The Power of Contentment
When I was a child my mother had this statement she would always quote to me. I was an extremely difficult child now that I look back on it. I had insane preferences and stubbornly stuck to it, even if it meant starving myself or blatantly disobeying her. To be honest a semblance of that stubbornness still remains today in the way that I go after my goals, though they are imbued with the grace of God than childish rebellion. Whenever my mother cooked something that I didn’t like or fitfully refused to wear shoes or clothes I did not want to wear, with a strict but satisfied expression, she would firmly say: “little with contentment is great gain”.
I still remember vividly the confusion that statement always stirred in mind. In my egocentric childish mind, I could not understand how someone could possibly be content with little. I was still at the stage where I took the larger slice of cake, measured the attention I got with what my brother got, or wanted the better toy. And my mother thought it ideal to keep reminding me during that time that ‘little with contentment is great gain’. I hadn’t thought much of it until recently, I always thought I’d grown into a pretty contented young woman. But then I realized that it is very easy to become discontented in this world of expectations and comparison. However, it’s a powerful thing when you learn to be content in the midst of all that you face.
What contentment is not:
- Contentment is not something we do, it is a state of mind. Contentment is defined as a state of satisfaction or ease of mind, in other words; contentment begins in your mind. The lens of contentment allows us to continue to live outwardly towards our goals, without the mental burden of not being good enough.
- Contentment is not a lack of awareness. A man who is content to live in the mountains away from technology and human connection as he has done for his entire life is different from a man who is content to live in the mountains away from technology and human connection after being aware of technology and human connection. Contentment is not saying “well I don’t know any better so it doesn’t bother me”, rather it is a state of being aware of what you lack, what you need and where you want to be, but choosing to not allow yourself to be overwhelmed by it.
- Contentment is not giving up. Do not be fooled by this concept of satisfaction, it does not mean that you are giving up on being better or on having better days. You can be satisfied and at ease with your position in life and still pursue what you desire. That is the very point of being content. Being satisfied with where you are in this moment, does not mean that you have stopped moving towards another moment or state in life.
Now that we have explored what contentment is not, we can get into what I really want to share with you today:
The power of contentment
1 It helps us enjoy life and learn from life’s lessons:
There is this famous quote by Benjamin Franklin, he said “Dost thou love life? then don’t squander time for that is the stuff life is made of.” It is easy to believe that in order to fully live life we must be constantly busy pursuing the next big thing; to make more money, to have more things, to be happier, to make more connections etc.. Those pursuits are not wrong in themselves but we also need to understand that in our pursuit of these very things we can end up wasting our life. It is important that we do not confuse discontentment with ambition. Having healthy ambition is great, but whenever it starts to cause you to rush through life or to no longer savour your accomplishments and relationships it’s no longer healthy.
Being content with whatever stage you are in in life, actually prepares you for the next one as it allows you to fully absorb the lessons that that life stage has to offer you. This learning process occurs only when we go through our circumstances with our eyes open, being aware of it rather than frantically trying to escape it. How many of us rushed through childhood only to look back at it in regret? Don’t make the same mistake with the stage you are in now.
2 It Builds our faith:
The beauty of godly contentment, is its emphasis on the presence and work of God in our lives. To be in a state of contentment in what may be a dreary situation, such as poverty, unemployment or pain, calls forth our need to trust God. In Proverbs 30:7-9, the writer makes a statement that alludes to the reality of human behaviour. He asked God to give him a balanced life, to not give him too much least he believe that he no longer needs him and to not give him too little that he is tempted to steal and dishonour him. That kind of honesty in prayer, I respect. This person understood himself, he knew what he would do in either situation and so he asked for just enough to keep him faithful. How many of us would ask God for just enough in order to preserve our faith? Paul described his current state as a ‘thorn in his flesh’ but came to a place of contentment by acknowledging that in his weakness and suffering, Christ’s strength was glorified (2 Cor 12:9-10). Faith is key to a life of contentment and contentment is key to a life of faith.
3 It Encourages generosity:
Further to the power of contentment to build our faith, is its ability to promote generosity in us. Godly contentment means trusting in God’s ability to meet your needs, it is believing that you may not be able to physically lay your hands on it right now, but you know that God’s not going to leave you without what you need. When you have that kind of faith-filled contentment, you will not withhold giving to others from the little you may have. Discontent people are generally greedy. Priscilla Shirer puts it this way: ‘you can always tell people who operate from a position of perceived lack and deficiency… They’re tight fisted with their energy. They’re reluctant to sow of themselves into the lives of others because they’re afraid they don’t have enough to do it with and still have enough left over for themselves.’ If you want to see contented giving at work in real life, look at some of those Caribbean grandmothers around you; they just love to give out of their last and their little. While those of us who have more than enough are afraid to give out of it, least we should possibly have need of it sometime in the future. The contented person is always comfortable giving because he/she operates out of a life of faith in God’s ability to provide.
4 It guards against wrong doing:
In 1 Tim 6:6-12, a young minister is given a charge by his mentor to be content. He warns that discontentment has led many away from the life of faith in the pursuit of riches, which often leaves them in a state of sorrow. Not allowing yourself to be satisfied with what is placed before you in the moment can often tempt us to go after more before it’s time and in the wrong way. I’m not saying to allow yourself to be stuck in a rut for the rest of your life, but if getting out of it means breaking the law, or hurting others, or turning away from God then you are operating from a position of unhealthy ambition. Oftentimes when people do wrong it is because they have convinced themselves that what they are doing is good. But good in the sense that it meets their needs, regardless of what it causes others. Be careful of what you convince yourself is good to do, because of your discontentment.
5 It Promotes physical and mental health:
Anxiety, depression and stress with all of its physiological manifestations, such as high blood pressure, migraines, heart palpitations, trouble breathing etc is often borne out of the mind’s inability to cope with life’s issues. It’s easy to understand how a bad experience of rejection, or fear of being hurt or dealing with overwhelming responsibilities could trigger psychological troubles such as these. But did you know that discontentment can also affect our mental and physical wellbeing. When we are discontent, what we are really telling our mind and our body is that we are not safe, we are not yet in a place where we can rest and refresh ourselves. Discontentment actually places us in the position to utilize all of these psychological responses.
It can make us anxious. Anxiety comes out of worry or concern over what is going wrong and how to fix it. When we are discontent we may find ourselves constantly thinking about what could go wrong or has gone wrong and the consequences of that. We can become obsessive and fearful. Discontentment can also make us angry, as we may feel wronged by life or others, or cheated out of what we deserve. Or on the other end of the continuum we may become depressed. We may feel worthless and hopeless, like it’s time to give up. All of these responses can evolve into physical issues, that we may end up requiring medical help for.
To be in a constant state of dissatisfaction wears us out, and our body, mind and spirit is so connected that we end up being wholistically unwell. When all we may need to do, is allow ourselves a moment in our busy pursuits to be satisfied with what we have accomplished thus far. Contentment places our bodies and minds in a state of rest, it’s a way of telling ourselves, let us rest here for a while and be refreshed before we can face the expectations of tomorrow.
Proverbs 14:30: A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
Maybe my mother was trying to teach me a valuable life lesson that she knew I would need, or maybe she was just trying to ease her own distress that I brought upon her with my rude demands. Whatever it was, I am only now coming to understand the power and importance of being content. Contentment is a state of mind, but more so it is a skill that we learn as we allow ourselves to understand what is really important in this life. Are you content?
Keep pressing and be a blessing,
KellyP
If you want to read about my personal experience with discontentment you can check out my story on my personal development blog right here.
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Sources
Emotional Intelligence. Daniel Goleman.
Psychology Today. Psychologytoday.com.
Stress Effects on the body. American Psychological Association. apa.org.
Kelly is the founder of Royalty Press United. Author of the Gemstone Royals fantasy series, Twist of Faith and Crossroads. Counseling psychologist, proud Grenadian and devoted follower of Christ.
