Contentment

I was teaching on contentment last night at our Bible Study from Philippians 4:10-13. One of the things that I did not get to teach on was that there is such a thing holy discontentment. The Apostle Paul indicates that is good and right for us to learn to be content in any and all circumstances. As I said last night, contentment is a learned virtue and a trust issue. We have to lean to learn and learn to lean. Contentment is about trusting God with joy no matter what.

But there is a kind of discontentment that is good. I would call it holy discontentment. It is the kind of discontentment that you find Paul speaking of in Philippians 3. Unholy discontentment leads us to things like grumbling, complaining, coveting and stealing. Holy discontentment leads to things such as repentance, humility, obedience and innovation. It takes us toward God rather than away.

So, when I find myself discontented and doing unholy things and having unholy thoughts I should immediately be alerted to the fact that I am experiencing unholy discontentment. But if I find my discontent leads me to greater repentance, obedience and creativity then I am experiencing holy discontentment.