Contentment

April 13

Contentment. Perhaps contentment is the most elusive commodity on the planet. We strive for ascendancy in our work as well as in our personal lives and when we fall short of what we believe we should achieve or attain, we are certainly not content.

We may not articulate our lack of peace with our circumstances. We may feign total happiness—smile to conceal our true feelings of disappointment, inadequacy, failure, despair—even anger—with our lot in life.

But we rarely fool anyone with our façade—not even ourselves and certainly, not God! Yet we endeavor to perpetuate the illusion of our total enthrallment with our work situation, with our personal relationships, with our financial status, with our social opportunities, with the totality of who we are. If it were true, if we were filled with peace and joy in spite of all the disappointments of our lives, we would be the living fulfillment of I Timothy 6:8. It is in this passage that Paul said to his spiritual son, “If we have food and clothing, we will be content.”

Indeed, Paul had given up everything he’d held dear to serve Jesus, and though his life was fraught with slanderous assaults upon his character by people who had once respected him, with persecution, incarceration and an unjust sentence of death, he was totally content. Under such circumstances, could we be? Under such circumstances would we continue to be content to serve Jesus, our Savior who gave up so much more than we have ever been called upon to relinquish? Would we continue to serve the Christ who had laid aside His deity to save us?