All human problems sprout from poor spiritual soil. In fact, barring biological or developmental weaknesses, along with accidents of nature, there isn’t a single human difficulty that doesn’t arise from a spiritual failing – and even those biological weaknesses, developmental issues, and accidents of nature can be attributed to the spiritual failings of our forefathers and mothers. Although spiritual failings can sometimes be hard to spot from an external vantage point, it is true more often than we would like to admit that our spiritual failings are easy to see by others who know what they’re looking at. Sadly, those failings quietly grow like a tumorous cancer inside of our individual identities. They evidence themselves in blights that are hard to miss. But ironically, the person suffering the blight very frequently is unaware of either the cankerous, gain-inhibiting scourge, or the untended spiritual soil from which it sprang. Neither does he see the dangerous potential he wields for sowing his affliction into the soil of those around him and thereby catalyzing an ugly life-draining metastasis among his peers and family.
One spiritual failing that creeps among those of us in the modern West is discontent. This is a spiritual failing that robs one of the ability to be thankful for the great things that a great God provides. It forces one to be self-centered, rather than God centered, kingdom centered, or effectively observant of the plight of others. Its presence is profoundly conspicuous to everyone because it makes itself apparent in our complaints. To ask God for something we need or want is not necessarily a symptom of discontent. Rather, discontent is a state in which you feel as though you are not getting something you deserve. This feeling, like emotions are sometimes prone to be, is not necessarily rooted in truth. Most of us are blessed with far more than we really deserve. That discontent spurs complaining – or whining – which is what it so often sounds like. Resentment, entitlement, envy, jealousy, hatred, rudeness, and other signs and symptoms flow out of that kind of contaminated soil. And all of those create or promote other terrible human problems as they begin to sprout the kinds of weeds you don’t want growing in your garden.
This is why Paul says that he can be content in all situations (Philippians 4:10-13). He does this by placing his faith in Christ for his strength instead of in his pleasures and comforts, and then carries on with his mission and work. He sees the great privilege he has in carrying out his Godly work in all situations.
Do you struggle with discontent? What kinds of things do you complain about? Does that discontent and its complaints make it harder for you to see your blessings, to serve God, or to serve others?
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