How is Joy Related to Contentment? – Meditations on Christian Joy, Part 5
We just watched a movie about the indominable spirit of Diana Nyad, a swimmer in her 60’s who after 5 tries was still determined to do the impossible, swim 110 miles from Cuba to Florida. With the help of a supportive team, she finally conquered the ocean with its sharks and jellyfish. Part of the take-away from the film was a celebration of the unconquerable human spirit, that we are never too old to follow our dream, and that we should never give up. While perseverance is a worthy quality at any age, we wondered about the restlessness and unhappiness so evident in Diana Nyad.
We should have high goals and dreams. Being content with mediocrity, rootlessness, or insignificant goals is not nobility. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the evils of laziness. God has gifted all of us with skills that can be used to improve our own and our community’s condition. The innate creativity God gave us has enabled civilization to progress through better medicine, agriculture, manufacturing, and even housing. All of this is good.
And yet, the Bible has a lot to say about being contented with our lot. Without contentment we can never know the joy of the Lord.
But how is contentment possible while we live in a world bent on urging us to buy a better car, build a bigger house, seek a higher paying job, go on a more exotic trip, eat at better restaurants, improve our appearance with implants, get a higher golf score? We are continually bombarded with promises of winning this or that lottery. Continual discontent with our circumstances breeds unhappiness.
Clearly, the goals that captivate our hearts, affect everything in our lives. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life” (Prov. 4:23). But what are those aspirations that should well up from within our hearts?
Paul’s advice to Timothy is clear. We should strive for godliness. “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:6-10).
When our soul’s happiness is disrupted by an unfulfilled craving for money, status, property, or power we cannot know the joy of the Lord. Instead of these unworthy goals God urges us to strive for holiness. Holiness is manifest in various ways as the fruit of the Spirit, Christ-likeness, the beatitudes, a deep reverence and love for God, or a generosity and love for our neighbours. These are the goals of the Christian. As the Spirit reproduces them in us, we find deep contentment and joy. We learn to rest in our heavenly Father’s care. “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).
Jesus pointed his disciples to the lilies of the field and the birds of the air while teaching them to trust God for their needs. But since the joyful life is connected to contentment, what about enduring troubles and privation, what about suffering? Habakuk boldly wrote:
Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the LORD;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
GOD, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places. (Hab 3:17-19)
Imagine a condition of great privation when all the crops fail. Yet in such a condition Habakkuk had learned to rejoice in the Lord. Such rejoicing is internal, within the heart where we treasure love and faith for the Lord.
This is not to say that we will not at times feel gloomy, even cry out in pain and discouragement. Contentment comes by heeding biblical examples and yielding to the training of the Spirit–and much prayer. Paul suffered from some “thorn in the flesh” which he asked the Lord to take away. In answer “He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Cor. 12:9,10).
Clearly, Christian joy is an attitude that flows from a heart satisfied with God’s grace. The more we celebrate God’s grace in Christ, the happier we will be. A heart captivated by a holy love for God while being content with external circumstances becomes fertile ground for the flower of joy to bloom. In other words, joy is a byproduct of spiritually worthy pursuits.
Lord help us to realign our priorities; holiness and contentment.
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. If I can help you spiritually, let me know. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
