Marriage Monday ~ Content

Most of the time I try to be content with whatever life brings. Sometimes I do fail though. And what I have learned is this: complaining and whining only stresses my husband out and causes contention between us. (And sometimes it spreads to the children!) It’s true.

I looked up “content” in the Thesaurus and felt convicted by the list of antonyms I found there!

• depressed
• disagreeable
• discontent
• dissatisfied
• disturbed
• needy
• unhappy
• upset
• wanting

Ouch! Any time I am being disagreeable, dissatisfied, needy, unhappy, upset or wanting…I am not being content!

Have you ever read the bible straight through? I didn’t realize how many proverbs there were about a contentious, quarrelsome wife–talk about stepping on toes! And they repeat the same thoughts over and over. I suppose they bear repeating!

Proverbs 27:15 A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike.

Proverbs 25:24 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

Proverbs 19:13 A foolish son is ruin to his father, and a wife’s quarreling is a continual dripping of rain.

Proverbs 20:9 It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife.

And then when we add that to Proverbs 14:1, “The wisest of women builds her house, but folly with her own hands tears it down,” .. I think we know what we need to do, don’t we?

My husband works hard but he’s self employed, and we have to trust God to take care of us. God always does, but sometimes the income is a little thinner than others. In the lean times, and in the fat times, I need to work hard to be content with what God has given me. How can I do that, practically?

7 Ways to Practice Contentment (In No Particular Order):

1.) Remind myself that everything I have is a blessing from God. Thanksgiving is a good way to throw off discontent. When I start to think about something I *don’t* have — make a list of the things I do. This helps adjust my perspective.

2.) Don’t compare! God has a different plan for each of us so how can I compare my circumstances to anyone else’s?

3.) Take it ALL to God in prayer. Anything I’m sad about, happy about, worried about, peaceful about — leave it all in God’s sovereign hands. (That means try to let it go and not carry it around in my heart!)

4.) Seek God’s will. If I’m seeking to do His will in my life, if I’m praying and listening for the spirit to move in my heart, if I’m doing my best to make wise decisions and follow God — then I’m right where I’m supposed to be (following God!)

5.) Trust God. Deliberately choose to trust and not worry or complain. God always provides and takes care of our needs.

6.) Use the brains God gave me! God may not bless me at the moment with the funds for a new piece of furniture, but maybe with some elbow grease, some inexpensive “mis-mixed” paint or some clearance fabric, I can repair and fix the old one. So instead of whining about what I can’t do — think about it and figure out what I *can* do.

7.) Read the bible, memorize key scriptures. Jesus rebuked temptation with scripture! When the temptation to covet, complain, or grumble kicks in, kick it to the curb with the word of God.

I don’t want to be a dripping rain, a contentious woman so obnoxious that my husband would rather live on the roof – who would?! But more than that, I would prefer to honor God through my words and my actions.

How do you practice contentment? Leave a comment or link up your own post below. The rules are simple: Share an encouraging post about marriage and link it with a direct url link to your post. This week’s word is CONTENT. Next week’s word is DILIGENT. God bless!