I really wanted to put this chapter off for a little bit longer. At least until I thought I had something profound and insightful to say about how I have overcome the sinful attitude of discontentment. Let me assure you I have not. However, I am pressing ahead with this book, and the chapter this week is all about cultivating contentment.

“What is contentment?” Hughes asks.

One dictionary definition says that “contentment is desiring no more than one has; satisfied.” In the classic The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, first published in 1648, Jeremiah Burroughs defines contentment this way: “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” (Disciplines of a Godly Woman, p. 78)

I like the second definition much better than the first one, don’t you? I like the definition, but it is not an especially simple one to live out. I am reminded of a friend’s counsel to me to get a hobby. I was quite discontent/bored with life in general, and rather than tell me to turn to God for satisfaction, she advised me to get a hobby. I’m not saying hobbies are bad, it just probably wasn’t the best advice considering that I wasn’t looking for something fun to do. I was wanting something to make me happy. I was discontent.

Paul writes in Philippians that contentment is something that we can learn. Even he had to learn to be content. He tells us that he had learned to be content in plenty and in want, full or famished. I find it interesting that the struggle to be content is present even in the midst of plenty. Paul was able to be content because he always looked to Christ for strength and help.

I am learning that I must fight discontent with the faith that says, “Whatever I have (or do not have, since God’s withholding can be a gift) in this life, it is a gift of God. My God is all-wise and all-loving toward me, therefore, this is His best for me. God is not my consolation prize! He is my greatest good and I will glory in Him alone.”

The alternatives that compete for my attention and affections are rubbish. True contentment looks to Jesus as the only real and satisfying treasure.

Wendy posted some similar thoughts on contentment and her battle against being discontent. Don’t forget to read her blog today!