I know what your problem is.
Really, I do. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about it.
I have the same problem, that’s how I know so much about it. It’s at the heart of every problem, everything that bothers you (everything that has ever bothered you.)
KITCHEN
The modern kitchen is an amazing thing. Clean running water, instant heat for cooking, constant cool storage, unlimited ice, compartments to keep tools, utensils, plates, etc. It is beyond the wildest dreams of King Solomon, even with all his wisdom and wealth. And, yet, if we let ourselves think about the color and texture of the counter-top, if we let ourselves think about the over-sized, commercial, stainless steel, walk-in pantries of the amazing super-kitchens (Like Mrs. Jones has in her McMansion), well, then our little modern miracle starts to disgust us. We start picking on our worn cabinets and cracked linoleum flooring until we have torn our home apart in our mind. If we could keep the amazing blessing of the modern kitchen in our mind, if we could remain thankful, we would not grow discontent.
TOYS
Kids love to get toys. They love to get them more than they like to play with them. New toys in the box, on the shelf in the store, under studio lights on T.V., toys just out of reach are the greatest toys. The toys on the floor of the bedroom have no such appeal. The sad thing is that we never really grow out of this. We just replace the toys on the bedroom floor with cars in the garage, T.V.s in the living room, computers in the office, cell phones in our pocket, couches, shoes, etc. If we could keep the thankful heart of a child who is about to open a brightly colored birthday present, if we could keep that thankful attitude for the gift once it was opened, once in was left on the floor, then we could keep from growing discontent.
MANNA
Think about the miracle of manna. (Yes, this is a left turn, but stay with me). Imagine that you were one of the children of Israel who was rescued from the darkest kind of slavery in Egypt by the most amazing and supernatural events in the history of the world. God Himself rescued you, and you had no room for doubt. You see Him as a cloud by day and a fire by night. There is no food in the desert, but every morning God rains bread from heaven. It is the perfect food. But, then imagine that you start complaining. A lot. They did. They longed for Egypt, they longed for meat, they grew discontent.
LIFE CRISIS
Who am I? What am I supposed to do? Will I be able to __________ (get a good job, find somebody to love, have a family, buy a home, drive a cool car, raise my kids in the faith, make a lot of money, save for my retirement, lose weight, put my kids through college, outlive my children, support my parents, survive cancer, live without my dad, live without my wife/husband, die without fear?) Will I ever be happy? Have I outlived my usefulness? Every generation has to live with questions like these, and a discontented heart will go to despair on every single one of these crisis. God gives each of us a life to worship Him with, and through trusting Him in these situations is how we actually worship Him. We either worship God or we worship ourselves. These crisis are the way we find out who we are really worshiping.
PROBLEMS
I’m not saying that our problems don’t matter. They do matter. And what matters about them is how we respond to them. We have to start by being thankful, and move from thankful to faithful. Here are some things that I hear people say pretty often:
“I am not happy with something in my life, so I am going to break it.”
“I love doing a certain thing, but I want to do some things differently, so I’m going to quit.”
“I’m unhappy with how fat I have become, so I am going to eat some ice-cream.”
“I’m mad at God, so I’m going to say He is not there.”
“I love my family, but I’m disappointed in my husband/wife, so I want a divorce.”
“I have cancer, God has failed me.”
These are exaggerated and generic versions of what people have actually said to me, or things that I have said. Sometimes it is easy to see how foolish we are being when things are stated like this. When we say or think these kind of things, we make them sound much more reasonable (and almost good.) When our friends say things like this to us, maybe we should help them hear what they are really saying. Maybe speaking the truth in love means that we should be a little more bold in our friendships.
WHO IS OUR GOD?
That’s the real question. Either God is all powerful and all good, and everything in our life is in His hands, or not. Either He is the measure and standard of everything in our life, or He is not. We can either trust Him, or not. This covers everything. The way we respond to problems in our life, whether they seem big or small, is the true measure of our worship.
CONTENTMENT
It sounds simple, but it’s not: be thankful for your kitchen and keep it clean. If the freezer stops working then trust God that He will provide you with a new one. And if He doesn’t, and all the meat goes bad, then trust that God is God and we are not. We are not always going to get everything that we want. We need to stop whining about it when we don’t get our way. On the other hand, if you get the opportunity for a stylish new kitchen with a stainless steel microwave, then be be thankful for that, too.
Pick your toys up off the floor and play with them. Put them back on the shelf when you are done. Open every new birthday gift with joyful anticipation, and then cherish the new toys along with the old. Drive your old car like it is the blessed miracle that it really is, even if the glove-box won’t completely close and the left turn signal will not blink.
Give your life to Jesus, it’s His anyway. Follow Him, imitate Him, and by doing this you will find out who you really are. Then be who you are to the glory of God. What are you good at? What opportunities do you have? What do you love? Go do it! Don’t look back. Don’t worry about the things that are not in front of you. Love the people that God puts in your path. Do today’s work like it’s the most important thing happening. Stop concerning yourself with things you can’t change, and trust God instead.
Does something seem too heavy for you? Let us all be thrilled with amazement when we get to watch God help you lift it, carry it, and get past it. Nothing is impossible with God. Don’t give up!
Don’t destroy the family that God has trusted you with, be thankful for them, and love them. Don’t leave the church where God has put you, be thankful for it, serve Jesus through it. Don’t waste your life being discontent about anything. Don’t curse God and die alone.
Stop being unhappy.
August 14th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
It is simple; it’s not easy.
August 18th, 2008 at 5:29 pm
You said it, brother! Like a Desiderata Part 2 or something. I think we simple sinners struggle with the crises you mentioned just about every day.
I find it to be a refreshing bucket of cold water in the face to think back to a time when we had a lot less just starting our lives together, and remind myself how happy we were then. Surely we can be just as happy now, especially when we remember to appreciate our blessings more than we long for more “stuff.” And yeah, when we fall into the trap of longing we need to just STOP IT!