by Aaron Goldsmith

Have you ever come home at night and said one of the following:

“I am underpaid, overworked, and underappreciated.”
“My boss doesn’t understand what our business is all about . . ., if I were the boss, I would ________________________.”
“I deserved that promotion: Joe isn’t qualified. I am a lot smarter than he is.”
“I need more money and benefits . . . they are not paying me what I am worth. If they would pay me __________, just look at how much more I could give for pastor’s salary or to support missionaries.”
“I am qualified to be the boss. Look at my qualifications—why, I graduated from college summa cum laude, and no one else here has that qualification.”
“I am bored with this job . . . it is well below my ability.”

I am sure that all of us at some time thought or made those statements. A recent US job survey indicated that job satisfaction rates continue to fall. Research by the Conference Board has found that fewer than 50% of Americans are satisfied with their current jobs, and over 30% of those surveyed expect to change careers in the next three years. Many have put legs to those frustrations: projections indicate that current college graduates will change careers from three to five times during their work life of forty years—once every eight to thirteen years. Their resumes will show broad-based experience with no depth and a continual “starting over.” While reviewing these applicants for hiring, a prospective employer will discover that they have a record of discontentment at each place of employment.

Unfortunately, those of us in full-time ministry are not immune to any of the above. Having served on search committees for pastors, assistant pastors, and Christian school teachers and administrators, my own experience has proven that it is sadly evident that we have this problem in ministry. During one of the senior-level classes that I teach, my students write a personal paper on how they can be content in the place where God has called them. We discuss that a lack of contentment is not a recent phenomena but has been around since the Garden of Eden. More importantly, how does our Lord provide us the answers to resolving these issues so that we are better servants and witnesses for Him? The students are required to read Richard Steele’s The Religious Tradesman (a modern English version by Randall Caldwell, Vision Harvest Press © 2005, ISBN 0965133222), where the businessperson’s call and responsibilities are discussed. The topics and principles that Steele wrote about 260 years ago are still applicable today. I would like to share with you these timeless biblical truths that provide for us the Lord’s guidelines regarding being effective servants in our place of calling.

Steele defines contentment as cheerful satisfaction with the place and calling of God. As the apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” As you study Scripture and see Paul’s life, it becomes evident that contentment is learned and is not something we automatically gain once we are saved. Rather, it is something we will have to work on continuously until we are taken home to Glory.

Steele says, “Christian contentment arises from an appropriate sense of God’s dominion over us, as our Lord and Owner who therefore may do with His own as He pleases. It expresses a humble trust in God as Father, whose wisdom and goodness directs by His grace everything He does toward us, in both the common things in life as well as the more pleasurable and profitable ones.”

We are to find contentment in the smallest inconveniences, the good and beautiful things that our Lord places in our lives, and finally, in trials and disappointments that come our way. The Lord works in our lives for our betterment and for His eternal purposes. There were circumstances early in my career that I did not exactly like or would have chosen, but with the passing of time (twenty to thirty years) as I reflect back, I begin to understand that being in God’s will is a day-to-day walk; and someday, in hindsight, we will see His will 20/20. Job says in Job 1:21, “The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”

Steele warns us of four vices that will rob us of contentment but can, through our Lord’s strength, be avoided.

Ambition—this can occur when we think that we are better than our calling. We should seek to improve our calling; but in seeking and improving our calling, we have another responsibility—to please and honor our Creator God.

Envy—this occurs when we want the talents and/or the prosperity of others. We want the easy life, and that desire focuses our thoughts on others’ success symbols, whatever they may be—a house, furniture, a car, extravagant vacations.

Covetousness—the insatiable desire for wealth. I often hear people say, “If I were wealthy, look at what I could give to the church so that the pastor, the missionaries, and our Christian school teachers could be paid more.” Think about that response for a second. Why does the Creator God, Who owns Heaven and all the earth, need our increased wealth to meet the needs of His children. I am reminded from the Psalms that all our God desires of us is a contrite heart.

Depression—the sense of hopelessness when things do not go the way we think or feel they should. Have you ever been depressed when you thought the Lord was leading you to a certain ministry, but through a set of circumstances that you did not like, that ministry door was closed?

If we fall prey to these vices, we may change jobs only to discover that we are now experiencing the same discontent as before. Proverbs 27:8 warns, “As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.”

Steele provides four antidotes for these vices:

The Bible commands us to be content. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” The study of God’s Word is critical for our day-to-day living. As you lay your head down each night, what can you say that you learned that day about your Creator God from His Word?

God’s will is not for us to be discontent. Ours is not a God of retribution but of mercy, grace, and love. He knows best how we fit into His plan for His own glory.

As a Christian, we have the resources to be delivered from all discontentments. We have the unsearchable riches of Christ, the Holy Spirit, and we have the unsearchable promises of the Scripture.

There is no condition of our life, however low or difficult it may be, whereby God should not be honored in it and by it. Demonstration of our patience, diligence, and integrity is a witness of our faith to the unsaved and an encouragement to the saints.

Steele concludes with four paths to contentment:

Keep an eternal perspective—we get so involved in our day-today activities that oftentimes we lose our eternal perspective on life. Our focus is on today’s issues, and we often will miss what our Lord wants us to do in His vineyard while we are busy doing what we want to do.

Stay humble—our pride and impatience comes from our ungratefulness for God’s mercy and grace upon our soul. It is easy to become focused on what great things we can do for God rather than the great God we serve.

Seek moderation—Steele says, “Nature and grace are contented with little, but pride and humor with nothing.” Something to think about: multitudes of wealthy people are the unhappiest people in the world.

Trust in God—we should place our happiness in our Lord’s hand. God is the creator of universe and maker of all. We must, as we said earlier, learn to be content. This contentment is a mirror of one’s faith.

As we go about our daily lives, our choice to be content provides encouragement to fellow believers and is a witness to unbelievers of God’s working in our lives.