Monday--Misty's Challenge

Contentment vs. Complacency:

contentment-
1. the state of being contented; satisfaction; ease of mind.
2. Archaic. the act of making contentedly satisfied.

complacency-
1. a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.
2. Archaic. a. friendly civility; inclination to please; complaisance.
b. a civil act.

I want to be content, not complacent. I think we fall into complacency very easily when we are just too tired, too afraid, too whatever to address issues that need improvement in our lives. We become "unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like". Are we really unaware or just unwilling to see the problems? And how do we rest contentedly in our life--we'll always have problems. So, my question is this: How do we, like the apostle Paul, learn to be "content whatever the circumstances"(Philippians 4:11)? We are to trust in Jesus to work on our issues, to work on US and give us the strength to work on our problems.

Is your marriage getting stale? Is the job getting too stressful? Are the bill collectors knocking on the door? Are the kids driving you crazy? Up to a point, you have to accept where you are in your situation, realize that things will NOT change overnight, and seek out the goodness and hope within it. However, we must not let ourselves get complacent about the situation--we need to be aware that it exists, and that it needs improvement. We should not only pray and trust in Jesus to help us, but also meet him halfway and take ACTIVE steps to rise above and have victory. Stale marriage--spice it up with a couple retreat, good dates, etc. Job stressful--look for another position, talk to your boss, get more education, etc. Financial stress--look for ways to save money, drop unnecessary stuff, get credit counseling. Kids driving you crazy--look at life through their eyes, lighten up a bit and play with them, get "me" time whenever you can. We CAN move toward contentment and away from complacency if we work at it.

*Note--I believe "Maggie" had a post on this a while back, and if so, she is welcome to post the link here. Young moms must think on this issue often! :)