I've been thinking about contentment lately. I don't think it's an attitude that breeds very well in the petri dish of rich countries like ours, and as all things that are like this, it's a bad characteristic that gets ingrained into some pretty good people. But I was thinking about the passive nature of contentment, and what it would look like to do it intentionally.
Now if you're a naturally content person, I guess it wouldn't look like anything, but I think most of us passively have the desire for more gnawing on our brain stem. I'm in the process of buying a new home right now, and maybe a new(er) car. Some of the cause of that is repair bills, but I wonder how much of it is really seated in a lack of contentment. I pay a lot of lip service to what God has blessed me with in this life, and I really mean it when I acknowledge what He's given me. I would say I'm one of the more content people I know, but I can't avoid the reality that there are some forces in me that I'm still learning to control (can you relate?) But ultimately, I think God has put it within the realm of our humanity to set some of these desires under our own power, and if nothing else, under the power of the Holy Spirit in us.
So here's an idea, take it or leave it... I thought it would be an interesting personal experiment to try to be deliberately content for a month. Basically, what that means is that you stop using the phrase "I want that." You stop spending your money that way. Stop getting upset and whining about how _________ isn't good enough, or how you deserve better. A lot of it is really just about pausing before you act and asking if it needs replacing, if it's worth doing or buying, if it's constructive or just a complaint. If it's really necessary, or if it's really about me not being content. I think I'm going to try it in April. I just decided while I was typing this.
I'll let you know how it goes.
