Developing a Content Heart

Godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.

–1 Timothy 6:6

Who is happier: a man with eleven million dollars or a man with eleven children? Answer: the man with eleven children. Why? Because he doesn’t want more.

More. It’s a thief that robs us of enjoyment for the present. It’s an instigator of anxious thoughts about the future. It’s a motivator of jealousy that destroys relationships. It’s a cruel taskmaster that refuses to allow us to rest. And it’s a disease to which we’re all susceptible. Every one of us can fall victim to the virus of more.

There are different ways we observe the symptoms of this infection of the heart: I wish I drove a newer car. I wish I lived in a larger house. I wish I had a better job. I wish I had a different mate. More, different, better, larger–these are all symptoms of the disease that keeps us from enjoying the present.

I’m not suggesting that dissatisfaction is always bad. Sometimes dissatisfaction can be a good thing. For example, Orville and Wilbur Wright’s dissatisfaction with travel by land and sea encouraged them to develop the airplane. Thomas Edison’s dissatisfaction with having to read by candlelight encouraged him to invent the electric lightbulb. In the Bible, we see that Nehemiah’s dissatisfaction with the physical condition of Jerusalem caused him to engage in a massive rebuilding program. The apostle Paul’s dissatisfaction with the spiritual condition of the church at Corinth led him to write two letters that are now in the New Testament. The desire for more or better or larger is harmful only when it prevents us from enjoying what God has given us in the present and provokes us to worry about the future.

Many times, the desire for more robs us of the benefits of living in the kingdom of God. Think about this: When Christ comes back to earth and establishes His kingdom here, do you think we’re going to be worrying about our retirement accounts or whether other people have larger homes than we do? No, at that point, we’re going to be satisfied. But we don’t have to wait until we die to experience satisfaction–God wants us to experience satisfaction with what He has provided for us right now. How do we do that? The opposite of more is not less; the opposite of more is contentment. We must learn how to develop a content heart.

Today’s devotion is adapted from “Developing a Content Heart” by Dr. Robert Jeffress, 2008.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org.