Finding Contentment

“Christian contentment, therefore, is the direct fruit of having no higher ambition than to belong to the Lord and to be totally at His disposal in the place He appoints, at the time He chooses, with the provision He is pleased to make.” ~Sinclair B. Ferguson

The other day, I was reminded of a humorous moment from a favorite TV show, Monk. The show follows a man named Adrian Monk on his journey to getting reinstated at the San Fransisco Police Department. In the meantime, he works as a private consultant for the police, offering his services as a freelance detective. Yet, he can’t find contentment in his current season of life because of a deep longing for what comes next. For eight seasons, Adrian dreams of the day when he will get his badge back and serve once again on the police force.

In the final season of the show, his dream is actualized. Adrian is presented with his badge and given the nod to serve as a police officer once more. Finally, it seems as though he has attained everything he has ever wanted. Once he starts back on the force, however, Adrian begins to realize he no longer has many of the perks of a freelance consultant: flexibility, control over his schedule, and the freedom to decide which cases to accept. 

Once Adrian has reached the desired goal, it doesn’t fulfill him as expected. In a session with his counselor, they discuss Adrian’s grievances and the aspects of freelance detective work that he misses. As he comes to realize that he truly enjoyed consulting, Adrian comically asks his counselor: “Why didn’t you tell me I was happy?!”

I chuckle at Adrian’s question because I think many of us can relate. There’s a false belief circulating through our culture that happiness is something we can capture far off in the future when we’ve achieved this or that. Insert anything here: a relationship, a job, a salary, some level of recognition or glory. We’ve disillusioned ourselves into thinking that personal contentment is impossible without something else on the left side of the equals sign. 

As a result, we may fail to experience joy in our present circumstances. Like Adrian, what we envision for ourselves often won’t fulfill us. Rather than wish ourselves in a different place, we need to get busy watering the grass at our own feet. The reality is this: the only thing we need on the left side of the equals sign to experience true fulfillment is Jesus plus nothing.

Seneca, a Stoic philosopher from Ancient Rome who lived roughly from 4 BC-AD 65, writes on the lifestyle we must eschew. He says: “The life of folly is empty of gratitude, full of anxiety: it is focused wholly on the future.” He speaks more about what he means by the “life of folly.” It is “our own life, precipitated by blind desire into activities that are likely to bring us harm and will certainly never bring us satisfaction--if they could ever satisfy us they would have done so by now.”* The life of folly, emission of anxiety over what we do not have and discard of gratitude for the many blessings already in our lives, will be our undoing. 

Jeremiah Burroughs, a 17th-century preacher, expresses the same sentiment well: “Contentment is not by addition but subtraction: seeking to add a thing will not bring contentment. Instead, subtracting from your desires until you are satisfied only with Christ brings contentment.”

Friends, believe me when I say that contentment is available to you right now. You need not add to your blessings to achieve it, only subtract from your worldly desires. The fulfillment which you so desperately seek lies in Christ alone. Lay down your hopes, desires, and anxieties at the foot of the cross. In return, God will show you a contentment and joy that surpasses all expectations.

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*To learn more about Seneca and his philosophy, read: Letters from a Stoic

Photocred: Unsplash