Tangled
"A confused, complicated state; a muddle."
If you relate currently, or have ever related in the past, to the above description, you are "tangled." I was thinking about the recent Disney movie by the same name this evening, and I couldn't help but connect the dots between that title and the way life seems to get. Life is a melting pot, filled eclectically with "aced that test," "had a great Bible study," "didn't sleep at all last night," "cried my heart out," and "lost my way." Of course, it would be bland without all the spices, but sometimes I think life gets a little too spicy; wouldn't you agree? Actually, that's a lie. I like when life gives you something to feel, when it makes it entirely impossible to stay numb. It's good to get shaken up a bit with business, tragedy, ecstasy, reverie, and the like. It's all part of God's recipe for "you." He's got all the ingredients ready, if you didn't make such a big deal about hating broccoli (i.e, going through trials) then maybe He'd be able to make the recipe turn out the way it's supposed to. Of course, God is gracious and let's us be co-chefs sometimes. He enjoys watching us sprinkle in the spices, pop in the eggs, and mix the batter—but He wants us to trust His timing and direction.
That's what I'm experiencing lately. As I'm learning about self-control this week (from Beth Moore's Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit) I'm confronted (yet again) with that inevitable word tossed around in the discussion of satisfaction: Contentment.
1 Tim. 6:6-7 says, "godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it."
Similarly, Proverbs 30:8-9 suggests a wise way to view our "lot":
Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
Anyway, I guess I'm just trying to say that it's hard for me to remain content for longer than a day. I'm trying to get over the temptation to equate "content" with "complacent," because they are certainly not the same thing. Any dictionary should tell me that, but nooooo, I just keep on believing that to be content means to be stagnant, or lazy. Take a look at the stark contrast between complacency and contentment:
Complacency is....
"Showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements." Complacency is right up there with self-denial. Complacency doesn't see the truth, but just keeps on digging a deeper hole of egotism.
Contentment is...
"In a state of peaceful happiness." Contentment is a state of mind, not of circumstances. It also is circumscribed by peace; you can rarely have contentment without peace. There is one part of this description I think could be revised: happiness. That word holds so much connotation that it's hard to separate our dreams fulfilled, our plans realized, our careers successful from it. "Peaceful happiness," though, is—again—rooted in peace. A state of happiness cannot be built on unstable things, only on things that will never change. Anything ring a bell when you think of instability? I think of money, schedules, prospects, and grades.
“You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
-Haggai 1:5-6
How about for unchanging?
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever."
-Hebrews 13:6
Complacency is humanity's pseudo-contentment; true, enduring, and satisfying contentment comes only through trusting God for who He is, not what He does.
If you relate currently, or have ever related in the past, to the above description, you are "tangled." I was thinking about the recent Disney movie by the same name this evening, and I couldn't help but connect the dots between that title and the way life seems to get. Life is a melting pot, filled eclectically with "aced that test," "had a great Bible study," "didn't sleep at all last night," "cried my heart out," and "lost my way." Of course, it would be bland without all the spices, but sometimes I think life gets a little too spicy; wouldn't you agree? Actually, that's a lie. I like when life gives you something to feel, when it makes it entirely impossible to stay numb. It's good to get shaken up a bit with business, tragedy, ecstasy, reverie, and the like. It's all part of God's recipe for "you." He's got all the ingredients ready, if you didn't make such a big deal about hating broccoli (i.e, going through trials) then maybe He'd be able to make the recipe turn out the way it's supposed to. Of course, God is gracious and let's us be co-chefs sometimes. He enjoys watching us sprinkle in the spices, pop in the eggs, and mix the batter—but He wants us to trust His timing and direction.
That's what I'm experiencing lately. As I'm learning about self-control this week (from Beth Moore's Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit) I'm confronted (yet again) with that inevitable word tossed around in the discussion of satisfaction: Contentment.
1 Tim. 6:6-7 says, "godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it."
Similarly, Proverbs 30:8-9 suggests a wise way to view our "lot":
Keep deception and lies far from me,
Give me neither poverty nor riches;
Feed me with the food that is my portion,
Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, “Who is the Lord?”
Or lest I be in want and steal,
And profane the name of my God.
Anyway, I guess I'm just trying to say that it's hard for me to remain content for longer than a day. I'm trying to get over the temptation to equate "content" with "complacent," because they are certainly not the same thing. Any dictionary should tell me that, but nooooo, I just keep on believing that to be content means to be stagnant, or lazy. Take a look at the stark contrast between complacency and contentment:
Complacency is....
"Showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements." Complacency is right up there with self-denial. Complacency doesn't see the truth, but just keeps on digging a deeper hole of egotism.
Contentment is...
"In a state of peaceful happiness." Contentment is a state of mind, not of circumstances. It also is circumscribed by peace; you can rarely have contentment without peace. There is one part of this description I think could be revised: happiness. That word holds so much connotation that it's hard to separate our dreams fulfilled, our plans realized, our careers successful from it. "Peaceful happiness," though, is—again—rooted in peace. A state of happiness cannot be built on unstable things, only on things that will never change. Anything ring a bell when you think of instability? I think of money, schedules, prospects, and grades.
“You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
-Haggai 1:5-6
How about for unchanging?
"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever."
-Hebrews 13:6
Complacency is humanity's pseudo-contentment; true, enduring, and satisfying contentment comes only through trusting God for who He is, not what He does.
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