In last week’s column, we explored five principles to finding contentment. In a world driven by heavy consumerism, it’s easy to think our happiness will equate contentment. We think that happiness will come from amassing many things, thus we will wind up content. When this doesn’t happen time and time again, we find ourselves left, wondering where we might be led to finding contentment.
The world wants to create consumers. God wants to help us find satisfaction. As discussed on my podcast, contentment keeps us from trying to compare ourselves with others, keep unreasonable paces, and facing malcontent and disappointment. As one of the most counterculture things we can do, finding contentment will help lead us to better personal and spiritual lives. Previously we discussed the following principles to finding contentment:
- Be grateful for what you have
- Stop the if/then cycle of happiness
- Focus on God’s transformation within you instead of on everyone else
- Don’t procrastinate
- Keep your word and God’s Word
Now, in the conclusion of this series, let’s examine five more principles to finding contentment.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness…don’t seek “all these things” first
We live in a time when it’s easy to be afraid. If we look at the news, statistics, internet stories, and our own bank accounts, it’s easy to worry about how you will take care of every need you have. There are numerous stories about people who’ve started skipping meals because grocery costs are that high, or who have had to move back home with their parents. The struggle is real, fears are real, and the anxieties of life are real. There’s nothing wrong with admitting any of that.
We should also add that fears over the future and the ability to survive aren’t new. In Biblical times, people’s fears of the future led them into some very compromising spiritual situations. I believe one of the reasons the Israelites were so easily swayed into idolatry is because it offered a tangible appeal to the issues they faced. It was harder to have faith in God when they could appease or compromise in a situation with a false god. Nobody just wandered into a temple and started burning incense to fake gods as a good hobby. They thought, “Hey, if I do this, it’ll increase my crops!” or “If we merge with this family, it’ll help me protect our borders.” Ultimately, these compromises led them away from God and into their downfall as a nation.
Seek first the Kingdom
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. (Matthew 6:33-34, NIV)
This timeless Bible verse reminds us that we don’t know the details of the future, but God does. Instead of making survival our idol (ouch), we should ensure the Kingdom of God is the first thing we seek, aspire to, and desire more than anything. How we each do this is a little different for each of us. Still, we must do our best at whatever it is we do (even if we don’t want to do this thing forever) and let God do the rest. Despite the economy, God can create opportunities and provide care for His people.
Don’t make an issue out of things that don’t really matter
A tour through social media can give the impression that every thought, opinion, and issue matter. I remember a time when people fought over the color of a photographed dress. People literally spent hours fighting with people they didn’t know and would never meet over the color of this dress. (As far as I am concerned, the dress was ugly.) Today, they might fight about political candidates, social practices, or beliefs. Just as much today, these arguments are fought with strangers.
Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. (2 Timothy 2:23, NIV)
Written long before the days of social media, 2 Timothy 2:23 offers important advice for navigating our high tech world. There are many things in this world worth fighting for, but we aren’t the best at picking our battles. We tend to make an issue out of things that don’t really matter so we don’t have to confront the things that do matter. Society, trends, interests, and ideas tend to change with time. The things we might feel most prudent to fight about right now are often temporary; most of them we won’t think much about in a few years from now. If we want the steps to finding contentment, we must know what to let go of and what to hold on to, even in situations that seem important in the moment.
Spiritual growth and contentment are never attainable if we are always look for, entertain, pursue, or start a fight. Even though in the moment we might want validation, we must learn to pick our battles. When you get serious about contentment, you’ll find God calls you to walk away from a lot of things that otherwise disturb your peace and disrupt your mission.
Enjoy those who love you and stop wanting things from those who don’t love you
Much like our last point, this principle requires self-examination to achieve. It also takes strong community. Let me ask a question: Why do we insist on going to people we know can’t meet or needs and who give the same results every time and hope different results will magically appear? (Take some time and think about it.)
Do not let those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.
They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land. (Psalm 35:19-20, NIV)
Do I believe people can change? Yes, I do. Do I suggest you should wait around your whole life for it to happen? No. We don’t live in an ideal world where everyone likes or loves us, even those that maybe should. The more we chase people who aren’t for us, the less time we spend with our community, that is for us. Our basic mission in life is to find our community, wherever it may lie. Not sure where to start? Church is a great launch for community. If you’ve had trouble with acceptance at church, get back out there – there are plenty of churches that support diverse communities. There are also different groups, support networks, and local organizations out there and ready to help you find real-time support as you develop a network for yourself.
Enjoy the simple things in life
In pursuit of the big things, we often ignore the beautiful, simple things that God sends for our enjoyment and happiness. These things are huge stepping stones to finding contentment, as they are designed to encourage us. If we step back and examine life, there are many things that speak to us as simple things we love that God sends into our lives in order to help us appreciate our right now.
Tell the righteous it will be well with them, for they will enjoy the fruit of their deeds. (Isaiah 3:10, NIV)
Sure, we often hope for grander gestures, like a mystery deposit of a million dollars into my bank account. Many of us hope our problems will go away. Neither of these things are promised to believers. God does, however, promise to be with us through our issues, and He sends reminders that He is there. For example, I have a friend who always finds Funko pops wherever we go. As an enthusiast, they’ve sometimes found five or six on one trip! I love finding a beautifully colored mini-rosebush. Not every wonderful thing comes in a big box. Some of our most enjoyable moments might not mean much to everyone else.
We must learn to take these moments as they come and accept them as we seek to find contentment. As we pursue the righteousness of God, God offers us many of these small, contented moments along our journey to victory.
Accept the things you cannot change
Hebrews 4:9-11 says:
There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. (NIV)
The Bible talks a lot about entering “rest.” For people in the first century, rest was a desired option. Most worked hard, laboring day in and day out without the option for the peace that came with rest. The New Testament promises about a time when labor would cease were sought-after, hoped for, and cherished. They longed to cease from their labors without having to worry about daily provisions.
Today’s labor force is somewhat different (although there are still many who work in physical labor). Many of us spend our time on worries and cares, trying to find a way to fix our pasts, mistakes, problems in life, or problems with others. We need to accept the rest of God to cease our struggles, whether they be emotional, mental, or physical.
We can’t change others. We can’t change their behavior or actions. What we can change is ourselves. Sometimes we get so busy praying for this one or believing for that one or trusting for this or that to turn around that we forget we can turn ourselves around at any point in time we desire. Often, the things we hope will change are there to help us change ourselves.
Final thoughts
Finding contentment often starts with taking one step. Change is intimidating when it’s a huge force, but not as much so when we start with a single step: We stop smoking one cigarette, we go for one walk, or we read one chapter of the Bible every day. These principles can be applied one at a time, starting wherever you’re comfortable – with one practice. They are flexible ideas that can be incorporated in many different ways. Take your steps to finding contentment today. Whether you start with the hardest steps or the easiest, contentment awaits as we turn from the world toward the Kingdom of God.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In