Happy People are Content

A lot of people misunderstand the meaning of contentment. Many think contentment means having no ambition. But the truth is, contentment is not laziness. Contentment is not apathy. Contentment is not complacency.

Here’s what contentment is: It’s enjoying what I have right now rather than waiting for something else to happen in order for me to be happy.  

It’s enjoying what I’ve got right now. It doesn’t mean I don’t want to progress. It doesn’t mean I don’t have goals. The Bible says you should have goals. It means I’m not waiting for something to happen in my life in order to be happy.  

Contentment is the opposite of coveting. Coveting is “when and then thinking.” When this happens, then I’ll be happy. When that happens then I’ll be happy.

Contentment is actually independence from circumstances. It means my joy is not connected to what’s happening in my life right now. It’s not based on my circumstances. It means I’ve learned to enjoy whatever I’ve got right now, and I’m not waiting for something or someone to make me happy. 

Phil. 4:11-12 “I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.”

The Apostle Paul is saying, “I’ve learned to be content.” How do we learn contentment? Well, we can start off by not comparing. That’s so important because the source of all discontent is comparison.

Prov. 14:30 “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.” 

Also, we must stop thinking that having more is "better." There are three myths we’re taught by advertising in society.

1. Having more will make me more happy.
2. Having more will make me more important.
3. Having more will make me more secure.

None of those are true. Having more will not make you more happy. Having more will not make you more valuable. And having more will not make you more secure. 

We need to find our security in something that can never be taken from us. If I put my security in my job, it can be taken from me. If I put my security in my bank account, I can lose it. If I put my security in my health, I can lose that.

I have to put my security in something that can’t be taken from me, and that is my relationship with God.

You can learn, like the Apostle Paul, to be content where God has you and with what God has given you.