“You can have it all, so don’t settle for less. That is what we are told. So we spend ourselves on life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Realization of the American Dream–the Western dream–lies at our fingertips. But that is largely the problem–so much of what we want remains just out of our reach…
Our unhappiness does not spring from what we lack. It springs from our desire for what we lack. We crave love, beauty, and comfort. We crave independence and peaceful surroundings. We crave self-esteem. We crave the smooth rhythm of a balanced life–a little of this, a bit of that, but not too much of either…
We refuse to accept that our prosperity isn’t going to make us happy…But just as prosperity does not lock in happiness, awful circumstances don’t have to lock it out. Do we believe that? …In such circumstances we can’t imagine anything but unhappiness. What choice do we have? We do have a choice actually. We can be happy, not necessarily in the American way, but in the biblical way.
It is all a matter of what we live for. If we live for the good times, even those given to us by God, we will never find happiness because seasons of wilderness, waiting, and withholding are just as much, if not more, a part of life on this earth as season of ease and peace. Happiness, or contentment, comes from where we look and what we believe, not from what we have.”
Lydia Brownbeck in Contentment: A Godly Woman’s Adornment (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008) 9-10.
It’s election day. Candidates will promise you life, liberty, and happiness if you give them your vote. Instead, today (and every day), vote “YES” to biblical contentment. My parents taught me this, and I am privileged to spend five hours with them this afternoon. What a gift!
When we vote “NO” to the American dream we avoid discontentment, and we position ourselves to take hold of life in God. Again, make the choice! Vote “YES” to biblical contentment! And as the commercials say: I am Gary Hoag, and I approved this message.