I am always surprised by the ways God shows up or makes himself known or tries to reveal something to me. I am also just as surprised at how thick I can be at missing the message.
This morning during my devotional time I was reading a passage from one of Thomas Merton’s journals. The piece was written in September 1958 and reflects one of the themes that keeps coming through Merton’s works – the search for contentment. He writes: “When you accept what you have, you see all you have received is more than enough and you are overwhelmed. I desire other things because I fear to be content with what I have—I fear it is inglorious. In the last few days I have seen what matters is to be humble enough to admit I am content with just this. Leave the rest to God.”
As I reflected on Merton’s words I began to think about other things that I have been reading recently and over and over again they all seem to have been dealing with the theme of contentment. Of course, this isn’t a new issue for me. But just when I think I have it settled and I am on the right road, I discover that I have lost my way, again.
I guess I should take some comfort from the fact that the Apostle Paul wrote that he had “learned to be content” (Philippians 4:11). And from reading his letters, I get the impression that it wasn’t an easy lesson for Paul. It never is. In the previous chapter (Philippians 3) Paul talks about pressing on, straining forward. It sounds like Paul, like the rest of us, realized that contentment doesn’t simply happen. It does require something of us. But Paul is quick to make clear that his sufficiency/contentment came not from external resources or achievements or any innate ability, but grew out of his deepening relationship with Christ. And that is true for all of us.
Richard Rohr in his recent book, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, describes us well: “We are more struggling to survive than thrive, more just “getting through” or trying to get to the top than finding what is really at the top or was already at the bottom.” And then he cites Merton: “Thomas Merton, the American monk, pointed out that we may spend our whole life climbing the ladder of success, only to find when we get to the top that our ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.” I often feel that way when it comes to the search for contentment/satisfaction/joy.
And that is why Thomas Merton’s words written almost fifty years ago are like a slap in the face and bring me up short. They remind me that one of the ways, perhaps the chief way, that God teaches me contentment is to learn to start with the givenness/giftedness of life. “When you accept what you have, you see all you have received is more than enough and you are overwhelmed….” That is not always easy, especially if we feel that life has dealt us a bad hand or we are anxious and worried over what is ahead. But that is precisely what Merton is trying to get us to see, that learning to rest in the preciousness of the moment and to give thanks for what is, helps us to learn contentment. Of course, Merton isn’t talking about simply accepting injustice or abuse or resting in the status quo, especially if that is a condition that is dehumanizing like poverty. His own life and writings reflect that.
But Merton is reminding us that, in our desire for more or our haste to keep pace with our contemporaries or our general dissatisfaction with what we don’t have in life, we miss out on much of the wonder and awesomeness of life. Learning to be humble and content with the everyday wonders of life and leaving the rest to God is not a flight from engagement in and with the world, but is a way of resting in God as we make our way through the world, living as Kingdom citizens and seeking to understand and do the will of God along the way.
So let me offer these guidelines. The next time you find yourself discontented: 1) Focus: Paul wrote: “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21; cf. Galatians 2:20). Recognize that in Christ you have all that is essentially needed for your happiness and contentment (Ephesians Ephesians 1:3; 3:14-21; 2 Peter 1:3-15). But your relationship with Christ can’t be an addendum to your life, a side commitment, but needs to be the focus of your life; 2) Cultivate Gratitude: Sometimes that is hard because we are bitter or distracted, but stop and reflect on the things that really are precious to you. If you are having a hard time thinking of them, ask someone you love to help you; 3) Quit Comparing: If your happiness is compared to others or to what others have, it is hard to be content. The reality is that there will always be people who are richer, prettier, more influential, more dynamic, etc. God has created you as a unique human being. God does not evaluate you in comparison to anyone else. Accept who you are and make the most out of the person God desires for you to be; and 4) Live With Your Eyes And Heart Open, that is, Cultivate Awareness. David Stendl-Rast has written: “Even the predictable turns into surprise the moment we stop taking it for granted.” He goes on to say in his book Gratefulness that one of the problems we face is that we leave the house each day with a mental list of what we will be grateful for in the day ahead. He suggests instead, throw away the list and be grateful for the many gifts that have been missing in life. Be awake, be alert to the presence of God in your life and world and open to the daily gifts you are given.
If you can do learn to do that, than, like Merton, you will realize that what you “have received is more than enough and you are overwhelmed” and you can “leave the rest to God.”
