Contentment- Day 19- June R&R

As I continued reading through The Call, I found myself lingering over Guinness' discussion of envy. It is one of those sins that is easy to recognize in other people and much harder to identify in ourselves. Most of us would never describe ourselves as envious. We may admit frustration, disappointment, or even discouragement, but envy sounds ugly enough that we naturally assume it belongs to someone else.

What struck me in this chapter is that Guinness connects envy directly to calling. He observes that we are most vulnerable to envying people whose gifts, opportunities, and callings most closely resemble our own.

That makes perfect sense when you think about it.

Rarely do we spend time envying people whose lives are completely different from ours. The temptation usually comes from looking sideways at someone who is close enough to make us wonder, "Why them and not me?"

Years ago, when we lived in Nashville, we jokingly referred to parts of the music scene as "The Land of Music Snobs." It seemed as though musicians spent a lot of time criticizing one another and very little time complimenting each other. A friend of mine laughed and said, "I guess we hear every wrong note."

There is probably more truth in that statement than either of us realized at the time.

The same thing happens everywhere. Coaches critique coaches. Speakers critique speakers. Pastors critique pastors. We often become most aware of the strengths and successes of people who occupy the same lane we do.

And that is where envy quietly begins its work.

One of the things I appreciate about Scripture is its honesty. The Psalmist does not try to hide his struggle in Psalm 73:

"For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked."

He does not pretend that envy was beneath him. He admits it.

What makes Psalm 73 so helpful is that the solution to envy is not found in trying harder to be thankful. The Psalmist's perspective changes when he begins looking at life from God's point of view rather than his own.

That same idea appears in Philippians 4, where Paul writes:

"I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."

The older I get, the more fascinating that verse becomes.

Paul does not say contentment came naturally - He says he learned it.

And he learned it under circumstances most of us would consider undesirable. He writes those words from prison. If anyone had reason to compare his life with others, complain about unfair treatment, or question God's providence, it was Paul.

Instead, he speaks of contentment. Not complacency. Contentment.

Those two ideas are often confused.

Complacency says, "I have no desire to grow."

Contentment says, "I trust God with where I am while continuing to pursue where He wants me to go."

The distinction is important.

A content person can still work hard, set goals, pursue excellence, and seek improvement. In fact, some of the most content people I know are also some of the most diligent. The difference is that their joy is not dependent on achieving the next thing.

Their peace is not tied to comparison.

Their identity is not determined by whether they are ahead of or behind someone else.

That is freedom.

I think envy ultimately grows from a subtle suspicion that God has somehow been more generous to someone else than He has been to us. It causes us to focus on what we do not have rather than what we have been entrusted with.

Calling pulls us in the opposite direction.

Calling reminds us that God has assigned different gifts, different opportunities, different challenges, and different responsibilities to different people. My task is not to manage someone else's life or second-guess God's distribution plan. My task is to be faithful with what He has placed in my hands.

That sounds simple, but it is surprisingly difficult in a world built on comparison.

Perhaps that is one reason June can be such a valuable time for reflection. It gives us a chance to step off the treadmill and ask a few honest questions.

Am I grateful for the life God has given me?

Am I content with His provision?

Am I pursuing growth because I want to be faithful, or because I am trying to keep up with someone else?

And perhaps the most important question of all:

Would I still have joy if God never gave me what He gave someone else?

Paul says contentment can be learned.

That gives me hope.

Because contentment is not the result of having everything we want. It is the result of learning that Christ is enough, whether we have little or much, whether life unfolds exactly as planned or not.

That may be one of the greatest secrets of the Christian life.