Creating Discontent 1

ByJim Stephens

Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-11

5 Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”  (Hebrews 13:5 NLT)

For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. (1 John 2:16 NLT)

Enjoy what you have rather than desiring what you don’t have. Just dreaming about nice things is meaningless—like chasing the wind. (Ecclesiastes 6:9 NLT)

There are two main factors in the creation of discontent; one is external and the other is internal. Both factors have always been present. From Adam and Eve in Eden, seeing the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge and realizing it was desirable to make them wise, to King David lounging on the roof of his palace and suddenly realizing he needed one more wife, to Judas Iscariot  carrying the money bag for Jesus and the team and dipping into it for his own use “as needed,” external factors have helped create discontent.

Now, more than at any time in history, the world around us is intentionally wired to present each of us with a dizzying array of external factors that are crafted to create discontent in us! The sources, voices, and images designed to create discontent in us are external – they come at us from all sides.

The receptors that allow the discontent virus to infect us are internal – they’re in our heads and in our hearts! Allergy medications can protect an allergy-prone person from an attack by blocking the receptors, and vaccination can protect us from disease by triggering our immune system to create immunity to the “germ” in our blood in advance of exposure. Just so, we can develop heart and mind practices to block the “Discontent Receptors” and we can strengthen our souls to resist the attack of the many strains of the “Discontent Virus.”

Take a few minutes and identify some of the External Discontent Creators you’re exposed to most. 1) What EDC’s affect you the most? 2) What unhelpful thoughts, desires, and feelings do these EDC’s stir up in you? 3) How do you resist them? Stay with me, friends. More on this tomorrow.

Prayer:

Father, Please help my friends and me to overcome the EDC’s! As we devotionally consider “contentment” for the next couple of days, please teach and guide us! Amen.