peaceful discontent

there is a delicate balance within our journey with Christ that revolves around contentment. i have determined that i am hardly ever spiritually content for any extended period of time because contentment of my spirit brings a mediocre walk. some might not agree with that statement but the disagreement stems from what we consider to be contentment or discontent.

i believe there are two kinds of discontent. there is the discontent within our spirit that drives us to want more of God. on the other hand, there is the discontent with what we possess in life that drives us to want more of the world. we usually possess one or the other but not both.

let's explore these two perspectives of contentment.

a woman, who we'll call Leah, is your common, everyday christian. she is a faithful church goer, she reads her Bible, she prays, and she tells people about Jesus. like many of us, Leah goes home every night to a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in the suburbs where she pulls her $30,000 suv into the garage. she greets her kids with a smile and kiss and prepares dinner with gusto. her family eats in front of the TV tuned intently to see who's going to be the next american idol. after tv and clean up, it's bed time. she tells her kids a story, kisses them good night and sings the same lullaby she's been singing for the past 4 years. she is a good mom. once the kids are sleeping she walks down the hall to her room, plops down on her down comforter, reads a little and prays for her family, friends, co-workers, her country, and even those she doesn't know. then it's lights out because her day begins again at 6am.

if you were to talk to Leah you would soon discover that she really isn't happy with her life and where she is at. in fact, there is a great possibility that she would say, "i love our house, but the bathroom is out of date, and we could use another bedroom so we might as well be looking for a bigger house soon." or she might tell you, "the car is nice but I really want a new vw suv. they get better gas mileage, plus it has leather upholstery, seat heaters, and extra leg room which would all be good perks." the more you spend time with Leah, the more you would hear about how really at the root of it all, she is discontent with where she is at in life because of what she doesn't have.

people who are close to Leah know she loves Jesus and will talk about Him until the cows come home. and when you ask her how her walk is, she would say something like, "i am blessed. just absolutely great. God has been blessing us and we are so thankful for that." the more time you spend with Leah you notice that she hardly ever speaks of wrestling with a scripture or if she does, it ends with an agreement to disagree. her opposition to change was based off of her conflicts with her view of God and therefore the world; the world view that she has had her entire life.

what you might want to notice is where Leah's discontent sits. her discontent is not with her spiritual life or her family. rather, she is discontent with the things she possesses in life - the perks of her car, the size of her house, the money in her retirement account - the "blessings". in essence Leah is discontent with the "stuff" of life and content in her walk with Jesus.

let's take a look at another woman who attends church with Leah, we will call her Regina. Like Leah, Regina reads her Bible, prays, and shares her story with people she works with and encounters throughout her day. Regina drives her used car home, parks it outside the garage doors, flounders through the messy hallway so she can hug her kids and get dinner going. in the midst of the chaos she runs next door to see if her neighbors, who both lost their jobs last month, have plans for dinner. they don't, so she invites them over. she stretches dinner rations a little more than normal but everyone has something to eat - not an abundance, but enough.

after cleaning up dishes, they all sit down in the crowded living room and talk because tv is no longer an option since they couldn't muster up the extra money for the digital converter; it simply wasn't a priority.

the neighbors go home and kids get ready for bed. she tucks them in and walks to her room - the garage that her husband is still in the process of converting to an actual bedroom. she sits down on her mattress and opens up scripture to read, "Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves do not {merely} look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, {and} being made in the likeness of men."

she sits silently and her spirit begins to move and stir causing an uncomfortable feeling that she is familiar with, God is moving her to listen. Regina starts praying, asking God to show her how she could put others above herself, what could she do, how could she change?

if you were to sit down with Regina she would tell you, "life is good. we don't have much but what we do have i am thankful for. i really can't tell you anything that we could use, but our neighbors could use some groceries. you see, they both lost their jobs last month. they don't speak english very well so it's hard for them to find a job and they're going to be out of food soon."

she might also tell you that although her walk with Jesus is good there is always this sense of discontent but it's such a loving discontent it's healthy. it's this discontent that pushes her to listen to other people who view God differently than she does or that challenge her perspectives on politics, the world and even what living a christian life looks like.

in contrast, Leah would tell you that she hasn't really felt the presence of God in a while. her contentment with where she's at with God is due to a large part because she doesn't allow her thoughts, ideas, and perspective to be challenged. she doesn't realize that if she is never challenged, and is always certain of all of her beliefs, she doesn't grow and therefore doesn't change. if change never occurs, she will be the same spiritually at 65 that she was at 25.

Leah is discontent in the wrong area of life.

she is discontent with what she calls "blessings" and content with her spiritual life. this is a dangerous place to be for too long. our spirits are fluid like water. water when it remains unmoved and in the same place for an extended period of time becomes stagnant. stagnant bodies of water stink, literally. they are not a place for life to thrive because of the lack of oxygen in the water. nothing in the water changes. the water just sits there and everthing in it remains unmoved. there is a stillness that might appear good in the beginning that develops into a pool of lifeless goop in the end.

our spirits need to be like rivers. rivers are full of life because they are moving. rivers flow in a seemingly endless orchestra of beauty. the rocks on the bottom are no longer jagged and rough because the water has been flowing over them for so long carries small particles which over time have smoothed the rocks to objects soft and almost delicate. this water of motion is never truly at rest, even when it seems like it isn't moving, it is.

why is Leah like the pond?

it could be a multitude of reasons.

perhaps it's because she doesn't want to give up her nice car and big house?
perhaps she's afraid of the risk factor of letting God have ALL of it?
perhaps she has convinced herself that God wants her to be rich and have an easy retirement?
perhaps her perspective is more focused on the material than the Gospel message of giving herself away?
perhaps she has confused Jesus with the ideal version of herself based not on Grace but the american dream?

what Leah has failed to see is that these people who give all of themselves to God and are willing to be challenged to change and act on that challenge the way God is urging the to, are the people moving with the Kingdom.

Regina understands that there is going to be great times of spiritual peace and contentment, but they never last long, God always asks us to keep moving.

we need to be spiritual nomads - never satisfied with where we are at; always moving to the next fertile location for the benefit of the Kingdom.

Regina knows that peace comes through the uncomfortable.

Peace comes through change.

Peace comes through our willingness to say "YES" to God when he asks, "will you sale your house and move across town. I would love to show you myself through the people who are broken and have nothing, and I would really like to show them what I look like through you."

God is a God of change,

of rebirth,

of life,

of motion,

of peace through discontent.

may you find challenge in the Word.

may your heart be challenged by others around you.

may you look within yourself to see how you can become more like Jesus today.

peace be with you.