Contentment — Blog — Glenn E. Pearson

Every speaker and teacher I know agrees that organizing their thoughts into a talk or written piece leaves them feeling they learned more than their audiences did. I’m no exception.

At this time of year, we tend to reflect on the previous twelve months. As I did a quick scan of my 2018 blog posts (www.glennpearson.co/new-blog), I thought all of them had something of value. Of course I did, or I wouldn’t have written them 😊. But as an undergraduate English major trained to notice literary patterns, I recognized some inter-related themes in four of my blogs:

January 24 – The Absolute Best Bible Passage for Resolving an Age-Old Debate – References Daniel 3:17-18 where the pagan king Nebuchadnezzar threatened to incinerate Daniel’s three friends if they didn’t worship the golden image he had set up – “If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it . . . . But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”
July 19 – got envy? – Tells of my envy over seeing people having the luxury of running when I had to drive to work, but then my equal envy when I was the one running in the park when my business was slow and saw people on their way to productive jobs
November 15 – When God Uses You to Answer Someone Else’s Prayer but Doesn’t Answer Yours – Relates the story how God supernaturally allowed me to establish a mentoring relationship with a young man at LA Fitness who specifically prayed for someone to take him under his wing as he was literally driving to the gym that very morning
December 12 – Contentment: 2 Obvious But Life-Changing Ideas – Reminds us of two things:
· Contentment consists not in great wealth but in few wants
· Since God controls absolutely everything, loves me completely, and knows what he’s doing, I have exactly what he wants me to have

Here’s how these four fit together. I see others’ favorable circumstances but envy them (the envy blog), and I rejoice when God uses me to bless someone else but wonder why some of my prayers aren’t answered (the blog about using me to answer someone else’s prayer), resulting in more envy. The antidote is to ponder Daniel’s three friends’ faith as they recognize God can do the absolutely impossible if he wants to and to emulate their astounding commitment to trust him even if he chooses a different path for them. Internalizing these three lessons leads me to contentment as I see that my circumstances reflect exactly what God wants me to have.

Ironically, literally one hour before I posted the contentment blog, I received some very disappointing ministry-related news. God graciously reminded me of these four blogs and, although I was still disappointed, he allowed me to exhale and trust his loving sovereignty. So, I’m thankful I had the chance to unexpectedly minister to myself 😊. But of course, I am ultimately thankful to God for driving these lessons into my heart and allowing me to live them out.

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.

The Apostle Paul – Philippians 4:12

Who wouldn’t want to be able to echo Paul’s sentiment? Here are a couple of thoughts that might help.

1. Contentment consists not in great wealth but in few wants. I came across this saying about thirty years ago and liked it so much I wrote it on a card to put on my stationary bike to ponder as I logged the virtual miles.

Our natural tendency is to constantly want more, especially during this hyper-consumerized time of year. I love the way our family handles Christmas gifts. Rather than taking wild stabs at what to get for each other, we each generate and circulate a list of things we’d enjoy. That way the gift givers know they’re on target.

I have been so materially blessed that I can initially be hard-pressed to identify things I don’t already have. I usually start with a pretty modest list, but as Christmas gets closer, I keep thinking of things to add, and by the time the big day arrives, I’ve so emotionally invested in my expanded catalog that I feel disappointed if some of it doesn’t make it under the tree. So, I’ve gone from having a hard time identifying things I want to being slightly miffed when all my wants are not satisfied. The problem isn’t with our gift-giving method but with my oversized list of wants.

Comparison is at the root of most discontent. I compare what I don’t have with what others do have. Of course, we tend to look “upstream” at people with more money, a better job, better looks, more friends, etc. And our contentment evaporates.

There is one way that comparison can help, though. And that’s by viewing our many, many blessings – both material and relational – in light of what other people don’t have. Two universal responses from people who go on third-world mission trips are amazement over the mind-numbing poverty and some degree of embarrassment over how much we have. And many of our new overseas friends seem more joyful than we rich Americans are. This type of comparison is a great reminder that contentment doesn’t consist in great wealth but in few wants.

2. I have exactly what God wants me to have. One of the finest books I’ve ever read is Trusting God by Jerry Bridges in which the author explores three of God’s biblically provable attributes. God:

is sovereign over absolutely everything in the universe
loves me perfectly
knows what he is doing

If all these things are simultaneously true – and they are – how could I not have exactly what God wants me to have – no more, no less? Stop and think about this for a moment. When you recognize your lack of contentment, it’s helpful to ponder which of these three truths you’re failing to embrace.

May you and your family experience a blessed and contented Christmas season and 2019!