Contentment

We all struggle with this word, Contentment! And yet the bible in Phil 4:11 tells us that Paul had learned to be content in whatever state he was in. He was shipwrecked, beaten almost to death (many times), imprisoned, hungry, rejected, snakebitten, and so much more. Yet he was able to say, "I'm content." Amazing! My children and I had a bible discussion yesterday on this word. You see after many days of being at Grandma's (thank you Grandma!) and Aunts and Uncles (thanks to you too!) my kids come home to a house without a Wii, Xbox, pool, and cousins and many of the things that kept them occupied for the last several weeks. And the saying that is going on around the house is, "I'm bored!" "I miss my cousins." "I miss Grandma." and so on. I understand this and can sympathize with them. It is hard to go from vacation mode to being at home and having to clean our rooms or not getting special treatment or not being entertained but having to use their own God given imaginations! However it is necessary and so we discussed how to be content and what should we be content with.

Even as an adults we struggle with being content. Contentment in our everyday lives, in our salaries, in our gifts we've been given, and yes even in our walk with God. We struggle with never seemingly having enough. I never seem to have the right outfit or my hair doesn't look right that day. I always seem to find new recipes because I'm tired of the old. And so on and so on and so on. I should be content with all that God has given me but I don't seem to be. When I'm hungry I complain, when I'm feeling fat I still complain. I've never been imprisoned, beaten (although my brother hit me plenty as I was growing up), shipwrecked, or a lot of things Paul went through. However maybe that's the key. You see he said he LEARNED how to be content. That means that there were times in his life when he wasn't. At this point in my life I feel it to be a lifelong lesson that I'll keep learning.

One place I hope I never have contentment and that is my walk with the Lord. I hope I always want more. More knowledge, more wisdom, and more time spending talking with Him, walking with Him, and enduring with Him! I want to always want more of Him. In John's gospel, chapter 3, John the Baptist clearly defines this by saying, "He must increase and I must decrease!"

So my lesson on contentment, did it work you ask? Yes and No. It is a learning process and we are all in my household learning to be content in whatever state we are in. (Yes that even means if we live in a different area of the state of Texas than our family.) Is it a hard lesson? One of the hardest, but as He increases in my life, contentment is one of the best lessons to be learned!