The Courage to be Content and Discontent

God calls us to two great and divergent poles to access the abundant life: to be content and discontent at the same time.

Being Content

Abundance as a spiritual concept is an outcome we arrive at through being content with what we have. With all we’ve been given, possessions and experiences, we’re to be content. We count our blessings. Doing this means we have the courage to let go of our covetousness — those things and events we’ll never have, and are not supposed to have. To do that we’ll need to change some things in our lives, like say no to people, and drop unhealthy ambitions.

Being content, because it necessitates change to embrace surrender, requires courage.

Being Discontented

Abundance is also a journey, a destination we never reach. We have glimpses of our contentedness, and these are good and to be enjoyed, but we can’t get stuck there, because before too long contentedness becomes discontentedness. We can, however, enlist the courage to agree to remain discontented with where we’re at. It’s the only way we will continue to grow. It takes courage to refuse to settle.

Connecting Contentedness and Discontent

These two divergent poles of demeanour seem on the surface not to complement one another, but together they’re a perfect accompaniment, because they’re a balance.

Being content is important, but staying content means we must be discontent with where we’re at. Staying content will require us to break camp from our ideas that staying in our own safe bubble is even achievable, as it isn’t. Life is always changing, and we have to remain mobile, which is the wisdom of humility that assumes nothing.

***

Life is in being content
with what we have
whilst being discontent
with staying as we are.