Recently I experienced something that got me very indignant when I first heard about it. However upon retrospect, I realised that it was human nature to have got this sort of response from the other party and really it was expected. It is difficult to be able to meet all expectations all the time and to please everyone.
Experiencing discontentment. I am also guilty of it.
When we are single, we wish we are married, and vice versa.
When we are young, we wish we were older. If we are old, we wish we have youth on our side.
If we have $100, we wish we had $200, or even $1000.
If only my child is bigger/smarter/ more sensible/less fussy than her child.
And my perennial favorite, whenever I buy something or pay for a service, I end up with some dissonance or having something critical to comment about what I received.
What's wrong with discontentment? Is there anything wrong with expecting something better? Many will say that we should be expecting progress for everything, so there is really nothing wrong with a having a spirit of progression.
But if we look deeply into the root of discontentment, we will realise that it is fear that drives us to discontentment. The fear of not having enough, the fear of not being good enough, or worse still when we start projecting that discontentment on people around us.
No wonder Banjamin Franklin once said, "Contentment makes a poor man rich, discontent makes a rich man poor.” The root of the problem is really our heart, discontentment will never produce a joyful life, no matter what the circumstance.
So then what can I do? So do I just try not to'want', grin and bear through it, and ignore a discontented heart and hopefully move on to a heart that is joyful. I believe alot of us Christians are not fabulous role models in displaying our contentment either, since alot of us pretty much experience the same level of discontentment around us. So what's the problem then? The source of the discontentment is the problem. All of us seek contentment from the world around us, either from people, possessions, our circumstance.
So to start with, I have to learn not to look to the world to feel content and or stop looking to what I don't have which I think will make me joyful for my life.
Start by giving thanks everyday to the Lord for His blessings that He has so graciously given to me – I am thankful for a loving husband, an adorable son, not having to worry about food on my table and a comfortable roof over my head.
Just this morning, I read something from a website that made me realised and so thankful that I am a mom in Singapore,
"Please imagine the agony Japanese mothers are undergoing at this moment. They hear their thirsty baby cry for water and looking at the tap, which may or may not be an enemy by now. What does she do? She needs to cook dinner and the stores are out of bottled water, and she knows that she only has three choices: pack up and leave her home for good, wait to feed her hungry kids for no one knows how long, or feed them and hope that what you are giving them isn't deadly. How terrible! Pray for these people!" – The End Time Blog
And here we are on the never-ending chase for material wants, setting plenty of educational expectations for our children; hoping that our kids are able to read way before their peers, have the general knowledge of a little encyclopedia, even better, be fluently billingual in dual or triple languages in written word and speech before they turn 6. And you have the Japanese moms worrying for their basic survival. It's time for us to learn to be content with what we have and count our blessings everyday.
The next thing I have to think about what I value in life. For me, it is the relationships with my family, my loved ones and with God. Only when I act upon the existing state as being blessings; giving thanks for the daily provisions the Lord has given, and love and treasure the ones that have been placed in my life, that's where my heart will change. For indeed it is God's will for His children to be content and filled with His joy.
1 Timothy 6:6-8 But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
Hebrews 13:5 Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, "I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,"
1 Peter 1:8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory.
Amen, amen! Thank you for the reminder again! We really seem to be living in complain culture, yet we have so much to be thankful for… may we live each day in gratitude for all our blessings!
we are truly the fortunate ones, yet we complaint on the weather, the heat, the downpour etc etc… while the ppl far in Japan is suffering and living in fear of the radiation and endless earthquaks…
I’ve become a better and happier person over the years as I learn to be contented, count my blessings, don’t compare, don’t be envious of others, don’t be greedy, don’t complain, don’t quack endlessly like a duck…
Life’s full of ups and downs. We simply just have to manage it and live everyday to the fullest!
Yes dear, learning to be grateful all the time is a constant reminder to myself every single day.
The moment I start to grumble, I stopped and looked at the ‘good’ in the so called unpleasant event. From there, complaining spirit shuts up. Its a training I do to myself every single day… sometimes I fail (I must be honest) and sometimes I succeed…