discontent and discipleship
I wonder some about my discontent.
There is a certain discontent necessary for discipleship – or for any growth, for that matter. We should be discontent with our sinful habits, with our lack of compassion and concern for the people around us, for anything in our life that isn’t driven by godly, kingdom values. That sort of discontent is good. It causes us to grow. It is what causes us to overcome obstacles and reach the next level in our walk with God.
But that isn’t always what happens.
Instead we get discontent with our situations, our jobs, our families, our kids and our dog. We begin to whine that we don’t like this life and it might be better “if…”. And that sort of discontent is a lie from the pit of hell.
It’s not that I shouldn’t try to get a better job. I’m doing so right now. (For those of you reading this who don’t know, I have a day-job in addition to being pastor.) It’s not that it’s wrong for me to try to improve my home life or train my dog not to pee on the carpet. What is wrong is for me to be discontent with time and place and circumstances the God has orchestrated and ordained for me right now.
I’m broke most of the time. And I’m not wasting much on frivolous things. Duh. Our nation is in the middle of a recession and 103% of the people reading this are broke most of the time. But there is a real tendency for me to want to whine about it. And to be discontent. Because I don’t remember that it’s not all about me – there is much more going on here than Eric’s story.
Or I may want to be discontent about decisions that other people are making. Think: politics, social ills, pop culture, whatever. Worse yet, there are decisions made by people close to me that may affect me negatively (negative in my mind, at least) that I have no control over – not even one vote in umpteen million.
These are not my things to be discontent about. If they come from the hand of God or if they come from an earthly source over which I have no or limited influence, they are part of my situation and I am called simply to deal with them. As I tell the kids, “get a big straw and suck it up.”
Where I am not in control (just about any place outside myself) I am called to contentment. Consider the Apostle Paul: “Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” (Philippians 4:12) That ought to be our attitude as well.
And it can be. Grab your Bible and jump down to verse 13. If you’ve been in church much, you’ll recognize this verse.
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
The context is Paul being content in whatever circumstance he finds himself. And he found himself in all sorts of circumstances. Circumstances like shipwrecks and stoning and prison. And yet I whine about the price of milk and gasoline.
I need Jesus to strengthen me to do all things. All things like understand what to be discontent with and what stop whining about.
Amen.
