There is a Native American story entitled “The Two Wolves.” In the story, an old Cherokee man tells his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said: “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One wolf is “Evil.” It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, and superiority. The other wolf is “Good.” It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, faith…and contentment.”
The grandson was amazed at this. You could see it in his face. You could also see that he was puzzling over what he had just been told. Finally, he could no longer restrain himself, he asked: “Which wolf wins?”
The old grandfather smiled slightly and softly replied: “The one you feed.”
And that is so true, isn’t it. We are all faced with choices and the response is up to us. We are faced with news from the doctor that says our cholesterol level is too high and we need to make some choices about diet, exercise and medicine. Our job is becoming very demanding of our time and energy. We know that we are burning the candle at both ends and that if something doesn’t change, the present situation can’t go on. What are we going to do? We have to make a decision.
This is true when it comes to the cultivation of character and habits, especially spiritual habits. What are we going to feed? What are we going to nurture?
And this seems to be particularly true when it comes to that most elusive, but sought after, quality – contentment.
Many of us are trying to cultivate contentment/peace/satisfaction/joy by going along with the crowd, buying into one of the many popular books or trends or voices that promise contentment. Usually they are things like: buy me, use me, own me, pursue this, etc. etc. But at the end of the day, we find ourselves either less satisfied or simply too tired from the pursuit. And contentment is nowhere to be to be found.
If Jesus is to be believed that contentment is found in a relationship, a coming to him and learning from him (Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:10), then cultivating, feeding, this relationship with Jesus is what we are to be focused on. And what does Jesus says to us? He reminds us that contentment is not comfort or wealth or popularity, or satisfaction with our own accomplishments, but a learned conviction that grows out of a relationship with him about goodness, faithfulness and the sufficiency of God to meet the deepest needs of our heart. It is a contentment that is not subject to the circumstances in which we find ourselves; it is a contentment that is not focused on creating goals and objectives to obtain what we think will make us happy. As the psychologist and writer on the spiritual life Robert Wicks reminds us: “Contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of what you already have” (Streams of Contentment, p. 93). And this something is the giftedness of life and the giftedness of life in Christ.
At the heart of contentment is learning to be grateful and to make reflection on that gratitude a daily part of life. God has extended mercy and grace to all and that grace is enough. If I can remember that and be grateful for it, it will go a long way toward making me know the contentment that God can give. It is learning to feed that gratitude and awareness of God’s gift of life and life in Christ that brings contentment. It is not out in the future or in some imagined or desired circumstances, but here and now where I find myself, that I can also find contentment. It will require a reorientation of my thinking and focusing. And if I am really wanting contentment, it will be worth it and I will find that what I feed wins.
