Dave’s Monday Blast – March 14, 2016
Our month long discussion on Discerning the Will of God compelled me to consider one of my least favorite topics, contentment…or more accurately its contrast…discontent. The two topics are certainly related. I believe that a spirit of discontent is simply “Practical Christian Atheism”. When ‘things’ don’t go as we believe they should the sin of discontent creeps in, and our hearts tend toward ingratitude. Somehow we don’t believe God is ‘serving us well’. I received some great feedback last week from a friend who commented, “I think contentment and gratitude are joined at the hip. They can’t be decoupled. Where you find one, the other is there. The flip side, discontent, breeds some ugly stuff such as bitterness and anger as we meditate on the ‘if only’ stuff. This is like kerosene to the fire. It’s elusive when hooked to the temporal, which is easy to do, i.e. fixate on the temporal, not the eternal.” That’s good isn’t it!
I mentioned last week that the 10th commandment found in Exodus 20:17 is intimately connected to this tension between contentment in all circumstances and the sin of discontent; “You shall not covet…” is not a suggestion. We are forbidden to covet…to be discontent with our lot. Why? Blogger Jeff Robinson writing for Founders Ministries Blog comments:
Discontentment is a mistrusting of God. Contentment is trusting God implicitly. Thus, discontent is the opposite of faith.
Discontentment amounts to complaining against God’s plan. In MY desire to be sovereign, I think my plan for me is better. As Paul Tripp well puts it, “I love me and have a wonderful plan for my life.”
Discontentment exhibits a desire to be sovereign. Like Adam and Eve, we desire to taste of the tree that will transform us into sovereign kings.
Discontentment covets something God has not been pleased to give us. He gave us His Son; therefore, can we not trust Him for the trivial things? (Romans 8:32) He is an INTENTIONAL God.
Discontentment subtly (or perhaps not so subtly) communicates that God has made a mistake. My present circumstances are wrong and they should be otherwise. I will only be content when they change to suit my desires. (This reflects back upon our discussion of discerning His will.)
Discontentment denies the wisdom of God and exalts my wisdom. Isn’t this precisely what Eve did in the garden in questioning the goodness of God’s Word? Thus, discontentment was at the heart of the first sin. “Has God really said?” That’s the question at the heart of all our discontentment.
I have heard it said that you cannot commit any sin without first committing the sin of idolatry. This is what is really meant by the phrase “Practical Christian Atheism”. Saying we believe in Him and that He is our Lord…but… Men of Intention know, a proper understanding of God at work in our lives includes a grateful, contented, joyful heart. Next week I want to take a careful look at what it really means to have a loving God ordering our steps.
