Faith Venture

Discontent. How it can pollute our lives. And the lives of those close to us.

Paul says in Philippians that he has learned to be content in all things. The writer of the Letter to the Hebrews says also to not put your faith in money, but to be content.

Some people seem to be discontented due to some sort of feelings of inadequacy. They think the world owes them, but that they do not necessarily need to earn whatever it is that will make them content–possessions, respect, position. Some people seem to feel they have to “win” at all things. They can never be content until they have won it all and done the little victory dance.

I know both the passive-aggressive types and the active-aggressive types. Bet you do, too. Neither ever seems to have enough to be content.

Contentment comes from stepping back from your daily urgencies and seeing the big picture. Where do we all fit? Where is God in all this?

My career has been in business. Supposedly, the ultimate goal in business is to make as much profit as possible. That’s winning. I’ve been there. I remember one place where I worked. Marketing a consumer electronic product. Seemed like a cool idea for a product when I accepted the position. Very small company, but lots of politics. Several discontented souls.

One day at a trade show–Comdex, once the largest electronics show–I was contemplating on the fact that we were not generating much interest. In the moment, I could see the landscape of PC development, how we were now “old” technology even though it was less than two years old, and how all this fit in the overall scheme of life.

By stepping back and asking God for perspective, I could see where it was all going. I no longer cared about the politics. In the long run, we were doomed.

I’ve seen that twice since. Same scenari0.

By being able to step back and observe even myself dispassionately, I could glimpse God’s perspective on life. I could become content with what I had, with what I had been given.

I have seen that swirl of discontent in companies and in churches many times repeated.  More than 30 years ago I learned to just quietly keep on the path with God.

And I pray that all those people who just can’t seem to find contentment would listen to Paul, live like Jesus, and let God help you find contentment and peace within your life.

This entry was posted on November 19, 2012 at 7:14 am and is filed under Living. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.