"There's a word you never say"

Yes, the title is a quote from a musical. I'm afraid I do that a lot in this post. Actually I do that a lot period.

But there is one word that the category of  "young adult Christians" have seemed to forget is in their vocabulary. I know it's merely a matter of avoidance that this word has been forgotten. I've heard it called the "perforated Bible syndrome". And this is not going to be a popular post. I'm going to stomp on some toes, pull off some scabs, and generally cause an online riot.

But I like to shake things up. :)

Ready? Good.

The word is: contentment.

No, please, don't just skim this post and go back to your day. It's not meant to be. For no other reason, I've worked very hard to write it. So, for me? No. For you. (And me, too.)

DISCLAIMER: No one should walk away from this post thinking that I've got this down, and am a perfectly content Christian. Ha! Nothing could be farther from the truth. I am not content. But I've let Christ live through me, and not I could not want anything more.

Now, we begin officially. How about a little illumination: Gentlemen! (sorry)

What is Contentment?

Content; a resting or satisfaction of mind without disquiet; acquiescence. 

-Webster's 1828 Dictionary 

The Operational Definition is:

"Realizing that God has provided everything I need for my present happiness." 

Now there are two way to look at that statement, and only one is correct. The first is my flesh saying: "Yeah, that's right. Contentment is God giving me everything I want, whether or not it's bad for me, because I think it will make me happy right now, though not necessarily five minutes from now."

*Every Grammar teacher grimaces at my magnificent specimen of a run-on sentence.*

This is faulty thinking.
The definition says "provided", " I need", and "present happiness", not "given", I want" and "happy right now". Let us make sure we have the proper mindset that it is a gift from God, and not that He owes us something...caution.

The correct interpretation is this:
What I need to survive, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, will be supernaturally (though usually through natural causes) provided at the very time it is crucially needed and will result in my happiness.

This will only take place, though if we are walking in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16, 25; Romans 8:1, 4)
(those who follow the path of the Righteous shall have their reward).

The New Testament tells  us to be content no less than 3 times. And if God says it that many times, He must be serious. Think about it. If your mom tells you three times to do something it either means you weren't listening or it is quite important to her.

#1:

"Having food and raiment let us be therewith content."- I Timothy 6:8

This is a commonly quoted verse, but have you thought about it? Just enough to keep your stomach quiet, and the wind off your back. Interesting what isn't mentioned. A car. A friend. A job. A house. All these things are good, useful things, but we are told to be content even if we don't have them. Paul, under the influence of the Holy Spirit listed them as frivolities...not necessary for survival.

#2:

"Godliness with contentment is great gain." -I Timothy 6:6

Godliness speaks of walking in Righteousness...not being perfect. I could go on for a whole post alone on this. I may sometime, but for now, I'll move on. What is the "great gain" that the verse speaks of? The natural consequences of living a godly, content life are payment enough, and could very accurately be described as a "great gain". The peace of knowing this is where God wants me to be the joy of knowing you are walking in His presence. Oh, there is something to get excited about!

#3: this is the hardest one.

"Let your conversation be without covetousness and be ye content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."  -Hebrews 13:5

There is so much material here! For one thing, the opposite of contentment is said to be covetousness. When we look around to fill a void instead of to Christ we put ourselves in a terribly dangerous pitfall. While discontent is merely the desire for more (or something to fill an emptiness), covetousness is the desire for what we don't have, or, more precisely, what someone else has. This can take many forms, some of which I've fallen into myself.

A desire to have/be another:

• family/siblings/parents/home
• relationship
• time period
• new outfit
• daydream
• car
• education
• shopping spree
• dose of escapism (through books, movies, imaginings, daydreams, etc.)
• drugs
• alcohol
• sex addiction
• etc.

And while the last three may be extreme cases and, most likely, not your problem, the others are very real dangers to today's young women. And those first nine are all ones I've either experienced or heard directly from other girls. And I'm only 21... I can't even imagine how many excuses others older than me have heard. Oh, this is hard, I know. But there is hope. And we'll talk about it in just a little while.

In the Screwtape Letters, C.S.Lewis, literary and theological genius, writes: 

*Note: keep in mind that this is written from a demon to his demon protege  and so, they refer to God as "the Enemy and humans are a distasteful blight on their existence.*

"The humans live in time but the Enemy destines them to eternity. He therefore, I believe, wants them to attend chiefly to two things, to eternity itself, and to that point of time which they call the Present...in [the present] alone freedom and actuality are offered them. He would therefore have them continually concerned either with eternity (which means being concerned with Him) or with the Present...obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure. Our business is to get them away from the eternal, and from the Present. With this in view, we sometimes tempt a human (say a widow or a scholar) to live in the Past...It is far better to make them live in the future Biological necessity makes all their passions point in that direction already, so that thought about the Future inflames both hope and fear. In a word, the Future is the least like eternity. It is the most completely temporal part of time...Hence the encouragement we have given...fix men's affections on the Future, on the very core of temporality. Hence nearly all vices are rooted in the Future. 

"To be sure, the Enemy wants men to think of the Future too- just so much as is necessary for now planning the acts of justice or charity which will probably be their duty tomorrow...He does not want men to give the Future their hearts, to place their treasure in it. We do...We want a man hag-ridden by the Future...We want a whole race perpetually in pursuit of the rainbow's end, never honest, nor kind, nor happy now, but always using as mere fuel wherewith to heap the altar of the Future every real gift which is offered them in the Present...Your man, may be untroubled about the Future, not because he is concerned with the Present, but because he has persuaded himself that the Future is going to be agreeable...it is piling up more disappointment, and therefore more impatience."

-the Screwtape Letters, chapter 15

But, as I said before, there is a hope.

And that hope is in the second half of the verse:

"I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."

Isn't that beautiful? Christ's very presence with us every step of the way! Oh, what a comforting thought.

Thank Him for the past, trust Him for tomorrow, but LIVE for Him TODAY. Seriously, do. People will be curious what makes you so different. And that's always good.

That's what God laid on my heart to share.

Much love,
K