The Key to Contentment

 For The Citizen newspaper "From the Minister's Study"

            This weekend we celebrate Thanksgiving here in Canada. Many families make arrangements to gather for a special meal and holiday time together. For some, it marks the season to close up the cottage or otherwise start preparing for the coming of winter. Others are busy gathering in produce from their gardens, while farmers continue to harvest crops from their fields. But do we actually stop to participate in the action for which the holiday is named? Are we truly “giving thanks”?

            We live in an ad-soaked consumer society which hums along on the premise that the populace needs to be triggered routinely into discontentment through advertising. So we are constantly bombarded by images designed to get us hankering after the newest, latest, and greatest innovations. It’s hard to remain content for very long with what we have, as so much is not only prone to wearing out but also being updated and “improved”.

            Contentment is an endangered species in the consumer world.

            Benjamin Franklin once observed, “Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.” And Martin Luther said, “Contentment is a rare bird, but it sings sweetly in the breast.” Where can we find this increasingly rare species?

            Here’s where Thanksgiving can help – it’s hard for discontentment to co-exist at the same time with a thankful heart. So, what are we thankful for? As we reach out our hand for that scoop of dressing or drumstick of turkey, can we use our five fingers to identify at least five things for which we’re thankful?

            Well, first of all, at least one thing is fairly obvious – food! We thank our Creator for providing for our bodily needs. “...Certain foods... God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth. For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving...” (1 Timothy 4:3-4)

            Next, in our increasingly secular society, many doubt whether God exists or can be known. Some, based on negative experiences and past hurts, question whether there is such a thing as a benevolent deity; they would posit instead random uncaring chance, or perhaps some cruel or malicious Fate. Those influenced by eastern religions might suspect existence of an impersonal force or ‘karma’ which mysteriously keeps score and metes out punishment based on actions in a previous life.

            But the Bible reveals a God who is both good and loving, and for that I am thankful. This is a divine being we would want to have connection with, not one we’d prefer to avoid. A personal God that is full of goodness and love at His very core, a praiseworthy benevolent caring being we can truly appreciate.  “Praise the LORD. Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.” (Psalm 106:1) “Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love... This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:8,10)

            Holiday celebrations have a way of centering on food, for very good reason: if we don’t eat, we die. Life itself is fragile, we are mortal, prone to exhaustion and sickness. Infectious diseases continue to be a threat. Some of us have had close family members impacted by cancer (or even we ourselves).  Are we thankful for life? And what about its end – what comes after?

            So, thirdly, I am thankful the Bible holds out hope for eternal life, thanks to the victory of Jesus Christ at the cross, procuring forgiveness for our worst sins. I am grateful Jesus’ resurrection holds out hope for life beyond the grave. The Apostle Paul framed the situation this way. “If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ ... The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Corinthians 15:32,56f)

            Yet, I am also thankful I do not have to wait until I die to experience God’s saving power: it is already available to help me in my daily life and struggles. Paul talks about a ‘law’ or dominating power or influence that evil and sin have in our lives. Scripture cautions us to be wary of three enemies that would subvert our soul – the world, our ‘flesh’ (or unregenerate self), and the devil. But God sends the Spirit of His Son into our lives by faith in Jesus, coming alongside us in our daily living to buttress us and help us overcome temptation. Paul writes, “...I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God – through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:23-25)

            These positive effects of the Lord in the lives of believers are communicated through the instrumentality of His word. Media fills our environment with words seeking to persuade us to follow particular political views or search out certain products that promise to make our lives so much better. With the internet and social media, anyone can publish their latest thought and flame out in angry speech to make their voice heard. Sometimes we feel like we are drowning in a sea of words; we become adept at ‘tuning out’ advertisements.

            But God’s word is qualitatively different from mere human speech. God is spirit, and His words are spirit and life (John 6:63). God’s word is “living and active”, shaping and moulding the lives of those who have been born over again (Hebrews 4:12; Romans 12:2). So, fourth, I am thankful for God’s working word active and having effect in my life. So the Apostle Paul could write to one church, “And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

            Fifth and finally, I am thankful the Christian life is not a solitary experience, but one lived in the companionship of other believers. I am reinforced and encouraged by my sisters and brothers in the faith. When I stumble or fall, I need others to help pick me up and get me heading again in the right direction. I need their patience, kindness, and gentleness to bolster me – each of these reflecting the goodness and love of our heavenly Father. “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.” (2 Thessalonians 1:3) At its best, the church is a truly caring faith-family that experiences the grace of a supernatural connection and close bonding. “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:8)

            May these good gifts be experienced by you and yours this Thanksgiving, creating lasting contentment, and prompting appreciation to well up in your hearts toward the divine Giver!