Contentment
When you are asked what you are grateful for, I bet that isn’t too difficult of a question to respond to. There’s so much we could say, but most would start off with:
o Gratitude for a home that provide us with shelter.
o Gratitude for the food that fills our bellies.
o Gratitude for the clothes that cover us.
o Gratitude for family and friends.
o Gratitude for healthy bodies that move.
Sometimes gratitude seems so simplistic and it is easy to check off at the end of the day. It often becomes conditional, though. Before we realize it, we practice gratitude while still searching for something more fulfilling.
I am grateful for my home but will continue to play the comparison game with those picture-perfect spaces on Pinterest.
I am grateful for the food I have to eat, but I wish we could eat out more.
I am grateful for the clothes on my body, but I would be so much happier with that blouse or dress that is more in style.
I am grateful for my friends and family, until I see all the pictures posted by another friend group on Instagram – they look like they have a lot more fun!
“Let your conduct be without covetousness, be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has sadi, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”” Hebrews 13:5
Are you truly grateful, or just waiting for what may be newer, nicer, bigger, and better (with that covetous spirit)?
We play games of gratitude, but we do not really tend to the things in our lives.
There is a difference between gratitude and contentment. Gratitude is thoughts or actions of thankfulness, acknowledgement, or respect. Gratitude is important. It is vital to practicing an attitude of appreciation.
But, contentment is different. Contentment says regardless of external circumstances, we have still found wholeness, completion, this is enough. We often seek external sources of happiness or fulfillment – but forget that those are quick fixes, things that will fade or that once we attain that goal we will just find something else we need to be happy.
Gratitude says, this home is a safe space that gives me shelter and meets my needs. Contentment says, and that is enough.
It doesn’t look beyond, doesn’t compare the size of your home with your neighbors, doesn’t tell you that your décor is outdated…
Contentment is not contingent on what is going on around us or our reaction to circumstances or situations. Contentment can be achieved in spite of those things.
Contentment reminds us, this is enough. That’s it. There’s nothing else I can really add to that. We just have to remember: this is enough. Not, this is enough, for now, until I get that raise. This is enough until I can get something better. This is enough, but I still wish I looked like her…had those clothes…went on that vacation…had a home like that… We can get caught up in that cycle and it can be so hard to escape.
But, just as it can be difficult to exercise gratitude, contentment is something we can get better at over time. It takes mindfulness, practice, and intentionality.
God calls us to be intentional in our gratitude and contentment. These are practices that can become easier and easier over time.
“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” 1 Timothy 6:6-7
To grow in contentment, we can start by examining our current relationship with God. Our joy, gratitude, contentment, everything – is in Him. If I find myself seeking and desiring Him first, I can more easily find myself content in everything else.
What are some ways you have found yourself not really content? What are some contingencies you have for your happiness? (“If I have X, then I will be satisfied/successful.”)
Contentment and gratitude go hand-in-hand for a life that is focused on the God, the good, the things that are enough, and not allowing the external things to steal our joy.
