Philippians 4:10-13; Treadmill

“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.  (11) I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. (12) I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. (13) I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

This passage was written for me.  I am selfish.  I am greedy.  I am discontented. I overlook the amazing blessings that I have and focus on the few things that I don’t.  If I were to rewrite the end of this passage for me, it would read more like:

“I have learned the secret of being discontent in any and every situation, whether well fed or even better fed, whether living in plenty or even more. Never be satisfied with what you have and always want more.” 

Discontent destroys joy.  I see it in Wren and Levi all the time – they are perfectly happy with their stuff until they see an awesome toy that their friends have. Immediately their dozens of toys and games are not worth playing with anymore. They want THAT toy and nothing else will do.

I feel so sorry for my children because they inherited that trait from me.  Just like I inherited it from my parents and so on and so on.  Discontent is a function of our broken humanity.  We know there should be more than there is.  Deep down we know we are missing something.  And that is true. 

In Genesis it talks about God walking with Adam in the garden during the cool of the day.  That is what we were created for; uninhibited access to and relationship with God with nothing in the way.  Since sin entered the world, that easy intimacy is gone.

While our relationship with Christ reopens the line of communication and brings salvation, healing and grace, we still struggle with sin and live in a world bound by sin.  We get moments and mountain top experiences, but the consequences of sin keep those experiences from being easy or full time. 

That leaves a hole that needs to be filled.  We can fill it by pouring more and more into Jesus. That slowly grows our capacity to live according to his will which brings more intimacy and contentment. That is the smart, effective thing to do.

But that takes a lot of discipline and effort and take time. We want contentment NOW!  So we buy things that we want. We take vacations because new experiences really fill the void – at least till you get home. We pour into ourselves instead of God and it feels great until the next want arises. And then you have to chase that one and the next one and the next one. Not smart or effective.

It’s like trying to run a marathon on a treadmill.  You are working really hard, but you will never get anywhere.  You will end up tired and bored and unfulfilled.  Your life will be one big sigh of frustration.  Does this ring a bell for anyone?  This is right where I live – like all the time!

Contentment is never attained, only accepted.  Allow me to say that again: Contentment is never attained, only accepted.  If you cannot be content right now, you will never be content in the future.

Fulfilling your every want and desire will not bring contentment. Acquiring things or chasing experiences will not bring contentment.  Only Jesus brings contentment.  So get off the treadmill and start moving toward Jesus – I guarantee contentment will follow! 

“It’s not having what you want; its wanting what you’ve got.” – Cheryl Crow, Soak up the Sun