Josh Rosen dreamed of playing football in the NFL. He became an all-American quarterback at UCLA and, in 2018, declared for the NFL draft after his Junior year. The Arizona Cardinals drafted him as the tenth pick in the first round and offered him a contract worth over $11 million.
However, Rosen was unhappy with being the tenth pick of the draft and expressed frustration that three quarterbacks were selected ahead of him. “There were nine teams that made a mistake tonight,” he said in an interview afterward.
Rosen served as the Arizona Cardinals’ starter during his rookie season. However, due to inconsistent performances on the field, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins the following season and released the next year. Rosen spent the next two seasons as a backup with the San Francisco 49ers and Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons released Rosen, and he became a free agent. And recently, the Cleveland Browns signed him to a one-year contract.
His career has not exactly been the stellar career he envisioned. It also demonstrates that people can achieve a lot yet still be discontented. Rosen had been a star in high school and college, and as a first-round NFL draft pick, he became a multimillionaire in his early twenties. Yet he was not happy. He wanted more, falling victim to the two primary thieves of contentment: unrealistic expectations and unfair comparisons.
How about you? Are you a contented person? If you were to rate yourself on a happiness scale, how much percentage of the time would show you are content?
Are you content with your career? The Princeton Management Association states that 82% of Americans hate their job. They just endure it until the weekend and cannot wait until retirement. John the Baptist told his audience, “Be content with your pay” (Luke 3:14). Yet most people are not.
Are you content with your marriage? Would you say, “I am happy with my marriage 95% or 75% of the time”? (And if you claim you’re content 100% of the time, you’re not being honest!)
Are you content with your body? Jane Fonda once said that in all her years sponsoring physical fitness, she never met anyone who was content with their body. These days, many people are not even content with their biological gender!
Are you content with your favorite team? Or is your entire season considered a failure if you aren’t the national champion or at least reach the final four?
Are you content with your church? No church is perfect. Yet, always imagining that another church has more inspirational music, preaching that is more Biblical, people that are more friendly, and parking that is more accessible is unrealistic and an unfair comparison that will make you miserable in an already good church.
Why is it that we are always wanting more? Three weeks ago, a church elder picked me up at the airport in Norfolk, Virginia. He drove a new Mercedes SUV. The vehicle is advertised as “The art of Luxury, Built on Science, Refined Electric Performance, With Cutting Edge Style.” Indeed, it was something special! Not only was it roomier and quicker than my Chevy Equinox, but it had bucket seats that swelled and hugged your hips when you rounded a corner to prevent you from sliding, giving an enhanced feeling of security.
Up to then, I had been fairly satisfied with my Chevy Equinox. But now I find myself getting restless when I step on the gas, and it doesn’t jump to 60 mph in two seconds, or when I round a corner, there is no extra support to my hips. And I pay almost $4 a gallon for gasoline! Unrealistic expectations and unfair comparisons can quickly make a guy discontented and wanting more.
In Philippians 4, The Apostle Paul made this remarkable statement: “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” (Philippians 4:11-13).
When someone says, “I’ve learned the secret of contentment,” all of us should sit up and take notice. Especially since the writer was single yet could have been married. He was broke yet was previously rich. He was imprisoned yet had been free. He was ill, yet at one time, he was healthy. He was also old, yet at one time he was young. Yet he learned to be perfectly content regardless of the circumstances.
There are few lessons affluent, disgruntled American Christians need to learn more than how to be content. What was Paul’s secret? How did he restrain his ambitions and overcome envy? The secret is in this phrase, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”
The secret is not a big mystery and not at all difficult to figure out. Contentment is the result of striving to please Christ rather than trying to impress people. It comes from focusing on eternal rewards rather than earthly riches, refusing to get caught up in the rat race to finish first, and instead living to please God alone.
While the formula is easy to understand, it is difficult to carry out because it is not a one-time decision. It is a daily choice. That is why Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).
We learn to be content by waking up every day and saying with the Psalmist,
“This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24 KJV). Those who don’t learn that lesson can wind up a free agent in life, frustrated that their dreams are unrealized, their peers are unimpressed, and their happiness is forfeited.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6-8).
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