Day 19: Contentment

Everything is interconnected, kind of like the Six Degrees of Separation (or Seven, depending on your personal preference). Well, the teachings of God are certainly no exception. I've talked about patience quite a bit and I just talked about work and how each of us is meant to specific tasks while here on earth. One idea that I believe encompasses all of these ideas and then some is contentment. Sure, one can be patient without being content, but one who is content is always patient.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
~Philippians 4:11-13 (KJV)

God provides us ewhat we need when we needed (according to his timing). Whether a person is well-off or dirt poor, there is a reason for it, and that person should therefore respect and honor God's plan and be content.

I think that contentment is being happy where you are, but I don't think that it means settling. Just because you're scraping by--and I mean this in terms of motivation--doesn't mean that you should continue to be average and just scrape by. You should always strive to be your best. Be the best you can be whoever and wherever you are--strive to be the best cashier, lawyer, mechanic, doctor, custodian, teacher, bus driver, engineer, artist (etc.) that you can be. Whether you work as a top chef in a five-star restaurant or as a burger-builder for a fast-food chain, do your best. Whether you're a tenured professor or a peer tutor, do your best. If you work hard, you will feel personal satisfaction whether other people recognize it or not. That satisfaction will undoubtedly lead to contentment--joy and thankfulness for and happiness in your current position. As it says in today's verses, be "full" in terms of what you have, but always be "hungry" for a little more.

Lord, thank You for this day. Thank You for what I have and what I don't have. I trust You completely, Lord, and I know that You have put me right where You need me to be. I will be content where I am, but I will also strive toward improvement. Lord, I ask that You please watch over my family and friends, and I ask that You please bless them with the same kind of contentment as well. Please forgive me of my sins and continue to guide me today and every day forever and ever. In Jesus' name, Amen.


Love and God Bless,
M.C.