Gratitude and contentment often get confused, particularly with Christians. I thin that’s a problem because I hate the concept of contentment in the Christian/church world. I hate it because I don’t think the way we talk about it is accurate. Generally, contentment is presented like this: you should be okay with your life no matter what happens. If you can achieve contentment, that’s when things will change for you and God will give you the desires of your heart.
The Circular Reasoning of Contentment
The last part of that is maybe the dumbest idea of all time. If you can just not want the thing you want anymore, then you’ll get the thing you want. The problem is, if you’re trying to not want the thing you want in order to get it, you obviously still want the thing and you’re trapped in a logical circle you can’t escape from. Not a great place to be.
I don’t think that God is holding out on you, waiting for you to be “okay” with your life before he blesses you. I just don’t think he works that way. He’s a gracious God who sometimes gives us the desires of our hearts when we least expect them. He doesn’t play mind games like that.
I think God wants us to be grateful, but I don’t know if he cares as much about contentment. There is a difference. Merriam Webster defines “contented as “feeling or showing satisfaction with one’s possessions, status, or situation.” Can we be honest, sometimes, it’s impossible to be satisfied with your status and situation (I think the possession thing might be a little easier/more achievable).
Contentment vs. Gratitude in the Bible
The Bible doesn’t talk about contentment nearly as much as it talks about gratitude. Most of the time the word is mentioned, it’s just talking about someone being comfortable in a certain situation. Paul does talk about contentment a bit though. Philippians 4:11-13 is passage that I think is often misinterpreted to encourage people to strive for contentment. It says:
“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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 all this through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:11-13
What Paul is not saying here is that he’s just okay and hunky dory with whatever happens in life. Nor is he saying that since he’s become content, God is going to give him the desires of his heart. If you look closely at the passage, the reason for Paul’s contentment has nothing to do with him. Paul hasn’t magically conjured up feelings of contentment.
Paul’s “secret” to contentment is simply that he knows God will enable him to do all things. God’ strength is what enables his contentment. He can be okay with whatever happens, not because he’s satisfied and happy or because he can will himself into contentment but because he knows that God can do great things. Contentment is not something we can do on our own.
Gratitude Is Our Choice
Gratitude is something we can do. We can choose to be grateful. Contentment is not something we can force ourselves into. It’s something that’s only given by God’s grace through God’s strength.
The hard truth is, we are never going to be completely satisfied this side of heaven. Sometimes that fact is really obvious. We experience pain and suffering. There are unmet desires that we have. We’re treated unfairly. Bad things happen to good people. It’s okay that we are not satisfied. We have good reasons not to be content.
However, that doesn’t mean that we have to live focusing on how crappy things are right now. In fact, I think God calls us to do the opposite. He calls us to live a life of gratitude. That’s what Paul is doing in Philippians. He is constantly thanking God and thanking the people he writes to for the little things that he has been given, even when he’s in a terrible place like prison.
Gratitude Is Not Denial, It’s Being More Aware
That doesn’t mean we deny the trouble around us. Paul doesn’t do that easer. He admits that things are hard. It does mean that, like Paul, we look past those troubles to how God has provided for us and how he will provide for us. As I mentioned last week, when we are in a desert or wilderness or hard season, we can always find little things to be grateful for, little gifts of God’s grace.
We don’t have to be okay with where we are in order to be grateful for what God has done and what he will do. Honestly, being grateful when things are going really well is very easy. It’s only the truly grateful person who can continue to be thankful when things are hard.
Additionally, we have hope that one day we will be content. It will never be in this life (at least not for more than a couple of days or maybe hours), but one day, God will set all things right and we will be totally satisfied in Him. There will be no more relational strife, no more physical pain, no more struggle to survive. Even though that’s not something we’re experiencing now, that’s still something we can be grateful for.
Photo by Alex Geerts on Unsplash