faster, shinier, better. I like the newer laptop. I like the faster internet service. I like the shinier appliance. I like the better golf balls. God does give us all things for our enjoyment. I think that if something you have causes you to give thanks to God, then God is honored. But if I think that I must have the newer, faster, shinier, or better to find contentment then I am in trouble of being covetous. Remember covetousness makes God’s top 10 list of things to avoid. Jesus said that a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.
Debbie for me is a picture of contentment. As you might know, nearly every summer for the past five, she and I and as many of our four children and spouses as are available, travel down to Chincoteague for a family vacation. When Debbie gets to the beach with the sun kissing her face, with the sand beneath her feet, with a Christian novel in her hand, with a McDonald’s super size ice tea in her other hand, with her boys skim boarding in the surf, she is a picture of contentment. The only thing that is purchased in the picture is the iced tea and she could be content without it.See if this week the things that bring you the most contentment cost or don’t cost you money. God Himself is the source of our joy and contentment. Paul after 30 years said he had learned the secret of contentment and it had nothing to do with externals we can manufacture or purchase. It had everything to do with what was going on inside. That’s something to ponder.