The Power of Christian Contentment by Andrew M. Davis

Author:Andrew M. Davis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Christian Living/Spiritual Growth;Contentment—­Religious aspects—­Christianity;REL012120;REL012070;REL012040
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Published: 2019-02-07T00:00:00+00:00

Complaining Is Unworthy of a Child of the King

When King David’s wicked son, Amnon, lay on his bed moaning and sullen because he could not sleep with his half sister Tamar, his shrewd friend Jonadab said, “Why are you, the king’s son, so miserable every morning?” (2 Sam. 13:4 CSB). The basic assumption is that such obvious misery is utterly incongruous with being the king’s son. Princes are lavishly cared for! So how is it even possible that the king’s son should be so unhappy?

Now Prince Amnon’s desire was utterly corrupt, as are many of the desires that afflict our souls. And even if the desires are not in any way corrupt—the desire for the healing of a loved one, for example, or the desire for a Christian spouse—it is every bit as wrong for those who are heirs of the King of the Universe to be miserable day after day over any earthly issue. To complain is to forget how rich you are as an heir of the King.

Complaining Forgets the Many Blessings You Have Already Received

It is true that the best blessings we get in the gospel are spiritual, as we just noted. But complaining forgets how many blessings God has already lavished on us for years on earth and how many he pours out on us in the midst of our afflictions.

A number of years ago on Thanksgiving Day I sat on a porch with my son, Calvin, and challenged us both to come up with one hundred things to thank God for. We would alternate, so each of us was responsible for fifty. Anything was fair game, from lofty spiritual blessings to small earthly blessings like Calvin’s football card collection.

I will never forget how sweet that time was. It was rainy, and we thanked God for the rain, the very thing unbelievers never thank him for (Matt. 5:45). The lavish feast we were about to eat gave us lots of details to thank God for: turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potato casserole, green beans, three different pies, a hard-working mom who was laboring to cook it all for us. When we whine and complain about something we are missing, we are forgetting all of God’s benefits. And that is a grave dishonor to him.

Complaining Sets a Bad Example

We were meant to be a light shining in a dark place as we hold forth the word of life to others. But Paul says we must do everything without grumbling or arguing in order that we may shine that light (Phil. 2:14–16).

Someone is always watching. And when we murmur against God, we are dragging people down. It might be a wife or husband who has to put up with years of a spouse’s caustic attitude toward life. Remember that Christian contentment is a “sweet” frame of spirit, as opposed to bitter or sour. A discontent person is wretched to be around. However funny it is to read Eeyore’s lines in Winnie the Pooh, inwardly we’re groaning with memories of people “just like that.

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