Discontentment

Remembering from the last post, contentment is something securely contained.  Discontentment describes someone who is not securely contained.  When life was in the Garden of Eden it was securely contained by the Creator.  Since the Fall, humans were expelled from the perfect container. The crux of Genesis 3 is that God allowed His creation to leave His containment to go out on their own.  That is the moment when “discontentment” was invented.  God created contentment.  Humans invented discontentment. 

Humans have a horrific record of denying their “out of the container” life.  We cry, “It’s not my fault!  The Devil made me do it.”  The most usual way a person tries to contain their life discontentment is to come to accept the idea that contentment is a state of mind; we just need to develop the right frame of mind to reach an equilibrium between opposing options.  Simply we talk ourselves into finding a balance between our pain and our joy.  We say things like, “I may not be perfect, but I’m not as bad as I was.” We discover a calm, but calm is not peace.

Some folks in their pursuit of contentment blame circumstances, or other people, or even God, for their lack of contentment.  I understand why, I often find myself doing the same.  It is my default program for dealing with life’s disconcerting moments.  I also understand I lack the perspective on life that produces contentment.  Or, I have the perspective but forget to access that perspective to properly see what is going on around my life. 

I have an aversion for being discontent!  I think my aversion has something to do with the new life the Holy Spirit brought in me when I chose to leave normal life and live the eternal life.  Jesus did not come to make us content in this life.  The event of becoming a “Christian” may not have carried much drama for you.  It did not for me.  The move from kingdom life to Kingdom Life, however, is very real and dramatic from God’s perspective.  We may not have “felt” a dramatic change but the angels around the thrown of God certainly did. 

One of the most dramatic changes occurring in a new follower of Jesus is a persistent feeling of discontentment.  It stems from not being where we belong, away from the fallen kingdom and completely consumed in the Kingdom of heaven.  I may be content in knowing my divine destiny, but I am discontented until I fully get there.  We will not be content in this life until this life is completely transformed into the next life, Heaven.

Until I demonstrate the love of God the same way Jesus demonstrated the love of God, I will live an oscillating discontented life.  I may experience less discontentment at times, but until I fully have the “mind of Christ” the Holy Spirit will not allow me, or any follower, to be content with their daily living.  And, I am content with that!

There is another word we need to consider, malcontent.  This is the darkest side of contentment.  I believe it is a significant part of dissolving the racism which plagues our country.  I will give these ponderings in the next blog post.

Photo – Southern California mountain side northeast of San Diego.