UNLOCKING THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT
If money is what it takes to be content, there is a ton of discontent all around us.But is contentment really just about money? A few years ago, researchers at the University of Warwick and Cardiff University in the U.K., studied the relationship of income and contentment and discovered that “…Simply being highly paid wasn’t enough—to be happy, people must perceive themselves as being more highly paid than their friends and work colleagues…” What prompted the study was the observation of researchers that “people in rich nations have not become any happier on average over the last 40 years even though economic growth has led to substantial increases in average incomes.” [Science Daily online, Mar. 22, 2012]
No, it isn’t really about money, and I submit it isn’t really about status, somehow feeling better about one’s self because “I’m making more money than Bob or Sue.” No, there is a gnawing hunger and thirst in the soul for something more. I submit it is a hunger and thirst for God.
Blaise Pascal the French mathematician and philosopher once said, “There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through Jesus.” Unfortunately, we are inclined to want to fill that vacuum with things that leave us feeling empty, disappointed, and discontented .
Listen to me. It is not just non-believers who live in discontent, but too often and more commonly the believer in Jesus Christ. We trust Him for salvation and our ultimate destiny, but when it comes to living life 24/7, we find ourselves experiencing the pangs of an inner hunger, a soul thirst, which we seek to satisfy with the same useless stuff as the non-believer. If only I had a wife. If only I had a husband. If only we had a baby. If only we could own our own home. If only I had an education. If only I had a decent job. If only I earned another ten thousand. If only I had better health. If only I didn’t have to live with unremitting pain. If only we had a good church with great programs for youth and children. If only, if only, if only we had… None of the things we desire are necessarily bad, and surely some of these would be most helpful to have. But none of them, I repeat none of them will quench the thirst of your soul!
In his book, entitled Longing for God, Richard Foster observes, “Although we need God, we at first do not desire him. We desire all sorts of other things—those necessary for life, to be sure, but also things we simply find attractive.”
[Foster, Longing for God. 11].” Foster goes on to call such things, “distractions.” “Distractions” because they don’t fill the hole within. The apostle Paul on the other hand, knew what would fill that hole. In fact, he knew what it was to live possessing everything, and what it was to live with nothing of value in this world, and still be content. He said,
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 everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12 - 13
Paul gives us the simple short answer to the problem of discontent. That answer is to discover that God Himself is the only true satisfier and stabilizer of the soul. But how do we grab onto that? What does that look like and how can I draw on God for the kind of contentment, that inner peace and joy of Christ that will keep me stable in all circumstances of life even as giant gyro stabilizers keep huge warships from rolling in stormy seas?
I would like to suggest that the 37th Psalm gives us some very practical help. David under the influence and guidance of the Holy Spirit, speaks to us about contentment, and unlocks for us the secret of attaining it. There are four simple action steps that we must cultivate into habits by giving diligence to them on a daily basis.
First: We must stop fuming about the wicked.
Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of those who do wrong;
for like the grass they will soon wither,
like green plants they will soon die away. Psalm 37:1-2
The Hebrew verb translated “fret” means to “get heated up,” in other words to fume about something. And nothing gets us fuming more than seeing those who break the rules prospering, living the high life, getting away with murder, taking advantage of others for personal gain.
Now, you’d think that God would want us to fume over them, but He doesn’t. Why not? Because our fuming is not rooted in genuine righteousness, God’s kind of righteousness, but in self-righteous pride. This is the kind of pride that feels “entitled” and deserving of those things others less worthy than ourselves possess. And, when really bad people have what we thing we are entitled to, that makes us “hot under the color” doesn’t it? The Bible calls it envy! Yes, coveting the advantages of the rule breakers is just as evil as coveting what your “good” neighbor possesses. God so detests this phony kind of self-righteous indignation that it is forbidden three times in this Psalm. Such fretting over the successes and advantages of the wicked is the exact opposite of the attitude Christ said we should have when He said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”
God wants us not to focus on what the rule breakers possess, but rather on the brevity of their lives. What they possess does not follow them in death. It is all left behind, and their lives in this world are very short, like a vapor compared to eternity. One day the Bernie Madoffs of this world will be only fleeting memories. Pity them, pray for them, ask God to have mercy on them. Envy them and fume about them? Never!
Secondly: We must start trusting in the Lord.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture [Lit. “feed on (HIS) faithfulness”].
Psalm 37:3
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:
He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Psalm 37: 5 - 6
What is it that the Psalmist asking us to trust God for? Verse six implies and the balance of the larger Psalm suggests that we put our vindication, our just cause, our righteous reputations into God’s hands. By the way, that is precisely what we most typically don’t trust God to handle. It is a rare Christian who is not worried about what the world thinks of him or her.
Over the years, Billy Graham has been slandered and slurred. People thought he was out for money. He was criticized for being too close to the presidents, for visiting Russian leaders during the Cold War and so on. But, he never fought back! Amazing. He never fought back or engaged in any effort to vindicate himself. It is only now as an elderly evangelical statesman, almost too weak to speak publically anymore, that even his critics admire is code of ethics. This is a man who never cheated on his wife, a man who never had to hide his income, a man who always spoke the truth in love, and is now admired for his piety even in the main stream media.
When the Psalmist tells us to trust in and commit [lit. roll over] onto the Lord our way, he wants us to commit to God our concerns and worries about how people will judge us in this world, believing that ultimately God will vindicate us and set things right about us in this world.
Are you concerned about the awful things others are thinking and saying about you? Put it in God’s hands and quit worrying about it. Move on and God will take care of it in due time.
Thirdly: We must serve others.
Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Psalm 37:3
What does the Psalmist mean by doing good? In verses 21 and 26 of Psalm 37, he tells us that the righteous give generously to those in need. And, there is a suggestion here that they don’t lend to those in need with expectation of return or collecting interest. The apostle John puts it another way,
If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:17-18
Isn’t it strange in life, how you can always find people who are more well off than you are? isn’t it equally strange how we’re so focused on those above us, that we neglect the needs of those struggling on the ladder just below us. Jesus would have us to stop looking up and fuming, and to look down and have a change of perspective, and reach down and help somebody.
Forgive me, but I get a little sick of hearing people who don’t give a nickel to the poor, complain about where those of us who do care for the poor donate our money. “Why help those in Haiti when there are so many needy here?” they ask. Because the neediest here have far more than the masses in Haiti. Yes, we should help the needy nearby, and by the way, we do. But, Haiti is a closer neighbor to us in Massachusetts and Connecticut than the state of Texas or Louisiana. And God’s Kingdom knows no political, ethnic or racial borders in this world.
However, we are still facing hard times as a nation, and I’m not sure the presidential election will make our economy appreciably better in the near future. There are those near to us, neighbors, friends, co-workers who are struggling. And those further away who are struggling to get by. Instead of fuming about the excesses of the wicked rich, what will you do to serve the poor?
Fourthly: We must seek the Lord.
Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4
The Hebrew word for delight is a word used in the Old Testament of the way one might savor and enjoy a delicious feast. As a child, about once each month we spent a Sunday afternoon and evening at my grandmother’s house in Flushing, New York. We would have two meals. The first would be a large sumptuous dinner. Usually pot roast was the main feature, with mounds of mashed potatoes, boiled creamed onions, cauliflower au gratin, and the darkest, richest roast beef gravy I’ve ever had. Late in the evening, we would have a second meal, featuring a wide assortment of cold plates with salads, meats, cheeses, relishes, pickles, and desert was always jello with a big dollop of homemade whipped cream. How I enjoyed, how I delighted to eat at grandmother’s house!
But what the Psalmist wants us to realize is that regardless of what the world seems to be dining on, whatever else the world seems to be enjoying, there is nothing in the world that can compete with the delight of knowing God intimately and personally. But few of us know the joy of knowing Him! Why is that? Is it not because we have filled ourselves up with other things?
I can also remember times when my grandmother would scold my grandfather for offering us candy before dinner, saying, “Grandpa, you’ll spoil the children’s appetite!” Our appetite for God is spoiled by eye and ear candy, isn’t it? Television programming (Satellite or Cable), the latest movies on DVDs, ipods, computers and computer games, electronic gadgets. None of these things are bad in and of themselves, but our lives are filled up with them. Sports, recreation, hobbies, and even overwork, fill our time and leave no room for God. Who is going to enjoy God, when so much of our appetite is filled with junk?
God created us with the capacity to enjoy Him. Satan offered Eve something to eat, and it spoiled her appetite for God, and then Adam’s appetite for God.
Jesus died for us, not only to take away our sins, but to restore our appetite for God. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty [John 6:35].” But, who is going to feast on Jesus, who is going to delight in Him, if they are not feeling hungry for Him?
It’s time to put the candy aside, the things that suppress our appetite for God, and for His Son, Jesus Christ. It’s time for us to change our diets for a real feast, that of delighting in and enjoying the Lord. But how will you do that? Will you work less to spend time alone with God, worshipping, and praying and engaging with God’s Word?
Do you need to replace a favorite television program with time to meditate on God’s Word? Do you need to make Sunday, the Lord’s Day? Will you give God the first minutes of each day every day? Will you give Him the moments before you sleep, and how about giving Him you sleeping moments as well? Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts and He wants to know if you would enjoy spending time with Him?
And, what does the Psalmist tell us? He tells us that if we delight, find our enjoyment and pleasure, our delight in Him, “…He will give you the desires of your heart.”
The Hebrew word for desire is the word “requests.” A request is simply the thing you ask for, the thing you really want. Now think about it! If you love someone and enjoy their company, what kinds of things do you want? Are they not the things the person you delight in wants? Is it not true that when you truly enjoy someone’s company, that you begin to like, love and appreciate the things they like, love and appreciate?
My wife, Lynn, is a McFlurry lover. I want her to know that I delight in her company. One of the simple ways I show her that is to plunk a couple bucks down at “Micky Dees” and get her a snack sized Oreo Cookie McFlurry. It is such a little thing, but she just lights up when I came home with her treat, something she delights in. But something much deeper is being communicated! When we really enjoy someone’s company and fellowship, we ultimately want more of them, do we not? So it is with God. We enjoy Him and find ourselves desiring the very thing He desires. His wants become our wants, so that when we pray, we find ourselves wanting the very things God wants, and that our ultimate request is to have more of Him! And, therein is the secret of successful prayer and contentment. When our wants are His wants, He cannot refuse our requests. Let me repeat that. When our wants are His wants, He cannot refuse our requests.
And when our lives are filled with the fullness of God, when our prayers are the petitions of Heaven and are fulfilled from Heaven, we experience true contentment, joy, peace, inner satisfaction.
What money cannot buy, what status cannot bring, what no relationship can give you, God can. Contentment comes to us in Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. So,like David of old, quit fuming, start trusting, by all means serve others, and make God the delight and joy of your heart!