They may begin to neglect family, church, or their job responsibilities because their present circumstances are so full of sorrow. It is impossible for a Christian to be a put sin to death when discontentment is being exercised. Why do we, as believers, struggle with discontentment? But overcoming feeling rejected is a secret to moving past approval seeking. Though it seems easy to pinpoint the cause of our discontent, we are often so filled with emotions that we cannot begin to categorize the real struggle we are facing. It causes us to want more earthly wealth at the expense of spiritual fruit, or more things at the expense of relationship with God and others. Those two things are usually created and refined in the fire, not when life is smooth. There is still a gaping spiritual hole in your heart that on God can fill. God says, "Learn to be content with less, and learn to be discontent with more.". This weeks message is "The Discontented Christian Life" and I will seek to argue from Philippians 3 that we as Christians should be very discontent with our knowledge and experience of God as the giver of those gifts. . In every church, in every Christian, in every person there often appears . The apostle Paul, referencing Deuteronomy 31:6, calls us to fight discontentment in Hebrews 13:5. Your voice is missing! "Discontentment among Christians is a far bigger problem than we either realize or acknowledge. 5:18-20 ). Do the Heart Check for Discontentment Most often, the problem is our focus. Even pain and suffering that seemingly cannot be corrected, he can redeem. These are admissions of the depression, anxiety, and even anger brought on by his grumbling, discontented, and complaining disposition toward God. The discontented church. At the heart of discontentment is a lie. Lou Priolo puts his discerning finger right on the real issues and helps us ask probing questions designed to reveal our troubled consciences' covetousness and idolatry. Discontentment is a feeling of dissatisfaction, restlessness, and unhappiness. A Christian may lose more by one hour's discontentment under trials, than he can regain in many months. Welcome to Christian Forums, a forum to discuss Christianity in a friendly surrounding. Help us to flee from love of money and covetousness. One of the easiest signs that your desires are unhealthyaka covetousand inspiring discontentment is that you have inappropriate reactions to the blessings others receive. One dictionary defines contentment as "the state of being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are.". Contentment means that you're not distracted from your God-given duties. A discontent with our position and portion, a craving from something which God has wisely held from us. Usually we take out our frustrations on someone else. Israel was discontent with worshiping God alone and . Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. Music can be happy, woeful, eager, mournful, exhilarating-the list could go on. Ask Him to forgive you of your discontentment and to help you find contentment in all circumstances. For if we are, we will remain stagnant. The leech has two daughters, "Give," "Give.". We have lived by their standards. Amen. Don't let discontentment ruin your life. This spirit of discontentment is greatly accentuated after the Fall. Unlike Eve, Jesus is content. - Jerry Bridges 3 Envy Jealousy Contentment These things are not strange, Small One, though they are beyond our senses. So help teens understand that God doesn't care what's cool today or tomorrow. The reason we are discontent in this area is because we have a desire for more. Murmuring, grumbling and discontent is beneath the dignity of the children of God. Thirty-seven years ago, in 1985, the band Prince and The Revolution released its critically-acclaimed album titled Around the World in a Day. We should be discontent (to a certain extent) with earthly pleasures. Overcoming Discontentment I Corinthians 7:17-35 Ever since the beginning of creation, when the first creatures came from the hand of God, there has always been someone, somewhere, unhappy with his position in the universe. Our modern chat room. As much as the 'churchy' answer is not often appreciated, reminding ourselves that God alone understands does provide glimmers of hope when discontent lingers. The children of the King. Fighting Discontentment with Contentment. - C.S. Unlike Eve, Jesus obeys God's law. Discontentment with Success Think about business professionals and the desire for power and money. 4. . 3. Lesson 15: Dwarfed by Discontentment. Melissa is a passionate minister, speaker and an ongoing learner of the Bible. You will need to register to get access to the following site features: Reply to discussions and create your own threads. Before you go to your spouse with this issue - is it really "a thing"? Some are so discontent in their trials that they neglect the responsibilities God gives them in life. Lou Priolo puts his discerning finger right on the real issues and helps us ask probing questions designed to reveal our troubled consciences' covetousness and idolatry. Burroughs defines it this way: "Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition . 3. This, however, doesn't mean that we are defenseless. If we are to continue to grow in our Christian walk, then we cannot be completely satisfied with our current growth. For years, I'd see her out my kitchen window as she would water her garden, carry in her groceries, or talk to her children, and I couldn't help but notice that a deep frown was a permanent fixture on her face. { About } { Authors } {STC Believes} {Christian Adoption Link Up } {Advertise } { Where We Share } STC Forums; Defying Discontentment. "Discontentment among Christians is a far bigger problem than we either realize or acknowledge. They have become emotionally and psychologically jaundiced from a sense that their life lacks that "pop"that somethingthat person, thing, or experience that they believe will provide the degree of fulfillment, significance, and satisfaction they've longed for but have yet to discover. If discontentment is founded in a desire and plea for health and wholeness for brother, friend, country, and creation, it becomes a life-giving and imperative thing. 3. Thankfulness is first of all a matter of obedience ( 1 Thess. The Cure for Discontentment. Allow nothing to make you question the Father's love for his child. From public affairs to public platforms, the desires "at war within" are bubbling over into quarrels and fightson social media, in the church, within homes, among . The difference between ungodly and godly discontent is that the first is centred on us and our needs, and the second is motivated by love for Christ and others. Discontentment Can Lead to Complaining and Grumbling. Discontent Quotes. The biblical practice of contentment can seem like a lost artsomething reserved for spiritual giants but out of reach for the rest of us. Being successful at work professionally is a good thing. Of all people, Jesus had the best reason to be discontent. He's looking at their whole lifethe past, the present, the futureand He longs for them to make the most of the life He has given them! 5:18; Eph. And, as a result of that discontentment, we should pursuezealously and eagerly pursuemore and more and more of Christ and . "The Danger of Discontentment" 2022 Darrell B. Harrison Providence Christian College Pasadena, CA. Be a Christian where you are right now. the most frequent warnings in Scripture against discontentment concern money and possessions, but in this chapter, I want to address what is perhaps a more common form of discontentment among committed Christians, an attitude than may be triggered by unchanging circumstances that are trials to our faith. When we compare ourselves with others we are not walking by faith. The good news is that these lies are lies. She has been involved in church and vocational ministry for over 18 years. The desire to win at all costs, no matter what it takes or who gets trampled in the process. Discontentment drives us insane, and 2020 has taught us that discontentment drives divisionracial tension, epidemiological confusion, economic downturn, political chaos. Evaluate Whether the Issue is a Real Thing or a Personal Preference. We will be discussing what contentment is all about, what God's Word has to say about contentment, Paul's secret to contentment, practical ways to get out of discontentment, and more! She has the heart to equip the saints by helping them get into the Word of God and fall more in love with Jesus. With the goal of healing and resolution in hand, a few strategies we can use include: 1. Lord, give us hearts of contentment. When I am discontented with the circumstances that God has placed me in, essentially what I believe is either 1) God is not sovereign over what is happening, 2) God is not good, 3) God is not wise, or 4) any number of combination of these things. Discontent is the root of ten thousand sins involving God's people. Greed. When, however, discontentment springs from the need to see someone fail, or to be the best, or have the bestthat is when it becomes fatal. If you are struggling with any of these feelings, take ownership of them and confess it to the Lord. 1) They can make us feel . "Can a true Christian have depression?"Dr. Jeremy Pierre answers in Honest Answers | Episode 67Watch more episodes of Honest Answers here:https://www.youtube. But God knows that when we grumble, we are finding. Nor are the eyes of man ever satisfied. Lewis 2 Contentment Here I stand. To experience the contentment Jesus offers, we. It's probably not Jesus since Romans 8:38-39 tells us that nothing can separate us from him. "A man who goes into a restaurant and blatantly disrespects the servers shows a strong discontent with his own being. Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Discontentment The cure for the sin of envy and jealousy is to find our contentment in God. In our discontented agecharacterized by impatience, overspending, grumbling, and unhappinessit's hard to imagine what true contentment actually looks (and feels) like. The difference between godly and ungodly discontentment really lies in two things: the root and the fruit. In a sense, contentment is the absence of worrywhether that be about who we are, what we have or don't have, or what our condition is in life. Second, learn to rest in God's providence. "You must have a level of discontent to feel the urge to want to grow.". I can do no other. The idea behind it is that there is a certain kind of discontentment that can actually propel us to greater heights. For example, you may becom . When you have more, learn to be disturbed about the fact that you will leave this world and you cannot take what you have with you (Luke 12:13-21). Learn the art of discontent. It leads us to covet what God has given others, and we become ungrateful for his provision in our own lives. Greed causes us to want more and more of the wrong things at the expense of the things that matter more. Satan is the master of mixing lies with truths. You're discontent because you perceive an obstacle between you and your prize. But escapism through fantasy denies God's sovereign, wise, and good purposes for you. Paul had learned to give thanks in every circumstance and he exhorted all believers to do the same. Give thanks in all circumstances. God's children. Name the prize you want. Here are five signs that discontentment is dragging us down spiritually: 1) Envy. The irony behind greed is that it is never satisfied. CONTENTMENT WILL NOT COME FROM THE PHYSICAL THINGS that we acquire because no matter how much you have, you will still be unsatisfied. It is the inward submission of the heart." When Satan prompted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit God had forbidden them from, they acted on their discontentment. As I continue to be laid open and bare by conviction of the Spirit through the pastoral pen of Jeremiah Burroughs, I was reminded of the grace-filled medicine for the believer against the malady of murmuring and discontentment, namely thankfulness. 5:18 ), but it is also a characteristic of a Spirit-filled believer ( Eph. The inability to rejoice at the success of others. First, learn to give thanks in all things. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. My neighbor Claudine's face was always set in a mask of discontent. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless . The Christian's unhappiness, discontentment, and view of God are directly linked. Answer. To know God and love God and work for God. It is discontentment that leads husbands and wives to engage in adulterous affairs under the mirage that they'll be happier with someone else. Endorsements: "Discontentment among Christians is a far bigger problem than we either realize or acknowledge. - Martin Luther 2 Contentment Even Christian romance novels, films, or social mediaor a Christian man or woman you knowcan tempt you to long for a better or different godly partner. Christian joy comes as we give ourselves completely in service to . Grace us with righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, and gentleness. . 2. Resist with the utmost abhorrence anything that causes you to doubt God's love and his loving-kindness toward you. The Bible has a great deal to say about contentmentbeing satisfied with what we have, who we are, and where we're going. . Biblical contentment can only truly be found in the Contented One, in Christ Jesus. 3) Critical Spirit. Discontentment By Guy R. Finnie The injunction we read in Hebrews 13.5, 'Be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee' suggests that there is a tendency towards an attitude of discontentment in the church's life. We should be dissatisfied when brothers and sisters in Christ drift away from God. Thank God for Every Gift. Think Getting our spiritual eyes back on the right prize only comes by thinking. 1. . There is a desire for an identity and for acceptance, and when it doesn't measure up, there grows an extreme level of discontent and even some dangerous things as a result. How can we be earnest and strive for success as a Christian and at the same time be contented . Discontentment makes us altogether unable to resist temptations. What goes on in our hearts that causes us to be discontent? We find it throughout the Old Testament and even in the first sin of mankind. If we forgive the offenses and begin turning to Jesus for satisfaction, that basis of discontentment in our relationships will start to fade. Discontentment is the attitudinal gateway to other sins. A constant desire for more reveals that our money or possessions have taken the place of God in our lives. Today it is rare that we find anyone who is truly content with his or her condition in life. As a Christian, her faith heavily influences her writing and is the driving force . Here are 4 ways to find contentment in Christ: #1 Accept rejection.That sounds crazy because rejection is not easy. Reject any suggestion that God is unduly severe with you. There are three things that will not be satisfied, Four that will not say, "Enough": Sheol, and the barren womb, Earth that is never satisfied with water, And fire that never says, "Enough.". (p71) . They wanted what the Lord had, and they thought He might be withholding something from them. Many people struggle to be content. The world continually sends messages that tempt us toward discontentment. Contentment is a powerful thing. Proverbs 30:15-16. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. And is the founder of Think About Such Things. Instead, we are trying to control things. If discontentment is expressing dissatisfaction with the . I first heard about the concept of godly discontentment from megachurch pastor and leadership expert Pastor Bill Hybels. Discontentment is at the heart of many problems in the world today. As you may have heard before, our heart is designed for worship. However, in our sin, our hearts are "prone to wander." Contentment is trusting God implicitly. And covetousness expense of the Bible pursuemore and more and more of the wrong things at the same brothers sisters! We either realize or acknowledge exhorted all believers to do the same time be Contented responsibilities God gives in... 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