Larry Burkett, Crown Financial Ministries

The late Larry Burkett was the former CEO of Crown Financial Ministries, headquartered in Gainesville, George

Summary: Contentment, contrary to popular opinion, is not being satisfied where you are. Rather, it is knowing God’s plan for your life, having a conviction to live it, and believing that God’s peace is greater than the world’s problems.

Balance

One of the great mysteries of Christianity is contentment. At least one must presume it is a mystery, because so few people have found it and actually have it. Yet contentment is not something that is found, it is an attitude.

There are many people who seemingly have little or no regard for material possessions. They accept poverty as a normal living condition, and their major concern is where they will sleep that night or eat that day. In contrast are the affluent who have the best our society has to offer at their disposal. Their houses, summer cottages, winter chalets and automobiles are the envy of the community. Does either scenario bring contentment? No!

If money cannot buy contentment and poverty does not provide it, what is contentment and how is it attained? Contentment, contrary to popular opinion, is not being satisfied where you are. Rather, it is knowing God’s plan for your life, having a conviction to live it and believing that God’s peace is greater than the world’s problems.

However, Christians often get so involved in the day-to-day activities of earning a living and raising a family that they forget their real purpose in life: to serve God. They discover that their lives are out of balance and do not know how to bring them back into balance. So, they buy more things or get rid of things in order to bring back the balance. But nothing seems to work.

Making do with more

Christians get trapped into a discontented life by adopting worldly goals—more, bigger and best. The Bible identifies these as indulgence, greed and pride. For a while, after accepting Christ as Savior, there is a peace and a real willingness and desire to commit everything to God. However, there is a tendency to fall back into the same old routine of desiring and getting more, rationalizing that somehow it is “serving the Lord.” The evidence to the contrary is a lack of peace, a lack of spiritual growth and a growing doubt about God’s ability to provide.

In today’s society, it is not normal to step down. Once a certain level of income, spending and lifestyle is attained, most will go into debt in order to maintain that level. Stepping down to an affordable level is considered failure. Yet, contentment cannot be achieved without personal discipline and staying within the lifestyle parameters God has established, based on His provision (Lk 12:15; 16:13-14).

In poverty, the issue is usually black and white—you either have it or you don’t. In affluence, the deception is much more subtle, because anxieties and worries are not usually related to the lack of things but rather the loss of things. In essence, most affluent Christians fear they might lose the material things they have acquired. But unless they are so detached from the goods that they must be willing to lose them, they will not find real contentment. That does not necessarily mean that they have to surrender all their material possessions. It means being willing to.

God’s plan for contentment

Although many Scriptures teach about the dangers of material riches, God’s Word does not teach that poverty is God’s alternative. God wants us to understand that money is a tool to use in accomplishing His plan through us. If we are to find true contentment, we must establish some basic guidelines.

1. Establish a reasonable standard of living. It is important to develop a lifestyle based on conviction, not circumstances. God will assign Christians at every economic level. On whatever level He has placed you, live within the economic parameters established and supplied by Him. Just having abundance is not a sign of God’s blessings. Satan can easily duplicate any worldly riches. God’s abundance is without sorrow and is for bringing others to Christ.

2. Establish a habit of giving. Along with the tithe, God desires that every Christian provide for the needs of others through the giving of offerings, gifts and personal involvement.

3. Establish priorities. Many Christians are not content—not because they are not doing well, but because others are doing better. Too often Christians look at what they do not have and become dissatisfied, rather than thanking God for what they do have and being content with what He has supplied.

4. Develop a thankful attitude. It is remarkable that we could ever think that God has failed us materially. That attitude is possible only when we allow Satan to convince us to compare ourselves to others. The primary defense against this attitude is praise to God…. Thankfulness is a state of mind, not an accumulation of assets. Until Christians can truly thank God for what they have and be willing to accept God’s provision, contentment will never be possible.

5. Reject a fearful spirit. One of the most effective tools used by Satan against Christians is the question, “What if?” Dedicated Christians are trapped into hoarding because they fear the “What if?” of retirement, disability, unemployment, economic collapse and so on. Although God wants us to be concerned about these things—when fears dictate to the point that giving to God is hindered, foolish risks are assumed, and worry seems to control every decision—contentment is impossible.

6. Seek God’s will. “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ” (Php 3:8).

7. Stand up to fear. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Php 4:13).

8. Trust Gods’ promise. “The peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Php 4:7).

Conclusion

Contentment is so far removed from many Christians that it seems they will never be able to find it or be at peace. However, contentment is not something that must be searched for and found. It is an attitude of the heart. Once the attitude has been modified and all has been transferred to God, contentment will be evident.