{"id":4901,"date":"2025-09-22T08:55:54","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T12:55:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/js1cd06kre.onrocket.site\/?p=4901"},"modified":"2025-09-22T08:55:54","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T12:55:54","slug":"the-quest-for-contentment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/22\/the-quest-for-contentment\/","title":{"rendered":"The Quest for Contentment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0<\/em>click here<\/a>

Western culture, by and large, has embraced the premise that more is more.

More money, more property, more opportunity \u2013 contentment is always just one exciting moment away.

The problem is that more is never enough<\/em>. A few years ago a corporate exec admitted, \u201cWe sell what nobody needs.\u201d The problem, as many have observed, is that all of us need what nobody sells<\/em>.

What we really need, in our heart of hearts, is God.

That inner hunger, however, masquerades as a deep longing for a bigger paycheck, a larger TV, happier kids, and a more compliant spouse. Brides and grooms promise to be there for each other \u201cin sickness and in health, in plenty and in want, in joy and in sorrow.\u201d But along the road to happily ever after, contentment often becomes increasingly elusive.

If only our luck changes. If only we had more in the bank. If only you didn\u2019t leave your dirty clothes lying all over the place.

Why can\u2019t we reshuffle the deck and start over again? Maybe we can inherit better circumstances.

Sorry, say most modern ethicists and philosophers.\u00a0Your life, your chromosomes, and your circumstances are what they are.\u00a0So deal with it.\u00a0\u00a0

Christianity’s earliest theologian, the apostle Paul, wouldn’t disagree.\u00a0We can’t get a whole new life just because we’re exasperated with the one we’ve got.

But that doesn’t make us powerless. We can choose to understand and appreciate the life we’ve got in a fundamentally different way.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/em>

Here’s how Paul put it:\u00a0“I\u2019ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I\u2019m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I\u2019ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4:11-13, The Message<\/em>).\u00a0

We don’t need a different life.\u00a0All we really need is for God to occupy the center of the life that we already have.

Author Philip Yancey tells about a spiritual leader who broke away from his busy schedule to spend a few days in a monastery. \u201cI hope your stay is a blessed one,\u201d said the monk who escorted him to his bare room. \u201cIf you need anything, let us know, and we\u2019ll teach you how to live without it.\u201d\u00a0

That monk and the apostle Paul were clearly reading from the same script: Contentment isn\u2019t something that happens to us<\/u><\/em>. Contentment is a skill, an attitude, a way of thinking that can be learned<\/u><\/em>.<\/em>

Your present life, with all of its broken parts, is entirely capable of being incredibly blessed \u2013 even if you don\u2019t end up getting more of what you\u2019ve been hoping and praying to get more of.

Why is that so?

If your life is \u201clocked into\u201d the life of Jesus \u2013 by \u201cbelieving into\u201d his sacrificial death and resurrection \u2013 then all the spiritual assets associated with Jesus are automatically transferred to your account.

There\u2019s an old story about a rabbi who visited a member of his flock in the hospital. The man felt overwhelmed by his problems. \u201cMy docs aren\u2019t sure if they can do anything for me,\u201d he sighed. \u201cWell,\u201d said the rabbi, \u201cit could be worse.\u201d

\u201cNot only that,\u201d the man went on, \u201cmy insurance provider told me this morning that because I accidentally missed my last payment, none of this is going to be covered.\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s awful,\u201d admitted the rabbi. \u201cBut of course it could be worse.\u201d

\u201cOn top of everything,\u201d moaned the patient, \u201cmy wife just told me she doesn\u2019t love me any more and is going to walk away.\u201d The rabbi responded with deep sympathy, \u201cI\u2019m so very sorry. But, you know, it could be worse.\u201d

That was more than the afflicted man could take. \u201cRabbi, would you mind telling me exactly how things could possibly be worse?\u201d

There was a long pause, after which the rabbi said, \u201cWell, it could have happened to me.\u201d

In a world overwhelmed by disillusionment, suffering, and undeserved pain, Jesus said, \u201cLet it happen to me.\u201d

By willingly taking upon himself (and consequently paying off) the Global Cumulative Sin Deficit, Jesus has become the one faithful source of that for which every human being truly longs.

Authentic, lasting contentment.<\/em>
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast,\u00a0click here Western culture, by and large, has embraced the premise that more is more. More money, more property, more opportunity \u2013 contentment is always just one exciting moment away. The problem is that more is never enough. A few years ago a corporate exec admitted, \u201cWe sell what nobody needs.\u201d The problem,… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4902,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4901","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4901"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4901\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4903,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4901\/revisions\/4903"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4902"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4901"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4901"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/glennsreflections.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4901"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}