Contentment

Welcome to the Jesus for Generations podcast.

I'm Sandy Clancy, and today we're concluding our series, Contentment in a Culture of Comparison.

We began by looking at how comparison can turn enough into not enough.

Then we explored the endless pursuit of more and how the goalposts keep moving.

Perhaps we can learn to say, Lord, there are things I hope will change, but I don't need tomorrow to be different in order to trust you today.

That's contentment.

And this brings us to the deeper issue that's been running underneath this whole series.

Jesus said, for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And I think where true wealth comes from is a deep, it doesn't have to be long perspective, but a relatively deep reflection on what's truly meaningful to you.

And so this idea of funded contentment isn't just an idea, it's a process, it's a two-step process.

Almost think of it as a Swiss Army knife with just two blades, and you should use the one first and the other second, and the first is Contentment, what's meaningful to you? Is it your relationships? Is it your sense of freedom or autonomy? Is it being really good at your job or a hobby or a vocation? Is it being connected to something bigger than yourself, such as your religion or your faith or your community, your nation? There's no right answer, but starting with Aristotle all the way through modern positive psychology, which is the science of happiness, We have a lot of different frameworks that people can think about.

Well, what's meaningful to them? And it's only after you've used that first of two blades that you should then ask, well, can I afford that? How do I underwrite that? So if family or church or nation or job or just that flat out sense of I want to do whatever I want to do, freedom, whatever it is, there's dozens of possible answers.

Once you have that in mind, then okay, where does money intersect with that? And what we realize is that in some cases, the things that we truly value don't cost much, if at all, and others are unaffordable and always will be.

And in my mind, that's also opposite of contentment, is it not? Yeah.

No, because contentment, well, let's go into satisfaction by the world's standards, I would say, is highly dependent on external circumstances.

Contentment, peace, is an inward posture that has nothing to do with anything happening in the outside world.

And that is why it's a peace that surpasses all understanding.

Because when your life is in chaos, when there is terrible things happening, when there is death and sickness and pain, and all of these things happening that we all deal with, the fact that you say that you have peace makes no sense to the world.

What is a rich person? A person who is satisfied with what they have.

Contentment is the secret of riches.

Want to be rich? Open the mind.

A person can be a billionaire and never be satisfied.

None of these requires cash or a credit card.

Contentment isn't having everything we want.

It's learning to appreciate what we have while wisely pursuing what truly matters, which is God's purpose for our lives.

That doesn't mean we shouldn't work hard, set financial goals, improve our circumstances, enjoy the fruits of our labor, or build wealth that gives us opportunity to help others.

What is a rich person? A person who is satisfied with what they have.

Contentment is the secret of riches.

Want to be rich? Open the mind.

A person can be a billionaire and never be satisfied.

That's what sets a believer from a faker.

When you learn how to be content in God, I cannot be jealous of you because I'm content, and contentment is not that I don't trust God for something new.

Contentment is not that I don't wanna move forward.

It's just I understand that God is the God of all flesh, and he'll do it for me.

Time and chance happen to us all.

All things have passed away.

And so if Leslie used to be a crybaby for all the nonsense, now Leslie's not gonna do that on purpose.

Contentment doesn't mean that you're numb.