CONTENTMENT IN A CRAZY WORLD
Are we truly content? Advertisements constantly capitalise on our discontent, promising transformation with one more purchase. Yet disappointment follows when the results fall short. Despite material possessions and opportunities, can we say people today are genuinely content?
The World as It Is
C.S. Lewis once described the world as “half prison, half 4-star hotel.” Those expecting a hotel grow bitter; those who see it as a prison are surprised at its comforts. Much depends on expectation. Some Christians believe faith should shield them from suffering, yet the symbol of our faith is a cross. If Christ himself endured pain and rejection, why should we expect a trouble-free life? As Willy Loman put it, “some things come with the territory.” Contentment requires recognising that life is a mixture of good and evil, and by God’s grace, even hardship can be redeemed into good.
Living One Day at a Time
Jesus taught, “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself” (Matthew 6:34). Strength is given one day at a time. Like manna in the wilderness, we do not receive tomorrow’s supply today. William Ward advised: release yesterday with its failures, trust tomorrow with its promises, and embrace today with its blessings. Robert Louis Stevenson wrote that every person can endure until nightfall. The call is simple: live one day at a time.
What Is Within Matters Most
We cannot control our height, voice, or temperament, but we can choose the qualities that shape our inner environment. A young girl with polio once said, “Yes, this will colour my life—but I am going to choose the colour.” She chose hope, faith, and love instead of despair.
A novelist who was blind and going deaf replied, “If the world be closed without, I will sail the hidden seas within.” Her inner life was rich and expansive. The question remains: what seas do we have within? Some discovered this during isolation in the pandemic. For some, it was a season of reflection and creativity. For others, it was boredom and restlessness. As Paul wrote from prison, real peace is determined by what we allow into our hearts: “The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
The Gift of Contentment
Contentment is not smug complacency but “having one’s desires limited to what one has, satisfied.” Like a thermostat, it is not shaped by external conditions but regulates and controls the temperature. Paul said he had learned the secret of being content in every circumstance: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Rooted in Christ, Paul could face both abundance and need.
True peace is not found in the absence of trouble but in calmness of heart amid it. As Catherine Marshall illustrated in the story of the king who offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. It was not the calm lake that won, but the bird nesting peacefully behind a raging waterfall. That is real peace—the kind Paul knew, the kind rooted in God.
“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
