Discontented Contentment

This summer has been a season of wrestling to find the wise and healthy “place” the Lord has for me—and for all his children—somewhere between chronic restlessness and sinful complacency.

On the one hand, Jesus offers us “rest”:  Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest (Matt 11:28).  He brings peace (John 20:19, 20).  So release your anxieties into his fatherly care (Matt 6:25-34)!  Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything—that’s how we receive God’s peace that passes understanding (Phil 4:4-7).  Christians under pressure (e.g., 1 Pet 4:12) are to cast their anxieties on God since he cares for them (5:7). 

The life Christ calls you to, here and now, is one of peace, rest, and humble trust.  Anxiety breaks out in our souls when we forget who we are—and who the Lord is!  But godly contentment takes root as we lift up our eyes to the One who loves and saves and sustains and cares for us eternally (Psalm 121:1-2; 123:1-2).  Are you walking with Jesus today in an attitude of contentment?  Or is your heart being lured by the Enemy into a fretful, anxious, contentious state? 

The thing about the restless, straining, driven, overly idealistic path is that, the further you take it, the harder it is to get back.  We know we ought to “be still” (Ps 46:10), but we feed off of the ego boost that comes with all our great work and in imagining our­selves so far ahead of others, and we want more.  And more!  Yes, God is able to deliver us from this swamp—but you may lose the desire to turn to him! 

So peace, rest, calm… that’s the one hand.  On the other hand, the Bible calls us to a life of striving:  Jesus goes on in Matthew 6 to teach his disciples to “seek first God’s kingdom.”  Seek.  Paul tells his story of relentless straining and striving, pressing on, pursuing the prize (Phil 3:12-14); he portrays the life of faith in terms of diligent labor (2 Tim 2:1-7).  God says, You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart (Jer 29:13).  Lukewarm, ho-hum, blasé spirituality in the church is revolting to the Lord (Rev 3:16).

So we’re called to a restless restfulness, a discontented contentment.  That’s our paradox.  And it’s a very delicate balance:  we fallen humans easily slide into one sad propensity or the other—that is, to relax our way beyond contentment into complacency and self-serving mediocrity, OR to strive our way beyond the quest for growth in godliness so we end up as proud, straining achievers who really long to feature our own success rather than the glory of Christ.

What’s more, in some seasons of life we lose balance in an ambitious, striving direction, while in others we tip toward sloth, stifled imagination, and lost vision of earlier dreams.  In light of the fact that we oscillate like that, how can we thrive together in Christ as a church community?  For example, as a family with loved ones at different “places” along the continuum living under the same roof—strivers and resters?  Or as a church family made up of members who are in every possible position along the striving-resting spectrum?

Here are a few words of encouragement when it comes to shaping a life of discerning, humble, hopeful spirituality.  First, remem­ber that we all still have a long way to go in terms of spiritual growth.  Which is to say:  you have not “arrived,” nor is your case hopeless, nor are you too old to make new strides, nor are you too young to have grand hopes.  Settling into a life of “settling” dishonors the Lord:  he is at work in you to will and to accomplish his good pleasure (Phil 2:12-13), and his good pleasure includes your development of a healthy, humble rhythm of spiritual life that truly rests in God’s love and that also truly presses on in pursuit of Christ.

Second, be on the lookout for your own “signature sins” (to borrow a phrase from Michael Mangis’s book by the same title).  Know thyself.  Are you prone to slip into the mire of self-pity or doubt or sloth—and are those actually expressions of unbelief?  Or are you inclined to plateau and lock in to a no-change life—and is that actually a way to try and exert control and insulate yourself from life’s harsh winds and waves?  Or, in the other direction, are you prone to push and pull and strive and strain, always seeking more, never at peace, ever chasing some magnificent ideal—yet is that actually a way your heart slides into self-promotion mode while sidelining Jesus Christ?

Third, have mercy on your brothers and sisters in Christ, even if they’re driving you crazy with raging ambition or torpid sluggish­ness.  Be patient (1 Thess 5:14).  Lovingly encourage one another (Heb 3:12-13).  And bear with one another, always ready to forgive:  you must forgive, just as Christ has forgiven you (Col 3:13).

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