Contentment

Philippians 4:12 “…I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.”

I live with, what I think is, a very high contentment quotient.  I tend to travel light, meaning I don’t drag the normal and extraordinary worries of life around with me. I have a graphic illustration of this idea. I was in the very hectic Mexico City airport years ago (before 9/11 and all the baggage restrictions). You could basically take anything you wanted on the plane, and people did. Piles of suitcases, bags filled with stuff. They were taking it all with them. I looked at how difficult it was to get around with it all, and I said to myself, “I never want to travel like that.”  And I don’t…not in actual travel, nor in the way I live my life. I don’t need all the baggage. It is a choice, and it that statement is the secret of contentment. 

My contentment is largely my choice. I own it.  Plenty of things will try and rob you of contentment, but it is your choice if you are going to let them.  They can be trivial, such a food and clothing. They can be profound, such as the health and well being of my family. I still have the choice to be content or to live with worry, anxiety and discontent. Sometimes I think my wife wishes I would worry about some things a bit more than I do, but that’s another article.

The secret of contentment for me, is owning my ability to choose how I will navigate the normal, daily issues of life. I choose to do it with an eternal perspective. I’m only here for a little while. This is not my home. Why would I allow the circumstances of a temporary life rob me of contentment and dictate a life of worry and anxiety?  I simply don’t do it. 

The resource to live that out comes from my deep abiding faith in the one who created me, loves me and has imputed His purpose into every cell of my being. It isn’t some cheap mind game or think positive routine.  It is real, and it is from the inside out…not a “put on” life. Learn to be content.