As I sit here writing, my children are all with my husband in the front part of the house. He has promised to keep them up there so I can have time to write. Not only that, but he’s making dinner. I can hear everyone talking, and for the moment, at least, their voices are peaceful. I’m at home, with the people I love most in all the world, and everyone’s getting along. I am content.
At the same time that this is true, it’s also true that my desk is a mess. There are piles of papers and other objects all over it (including, interestingly enough, one yellow rubber glove, a packet of cat treats, a set of cards for Lindsey’s Hooked on Phonics curriculum, and a cotton-ball-and-paper-plate sheep that she made last year in preschool. Behind me, the playroom is a mess. Yet I am content.
You see, we can choose which set of circumstances to focus on. We can dwell on all the things that are wrong, or we can look at the many things that are going right. At any given moment in our lives, some things will be going other than the way we would wish, and others will be going just as we want them to. Our contentment depends on which set of circumstances we base our feelings on.
True, there are some circumstances that could pretty easily destroy contentment for almost anyone. Tragic things happen in the world, and there’s no guarantee that none of them will ever happen to us. But for the most part—the great majority of the time—we can choose to be contented or not, depending on what we concentrate on.
Does that mean we just sweep everything negative under the rug and pretend it didn’t happen or doesn’t bother us? No. It means that sometimes, we simply choose not to think about something if thinking about it won’t help. When there’s an issue that needs to be dealt with, fine. Let’s think about it so that we can determine the right response. But when thinking about something results only in bitterness or discontentment, and there’s nothing to do about it anyway, let it go. Just let it go. Why allow it to take up anymore of your mental and emotional energy and rob you of contentment?
I could sit here and complain about the house being a mess. I could gripe about how I’m tired of having to tell the children over and over to clean up. But would that help? No. And not only would it be distinctly unhelpful, but it might cause me to miss the delightful sounds of their happy voices as they play together and interact with their daddy.
This is part of training our minds to think the way God wants us to think. We need to make it a habit to concentrate on the good things instead of the bad. We need to spend more time contemplating the blessings He’s given us than grumbling about the tiny little bumps in our smooth road.
I know that I don’t like to hear my kids complain. I’d rather hear about all the good things that happened during their day, or all the things they liked. I bet God feels the same way. I bet He’d much rather hear me thank Him for His blessings and then enjoy them than sit here with a sour attitude simply because everything’s not what I consider perfect.
How are you doing in this area? Which—the good or the bad—do you spend more time focusing on? Find something right now that’s going right, then stop and thank God for it. And watch what happens to your contentment when you do.
Philippians 4:8—Finally, [sisters], whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.