If God Asks Me to Refuse a Donut (Part Two): Contentment vs. Scrounging

So I’m in the office. It’s about 10:15, 10:30 a.m. Breakfast was three or four hours ago, lunch is still two hours away. The phone is ringing, my email is pinging. And my stomach is growling.

I walk nonchalantly past the office library. But today, there is no candy in the candy jar. I head over to the office kitchen. But today, the vendors have neglected us. No donuts, no cookies, nada. Feeling desperate, I dig into the emergency stores: instant soup packets and saltines.

But my stomach is not satisfied. I want more!

Later that evening, the family is finishing up dinner. I’m thinking about something sweet to top it off, just a little dessert. I check the freezer, but the ice cream is AWOL. (With four teenaged boys, why am I surprised?) I check the freezer door, but there are no hidden candy bars. For the second time that day, I start digging in cabinets. My day is not complete without dessert!! What can I eat?? A cup of Lucky Charms? A spoonful of Nutella?

Until recently, I never stopped to evaluate this behavior. Here I am, a child of the Eternal God. He has promised to provide for all my needs. Why am I scrounging for scraps, junk food that will not satisfy body or soul?

Of course, WeightWatchers has an answer for this problem. Plan ahead, take control of your food choices! You can bring healthy snacks to work. You can stock your freezer with WeightWatchers treats. And there certainly is a place for planning.

But . . . there is also a simpler and sweeter alternative. It came to me when I was meditating on the trials of Chinese Christian Pastor Brother Yun. The opposite of scrounging is contentment.

The Apostle Paul says, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry. . . I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13). The writer of Hebrews tells us to “be content with what you have,” because we know that God will never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).

If God has not provided an ice cream sandwich, I don’t have to scrounge. I can just be content.

One time our church hosted a guest pastor from Sri Lanka. In his village, people sometimes struggled to obtain daily food. Someone asked what do families do, when there is no dinner? The pastor replied, “We fast.” They reframed hunger into fasting, an act of worship. Now that is extreme contentment.

More to come.