Pondering Contentment

 

Luke 12:13-21

Proper 13 / Year C

“I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones.” ^{(Luke 12:18)} 

This past week while standing in line at the bank waiting to deposit my paycheck, I began to reflect.  Everywhere I have served I have been paid at the end of the month.  After some mental gymnastics I reckoned this was the 457^th time I have done this since I was first ordained in 1987.  Those early checks were not very large, but enough to get by.  Some folks might look at the check in my hand and think it paltry, others might regard it princely.  I don’t know what the average of each one has been, but (there in line) I estimated over the years I have received a total compensation of at least $2.8 million dollars (which doesn’t even include benefits like health care and pension). 

Now, some elite athletes earn this amount for playing in a single game.  Some a-list actors earn this per minute of film they star in.  Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, will add this amount to his wealth during the time from the beginning of our service through the end of our coffee hour. 

None of this withstanding, as I stood in line at the bank, I realized I am grateful for at least three things.  First, I am able to stand in a bank line with something in my hand to deposit.  Next, the generosity of each of you and all those over the years who have voluntarily contributed to your church so that, in part, I can be paid to do what I do.  And finally, I have something the person in today’s parable does not: contentment. 

Contentment is an interesting word.  It is derived from a Latin word originally used to describe things like cups, buckets, and barrels – containers.  In Latin it means “held together,” “intact,” or “whole.”  As an image it suggests contentment is the ability to maintain what one has, be it a lot or a precious little.  Discontentment, its opposite, conjures up the image of a cracked vessel which continually requires refilling because it is unable contain what it has.  Even when full, it soon will be lacking.  It always, always, always needs more.

We humans have what appears to be a unique ability among God’s creatures.  We can look at our current situation and recognize it is not ideal.  This can be incredibly motivating when it comes to confronting injustice or seeking a cure for cancer.  It can be incredibly vexing while leafing through Architectural Digest, Bon Appetite, or Travel & Leisure (magazines I apparently agreed to receive by not checking off a tiny decline box when I ordered something online).  Apparently, my home, my meals, and my vacations are less than ideal.

Social theorists describe two personality types: sufficers and maximizers.  What is the difference?  Well, suppose you have a sowing project and you learn the absolute best needle for it is hidden in a haystack.  The bad news is it will be incredibly difficult to find.  The good news is the haystack has over a thousand other needles in it, many of which will be adequate for your task.  The sufficer will look only until she finds a needle which is sufficient for the job.  The maximizer, on the other hand, will continue searching until he finds the one which is optimal.  Which type do you think struggles more to be content?

Here are a couple of insights the bible offers on the contentment.  First, it is an incredibly important state to achieve in this life if you want to experience here and now the best God has in store for you.  We are told heaven is a place ever-lasting bliss; what we might call eternal contentment.  Conversely, hell is a place of never-ending dissatisfaction – eternal discontentment.  So, if you want to know joy and peace in this life, you must be content with your lot in life.

While we tend to associate of the phrase lot in life with enduring something negative you cannot change.  Its origin, which comes from the Old Testament, suggests something different.  When God’s people begin to settle into the Promised land, each person receives a specific piece of land to inhabit.  The allotment is administered through a system akin to drawing straws (or lots), but all held it was not merely a matter of blind luck, but rather a divine apportionment and what you received was referred to as a lot which was passed down from generation to generation (see Joshua 14-21).

The psalmist writes this:  

Lord, you are my portion and my cup.

It is you who upholds my lot.

My boundaries enclose a pleasant land.

Indeed, I have a goodly heritage. ^{(Psalm 16:5-6)}

“Who is rich?” one rabbi from long ago asks.  “Those who are happy with their portion.”  For ancient Hebrews, lasting joy was rooted in contentment with one’s literal lot in life.   

This is one biblical insight.  Here is another.  Achieving contentment seems to be well within our ability.  It is a decision we can make, a state of mind we can embrace.  We know this because John the Baptist counsels Roman soldiers not to extort wealth from the vulnerable and to be content with their wages. ^{(Luke 3:14)}  Paul writes he has learned to be content no matter what his circumstances, be it in want or plenty, well feed or hungry.  The secret, he says, is “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” ^{(Phil. 4:11-13)}  While Paul says he has “learned” this – age and experience have a way of helping us to become sufficers – opening your heart to Jesus and his teachings is immensely helpful.

When pondering contentment, the English philosopher Bernard Williams keenly noted “We may pass violets looking for roses.”  He linked contentment with the ability to savor; appreciating the moment and delighting in what one has rather than lamenting what one lacks.  I am grateful that while standing in line waiting to deposit a check, I was able to ponder the violets.  They are, after all, just like the roses, gifts from God.  My prayer is you will find joy in the violets the Lord has given you.