contentment - how much is enough?

A number of posts ago, Cathy made an astute comment on the danger of being a contented, well educated, westerner. Namely that we can often choose where we place the bar for how much we earn and own. So it is easy for us to slack off and over-consume, all the while telling ourselves that we're very content with all that we have.

This got me wondering: where does the Bible set the bar for material contentedness, assuming that God sets the bar anywhere at all?

I discovered that the bar is very low

"... if we have food and clothing" writes the apostle Paul, "we will be content with that." (1 Tim 6:8)

So I have ample grounds for contentment already. Not only do I have enough food and clothing, I also have money in the bank that can buy me more clothing and food as I need them. Not only so, but I can pick and choose what kind of food and clothing I wear. I may not be able to afford designer labels or organic farm produce all the time, but there is still an inordinate amount of choice in how much I spend and consume.

This is not to mention that I own plenty of things above and beyond food and clothing. A car, musical instruments, we own part of our house (the bank owns the rest), and on the list goes.

So, should I give all these things up and be content with just food and clothing? Well, it's certainly true that I must be prepared as a Christian to give up anything for the sake of Christ. However, I think that what Paul is getting at in the broader context of 1 Tim 6 is that a lack of contentedness drives sin. That is, the more we want material blessings above and beyond food and clothing, the more danger we are in of compromise in our faith in Christ and moral purity.

What might this look like for me?

At the moment, the thought of giving up paid work to have a child is a bit scary. (Yes, I will be taking a break from paid work for a while.) Will we have enough money in the bank? What will it be like to further rein in our spending? Will I compromise caring for our child and being ministry-minded so that we can rake in some more cash? Will I spend too much money on "must have" baby items that aren't necessary, thereby withholding money from other more worthwhile expenditures?

In all of this it will be important for me to trust God to provide what we actually need, and to pray for contentedness with what we actually have. I know I will have to pray for it, because past experience tells me it doesn't come naturally. Just ask my husband sometime how much money I would have spent on our bunnies if it weren't for his moderating influence!

contentment = being happy with what you've got?

A number of posts ago I observed that our bunnies think that the food in the other bunny's mouth is much more delicious than the food in their dish. However, this betrays a bunny-misunderstanding. The food in the dish is actually of the same quality as the food in their friend's mouth. Indeed it may even be of higher quality, given that it isn't already part-chewed and covered in saliva.

There's a lot we can learn from this analogy. Often we are so focussed on what others have, that we fail to see the good stuff that we've already got. When I pray in an organised and focussed way, I always start with thanks points for this very reason - so that I remember the good things that I have, and thank the Giver.

However, there is one problem with the "be thankful for what you already have" philosophy. Sometimes the food in the other bunny's mouth is actually more delicious. There are plenty of Australians with more money in their bank account than me (though on a global scale my family is rich rich rich). There are plenty of people who own more nice stuff and live in fancier houses.

What does God say about this?

Well the Bible does locate the secret in contentment in being happy with what you've got, but not in the way that we might automatically think. The apostle Paul actually divorces contentment from the amount of material stuff that he has:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (Phil 4:12-13)

The writer to the Hebrews connects contentment with the relationship that Christians have with their all-powerful, loving heavenly Father:

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can human beings do to me?”
(Heb 13:5-6)

In the end, our material possessions only get us so far. They may sometimes protect us from ill-health, boredom, social shame and even death, but they don't always deliver. When we have God, the maker of the universe, on our side what do we have to fear? He is able to provide us with everything that we need in Christ, both now and forever.

bunnies are just like people: 1st installment

Now I have already had at least two scientifically minded people pull me up on my idea that bunnies are just like people, however I hope to prove this point over a number of entries on this blog.

Observe the two bunnies below...


They are sisters who have known one another since the womb. In this picture it looks like they are both they are very close and snuggly with one another. They could even be about to give one another a sisterly bunny kiss.

However, looks can be deceiving. What the picture fails to reveal - I blame my unsteady hand, the fact that it's a dodgy phone camera and the not entirely co-operative attitude of the subjects - is that one bunny is eating food from the mouth of the other bunny. It would appear that there is a bunny maxim that goes something like this...

The food in the other bunny's mouth is far more delicious than the food in the dish.

As you will gather from the picture, these are not starving bunnies.

What the bunnies are doing is really just a slightly less sophisticated version our own behaviour. We can think that the stuff that other people have, or the lives that they lead, are way more exciting than what we've got. It can even get to the point where we can't see the good things that we have, because we're so fixated on other people's lives and possessions.

Well I don't hold great hopes for modifying the behaviour of our bunnies, but I do hope that I can learn to grow in contentment (Phil 4:11-12; 1 Tim 6:6). There is plenty of room for me to grow in that department. To that end I have agreed to write a print article about it in the next month or two so that I can think harder about what it means to be content, and hopefully encourage myself and others in that path. I'll keep you all posted about with any major breakthroughs.

I also plan to continue anthropomorphising the bunnies.