Why does contentment feel short-lived?

Posted on September 06, 2023 by Freda Smith, One of Thousands of Christian Coaches on Noomii.

How often do we seem to be happy and yet there is a small voice in the back of our minds that whispers “this is just temporary, soon this will pass, and you will feel miserable again”. I have had my fair share of moving from place to place, job to job, friendship to friendship all because I wanted bigger/better/nicer. I had my fair share of not even getting excited anymore, because I knew the excitement was only temporary. I even found myself thinking “I am sure heaven must be so awesome, as there is nothing that we need to survive there. We don’t need Billions of dollars or to drive a fancy car, live in a great neighborhood or be a size 0. We can just be happy, praising God, with no pain or earthly needs”. So, if all our Christians felt the same way about heaven, then living on earth must be hell for us? Surely then we would ask the question: “What is the point of living, can God not come and fetch me NOW already and put me out of my misery?”

I am sure a lot of people feel this way, but does that help you in your time on earth? Does that not take away from why you are alive in the first place? Perhaps you are not alive just for yourself, but your life has a purpose for others….

Paul writes in Philippians 4:11-13: “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”

In other words, with A LOT or with NOTHING, he found himself content. Why? Because his contentment was always locked inside Jesus Christ. He never lacked. He was never poor. He had what money cannot buy and that was the presence of Jesus Christ encapsulating his entire being and because of the Good News, he was destined to serve others. It was his mission to spread the Gospel over the world. He was imprisoned for the last years of his life, but that did not stop him.

All who truly believe in Christ, have the promise of Eternal life in heaven and that is the biggest message of hope, but while we are here, our attention should shift off of us onto how we can help those around us see Christ living through us, so they too can be saved. When we wish our lives away, we become selfish. It becomes about OUR needs, and we stop to think about how our presence on earth could literally mean that another human soul could be saved, not from our own doing, but from Christ who shines His light through us.

When we help others, when we TRULY help with unconditional love, we find contentment. When we shift the focus off of our own happiness onto “How can I help others Lord, show me whom I can serve today”, we will soon find an inner joy that cannot be described in words. It is the Holy Ghost dancing inside every ounce of your being. You are filled with so much contentment because you feel whole, at one with God and your life blindingly shines of true purpose, happiness, and contentment.

Try and remember how well it felt the last time you helped someone. Did you not feel warm and fuzzy inside? Did your life not feel a bit brighter?

Try this week to shift your focus off of your own contentment onto helping someone. It can be as small as holding the door for someone, letting someone else cut in front of you in heavy traffic or holding the elevator door open for a slow walker, and notice the difference.

When we help others, we focus on how we can contribute to others’ happiness and little by little we forget about what seems to make us unhappy. We then find moments in our days where we invite these little glimpses of heaven on earth, and THAT is worth living for.