Repercussions of discontentment
My mind cannot erase the memory of how discontentment can ruin one’s life! When you entertain it, you stop giving life, but death. Just look at Eve. She had everything at the tip of her fingers, but suffered from a malady named ‘discontentment’. Discontentment says “Yes, I have everything BUT….”. O virtuous woman, may every ‘but’ bring you closer to God and be a blessing and not a curse.
Notice that discontentment starts in the mind when doubt is planted. You see, when the serpent came along and pointed out the one thing that Eve ‘thought’ she lacked, that was all she could now think of and focus on. Once planted, the doubt triggers off questions that begin to further feed your obsession. You become so consumed with it and nothing else satisfies .. (or so Eve thought). What a tragedy! In entertaining doubt, discontentment opens the door to negative thoughts of insecurity, covetousness and lack of appreciation of what you have. Like the little dot of cancer on the heart of one unsuspecting, this grows into a fully blown disease, moving you from contentment to great discontentment. May you guard your heart with all diligence, because out of it comes issues of life.
Unfortunately, this malady affects many. Whilst it is a noble trait to be desirous, we need to realise that we can have right and wrong mindsets. The right ones benefit us; and the wrong ones hurt and hinder our progress. May our thoughts be noble. May we be content with what we have. Grass is not always greener on the other side.
Discontentment can prise you away from your most treasured possessions, reducing you to a beggar. In your quest to get what you think you don’t have, you lose what you have. May we not be ensnared by its seductive powers.
Is discontentment a struggle for you? Let Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 be your guide by engaging with these three pertinent issues. First, ask yourself, what is driving my discontentment? Often we try to fill up our lives with everything but the thing that will really satisfy us is God. Second, guard yourself against that ‘got to have it all’ feeling. Don’t act on impulse. Check with God first. n
