Now I am trying to figure out what contentment is and what it is not.  I think I will start with a definition:

contentment
       n : happiness with one’s situation in life [ant: {discontentment}]

And looking up what it is not.

discontentment
       n : a longing for something better than the present situation

I will have other blog entries that will focus on areas of life that we can find happiness and where we have a longing for something better.  Here is a list and a small description that I will get started on.  Please feel free to share more with me as you think of them.

• Power – The ability to control people and situations.
• Money – Used to buy more stuff, bigger house, and more storage, the list never ends.
• Sex – Seems this is also another topic that is always at the top of the list.  With the wide use of pornography and extra marital relations to find happiness.
• Relationships – Does being popular bring us happiness?
• Competition – Do I always have to win?  Do I need to be in first place?
• Education – How many facts do I need to know?  We are living in an age of information overload with television, radio, Internet, E-mail, and books.
• Life – Life tosses us many different situations, opportunities, gain, and loss.  Life can bring us happiness and we can choose to be happy.
• Food – Snickers really satisfy, right?  Also in this topic I will cover drugs and alcohol.

Now I see nothing wrong with the above list.  These are all good things that God has blessed us with that can make us happy.  I would like to also explore where we find the balance between being content and being lazy or the perversion of good.  How can we have a desire to learn more, to grow a business, or to have deeper relations with someone without it being discontented?  I think I know the answer, but it is not that easy to explain or live out in our daily lives.  I am not sure you can have contentment without assurance of eternal salvation.  I believe that can only come from trusting in Jesus Christ for our salvation.  Once you have the assurance of salvation, you should not need to fulfill happiness through external means.

Stay tuned for more and please share where I am wrong or where I could explore more.  Right now I will leave you with this definition of contentment from “Easton’s 1897 Bible Dictionary” for your pondering.

a state of mind in which one’s desires are confined to his lot
whatever it may be (1 Tim. 6:6; 2 Cor. 9:8). It is opposed to
envy (James 3:16), avarice (Heb. 13:5), ambition (Prov. 13:10),
anxiety (Matt. 6:25, 34), and repining (1 Cor. 10:10). It arises
from the inward disposition, and is the offspring of humility,
and of an intelligent consideration of the rectitude and
benignity of divine providence (Ps. 96:1, 2; 145), the greatness
of the divine promises (2 Pet. 1:4), and our own unworthiness
(Gen. 32:10); as well as from the view the gospel opens up to us
of rest and peace hereafter (Rom. 5:2).