It’s the curse of our age! We have so much, but we want more. Even if we don’t need it, and even if God has given no indication that He wants to give it to us, we still want it. When we are focussed on what we don’t have, it is impossible to really appreciate and be grateful for what we do have! This leads us into dissatisfaction and we now have an entire advertising industry which thrives on and feeds off our dissatisfaction.
Dissatisfaction is a feeling of discontent and displeasure with circumstances in life and/or other people. So, pause for a minute now, and think about what you do have. You would like to have more money – but how much money do you have? There are some things you would like to own – but what do you already own? Perhaps your physical health is limited – but what can you still do? How are you blessed with abilities that enable you to create beauty, with friends who bring richness to life, or with good memories that warm your heart in moments of solitude?
The secret to banishing dissatisfaction is not really a secret. We just don’t want to embrace the secret because our broken human nature seems to take pleasure in complaining! Gratitude is like a lens that helps us refocus our attention from our perceived lacks (which might not be good for us anyway) to our actual blessings from God. In this way, gratitude leads us to contentment and brings healing to our soul.
When Christ fills your heart and mind, you can be at peace and content with the things, people, and circumstances our sovereign God has placed in your life and stop yearning for the things He has not given us or allowed us to have. The only thing that truly satisfies the human soul is knowing Jesus Christ. Striving, coveting, and spending our time wanting what is not available to us can leave us broken, bitter and always dissatisfied.
This is not an inconsequential issue. Dissatisfaction is a cancerous disease in our society and in the church and it wreaks havoc every moment is allowed to control our thoughts, our desires and our attitude.