Lessons in Contentment - Part 6

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Here’s the final installment in this series. Much more could be said, but we’ll leave it here.

Unholy discontent arises when we perceive that we lack something. I’ll list a few examples to get you thinking about where the source of your discontent lies.

• Our house isn’t the way we’d like it to be.
• Our financial situation is far from our dreams.
• Our professional accomplishments have fallen short of personal expectations.
• Our church doesn’t provide the preferred “menu” of options.

This last reflection is meant to get you thinking about how a lack of something in this life is serving to prepare you for the next life. In the Scriptures, we are shown countless times that a significant problem we contend with is worshiping, serving, craving, created things rather than the Creator (e.g. Rom. 1). I believe God withholds created things from us in order to prepare us for the way things will be in heaven when the Creator/creature relationship is put in the right order. When considered from this perspective, discontent is an opportunity to prepare for heaven by “demoting” created things and “promoting” the Creator. If this work doesn't happen in this life, we will find heaven to be disappointing. How sad that would be.

Thomas Watson says it well, “…faith carries the soul up and makes it aspire after more noble and generous delights than earth affords, and to live in the world above the world…”

May this be true of us!
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