“Fulfillment and contentment are not something you find when you search for it.
It’s something you choose. It’s an act of the will”.
-Jonathan Pokluda
Honestly, is it any surprise that we feel this way, given to how culture presents life? Culture measures success by what we have and what we do to make ourselves greater. We are measured by our homes, our jobs, our significant other, our following, our incomes, our fitness levels. When they meet the standard culture sets, then we get approval. Approval feels good. It feels good to fit in. Unfortunately, we soon realize that it is temporary. We soon realize that it becomes a never ending cycle--kind of like the releasing of the latest iPhone. It is a never ending cycle of chasing and pushing us forward for more.
Now, each of those things I mentioned are not bad things. We all DO need a place to live and a way to make income; however, when “I need better and more” is the driving force behind why we are living, we HAVE to shift our focus. We have to look at our motives.
Paul talks to the church in Philippi regarding his circumstances while he was in prison. I'm not talking a little cot with basic necessities. I'm talking dirt floors, chains, and the clothes on his back. And somehow, he manages to pen one of the most widely quoted scriptures in the New Testament. He tells that that “(...) I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” // Phil. 4:11-13
Yikes. Here I sit, feeling very cozy with my coffee in hand, thinking about all the things I need to do. I think about bills to be paid and wonder how things are going to work out. But I also look at how much I have been provided for. I have a car that works, a job, a comfortable place to lay my head. I can often think my life is difficult or lacking. But what is it that I'm wanting? Am I wanting what I need or am I wanting what I see others holding onto?
Friends, we have to refocus. We have to evaluate what we are prioritizing and what we are setting as goals in life. So let's stop and think for a moment.
1) What are the things you find yourself chasing after?
2) What do you find yourself prioritizing as goals--cars, money, peak fitness or what?
3) Who are you trying to model your life after? Who are you letting set the standard?
4) What is it that is making you discontent with your life?
If you are coveting (experiencing jealousy over what others have), your heart is not in the right place. If you are stumbling with discontentment, that is not something that is just going to go away when you get that thing. Jealousy and discontentment are rooted in distrust, leading us down a road towards bitter emptiness. There is a deeper root that needs to be addressed.
So. What now?
Well, what if, instead of comparing with those around you, you look at how your NEEDS have been provided for?
Instead of letting the culture define what you “need”, what if we actually let scripture redefine what we THINK we need?
Ask God to show you the places in your heart where you have let the fear of man or the comparison game be the driving force behind your actions. Ask for forgiveness for not trusting Him to actually provide for you. Take note of the times in your life that God has blessed you. Honestly, take responsibility for your actions. If Instagram or Facebook is causing you to stumble, delete it. If you are surrounded by people who only like you because of what you have, it may be time to rethink your community.
Like Jonathan Pokluda said, we have to choose to be content. We have to submit our will to God and say "all I have need of, you will give me".
It may mean that your life looks different than the lives of those around you. But isn’t that what we have been called to as Believers? :)
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