The Right Kind of Discontentment

1 Thessalonians 4:1

"As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more."

1 Thessalonians 4:9-10

"Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more,"

There is a form of discontentment that is acceptable in the eyes of God. Those who have studied the scriptures know and understand that we are called by God to be content with all that he has given us. It is the devil's work to drag us along to "better things." Although there are times when it is difficult to tell the difference between God calling us to something new (a new season) and our flesh saying that we are ready for something different and no longer want to do _________, in most cases, being content with what God has given us is the best approach. Whether it is a ministry that God has given us, a financial situation that God has given us, or any other situation, we should be content, and stay there until God has completed His work in us. We are very ready to move on to something new. We have the attention span of children, but God wants to mature us, and that takes time (for instance, forty years in the desert). 

That being said, there is a form of discontentment that is acceptable and even encouraged by Scripture. This discontent comes when we look upon our face in the mirror, as James says. When we look to God's word and see how desperately short we fall in our personal holiness and holy disciplines. I do not claim in any way that our salvation is born of the works that we do, do not misunderstand. Some might say that since we are saved by grace, that we have no need to pursue righteousness and holy lives. They scoff at any words spoken on obedience to God's word, as salvation based on works. However, it is great folly to walk in darkness and assume that it will lead to the light of eternity. 1 John is clear on this point, and James echos the sentiments that a genuine disciple of Christ has a changed heart that leads to a changed attitude, action, and words. At what point can we say that we have obtained complete holiness and no longer need to strive for it "more and more"? This question is addressed in two manners: for one thing, we are made perfectly holy the moment in which we accept Christ as the propitiation for our sin. God no longer sees us as unholy and sinful, but rather in the robes of Christ and His righteousness. However, most would agree that we continue to sin, still on earth. So there is yet another holiness for which we must strive. This holiness is one in which Christ calls us to, when he says that we must pick up our cross daily and follow Him. Putting to death our flesh and allowing the Holy Spirit to do His work of sanctification in our hearts. Sanctification is the act of setting something apart as holy. Why is it that we have this holiness from Christ, and yet we still spend our days on earth pursuing the same? Because the sign of genuine faith in someone is that they walk in the light. To truly accept Christ is to take Him as Lord and Master. This means obedience. Not obedience for the sake of obedience (as we obey earthly masters even though their rules sometimes are not in our best interest), but obedience out of trust. We trust that God's laws are in place to show us how to live life to the fullest. That His way is the only way to find true life. Any other way will lead us to death and destruction. And so, this is where we find the discontentment. When we look at our face in the mirror of God's word and see how desperately we fall short of its calling for our lives, we feel this urgency to make changes. We must put to death this sin, and when it is subdued, there is yet another that must be dealt with, and on and on, until one glorious day, we will be face to face with our Creator, and He will take all our imperfection away, through the cross of Christ, and place on us robes of pure white righteousness and holiness. 

I wonder if we find ourselves discontent, today. If we ever find ourselves believing that we have accomplished "enough" holiness, or that we have made "enough" progress, we are in grave danger, for there is no hope of perfection this side of eternity--if we think that we have accomplished it, there is a deep root of pride and arrogance in our hearts that will one day separate us from God, for those that are not ill have no need of a physician. If we claim that we have no sin, we are liars and the truth is not in us. Let us not get comfortable in the lies of the enemy that we have everything sorted and we can sit back until Jesus returns (remember the parable of the servants). Let us pray that the Holy Spirit would do His work in our hearts and speak into our hearts the conviction that we felt all those years ago, when He first revealed our depravity. Then, we will have the kind of discontentment that is acceptable to God--the kind that spurs us on toward holiness.