Contentment

The practice of godliness – chapter 7 – a continuation of notes

The godly person has found what the greedy or envious or discontented person always searches for but never finds: He has found satisfaction and rest in his soul (85-86).

With a realisation of the person of God there is great contentment, for it becomes easier (not necessarily always easy) to rest in His provision. Contentment stretches beyond money, it involves many other things – one’s place in the body of Christ or in society, physical/mental limitations, sickness, unpleasant neighbours, trials or persecution. I can say myself that I have found true rest in some but insecurity in others, but one of the great beauties of walking with the Lord, is that he grows us, he nurtures us ‘to mature manhood…the stature of the fullness of Christ’ (Eph. 4:13). I have seen growth yet I see more to come!

Discontent is: a questioning of the goodness of God’ (86).

We must come to a place of trusting in his provision, in his fatherhood that goes infinitely beyond the fatherhood of any good intentioned human father.

Discontent is one of the most satanic sins, and to indulge in it is to rebel against God just as Satan did. (86)

Scripture both warns us of the dangers of discontentment and encourages us to pursue contentment on the basis of God’s promises to provide for us (86)

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

(Hebrews 13:5 ESV)

Our contentment and rest is bound up in the promise of God, to never leave or forsake. An assurance greater than any other.

There is liberation in realising that God hands out all things that we have, so therefore considering all things are God’s to give out and that what he gives us is a result of his grace, this should lead us to be content. Since we brought nothing, let us not assume it is OURS by right to take anything. It’s all grace, and with the measure poured out, let us indeed be content.

It is easy to be content when we realise that what is truly valuable are those things which God has declared valuable.

Truly we are able to rest on the fact that if God wanted it he would have made it so, and it was because it was not his perfect will why something may not have happened.

One of many recent examples is a loss I just suffered in my University union elections. I was gutted, truly. After all I and others had put a lot of work into it and it was highly likely that I would win – according to the “University commentators!”. But I can take true rest and assurance that if God had wanted me to be EPS faculty officer, then he would have made sure I had it and so therefore he has other more wonderful things in store to put me through and other ways whereby I might glorify His name in greater degrees.

In whatever setting we find ourselves, work, uni, school, in knowing that we are serving God and serving others we will see that we will try thoroughly with them and not be lax and as a result become very content with them.

‘the lord has given and the lord has taken away’

Job 1:21

When we are aware that all that we have is from God and indeed from his kindness; we will never grumble against what he as given us and against what we deem to be more poured out on others.

We are to be content in whatever situation we find ourselves, we need not waste time in worrying about what we have, where we are and what position we have, whether that is within the body of Christ or in wider society. God is sovereign and also has a loving plan for us, he places us in the place where he wills for us we are to live in light of the statement in 1 Corinthians 7:21:

‘Were you a slave when called? Do not be concerned about it. (But if you can gain your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)’

Every Christian should pursue excellence of workmanship and service in whatever vocational calling he finds himself. But he should do so to please Christ and to glorify Him, not for the sake of personal ambition. (95)

Ultimately contentment is birthed out of a grasping, a deep grasping that God’s grace is indeed sufficient.

‘This is the secret to be being content: to learn and accept that we live daily by God’s unmerited favour given through Christ and that we can respond to any and every situation by His divine enablement through the Holy Spirit.’ (99)

P