Contentment is an extremely hard lesson for us to learn. The angels in heaven did not learn it. Jude 6 tells us, “And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority,
but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy
darkness until the judgment of the great day.” Our first parents, in their innocence, did
not learn it. We read in Genesis 3:5, “For God knows that when you eat of it your
eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” If this lesson was so hard to learn in
innocence, how hard shall we find it who are cluttered with corruption?
The reason contentment is so difficult to learn is
because an earthly heart is like the grave:
it is never satisfied. Someone
once asked one of the Rockefellers how much money was enough. His answer was, “Always a little more!” We are never satisfied by the things of this
world. Think of Haman, who was set above
all the princes in Persia. He advanced
upon the pinnacle of honor to be the second man in the kingdom, yet in the
midst of all his pomp, because Mordecai would not uncover and kneel, he was
discontented and full of wrath. We read
in Esther 3:1-5, “After these things King
Ahasuerus promoted Haman the Agagite, the son of Hammedatha, and advanced him
and set his throne above all the officials who were with him. 2 And all the
king's servants who were at the king's gate bowed down and paid homage to
Haman, for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai did not bow
down or pay homage. 3 Then the king's servants who were at the king's gate said
to Mordecai, "Why do you transgress the king's command?" 4 And when
they spoke to him day after day and he would not listen to them, they told
Haman, in order to see whether Mordecai's words would stand, for he had told
them that he was a Jew. 5 And when Haman saw that Mordecai did not bow down or
pay homage to him, Haman was filled with fury.” In spite of all of his advancements and all
of his recognition, the fact that he lacked the praise of Mordecai discontented
him! Haman is a good example of how we
can have it all and yet still not be satisfied.
The apostle Paul had learned contentment. He said in Philippians 4:11-13, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to
be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any
and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” As for his outward condition, he was like a
reed, bending every way with the wind of Providence. When a prosperous gale blew upon him, he
could bend with that (I know how to be full), and when a boisterous gust of
affliction blew, he could bend in humility with that (I know how to be hungry). Though God had carried him into various
conditions, he was not lifted up with one, nor cast down with the other.
So, how do we handle our struggle with discontentment and
trials? We see how the Israelites
handled them in Numbers 14:27-30. “How long shall this wicked congregation
grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which
they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, 'As I live, declares the Lord, what
you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this
wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old
and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land
where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh
and Joshua the son of Nun.”
Obviously God was not pleased with their complaints. But, then we also see David, a man after God’s
own heart, pouring out his complaint before the Lord. In Psalm 142:2 he said, “I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.” Apparently God was not displeased with
David. What made his complaint different
from the complaints of the Israelites in Numbers? There is a difference in murmuring and
appealing. The Israelites murmured and
quarreled with God. They were accusing
God of not dealing well with them. They
felt as though they deserved better from Him.
David appealed to God. Like a
child expresses his pain and discomfort to his earthly father, so we can do to
our Heavenly Father. When any burden is
upon the spirit, prayer gives vent; it eases the heart. Here is the difference between a holy
complaint and a discontented complaint.
In the one we complain to God; in the other we complain of God.
Let us go to war with our discontentment. Let us recognize the futility of seeking
satisfaction in the things of this world.
Let us recognize the Providence of God in our every situation: “good” and “bad.” And let us make our requests known to God in
the midst of our “need.” But as we do, let
them be made known with thanksgiving knowing that God is good and works for our
good if we love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Phil 4:6
do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known to God.
More on contentment in the
coming days!
