Contentment is a great gain.

One dictionary meaning says that “contentment is desiring no more than one has; satisfied ”

According to The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, 1648, Jeremiah Burroughs defines Christian contentment  “as the sweet, inward, quiet , gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition”

Paul himself understood what Contentment is, he wrote to the Philippians Church informing them that he had “learned to be content whatever the circumstances ” (Philippians  4:11). I am not saying this because I am in need, but I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances……

Fortunately for you and I, we could see that Paul said he learned….. that means there is hope all of us to learn how to be content.

During summer last year, I saw a lady’s picture on Facebook with a low cut hair, I was thrilled and I decided to cut my hair since I have always wanted to do that. Of course I did cut my hair ; during Christmas I decided to start making my hair. Someone would ask, but why? That is what is affecting many of us, we wish we have what someone else’s have. We always long for what doesn’t belong to us.

I have discovered many sisters are unhappy with somethings in their lives. Their dissatisfaction usually comes in one of these four things:

• Reputation
• Marital Status
• Finance
• Purpose

Let’s quickly look into these one by one:

Reputation: Sisters, especially classy ones always desire other people think that they are beautiful, intelligent, spiritual, smart and successful. We see many of us struggling to please the other person, we do not see ourselves the way God sees us. We tend to compete with others in other to look good and attractive.

Marital Status : A very close friend of mine told me something last year about her singleness, she complained about being lonely and bored every day, she compared herself with some of our friends who are already engaged and married. Sisters, especially single ones desire to be engaged to someone, Engaged ones desire to be married and surprisingly we see married sisters desire to be married to someone else or desire to change something about their husbands. Isn’t that funny?

Finance: We complain about our finances, we wish to have money so that we can buy things that our friends have. We desire more, we want to have better jobs so that we can earn more money.

Purpose: It amazes me when I see many of us competing with others’ purpose. We wish we could sing like that particular sister in the choir. All these things are little foxes that destroy the vineyard . Paul valued this Christian virtue so highly that he wrote  in Timothy 6:6 ” Godliness with Contentment is great gain”

We naturally long for what we don’t have, of course it’s fine and good to improve our quality/status in life. But the unchangeable factors in our lives ought to teach us true Contentment. And this is the fact that cannot be changed, True Contentment comes from God and that is what you and I must seek everyday of our lives

Shalom

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