“Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?” That is the opening question of Psalm 2, but could just as easily be the opening question for our current cultural moment in western civilization.
Rage and anger are a currency. In fact, so much so that even Saturday Night Live this week poked fun at those who will be disappointed in a Biden victory–some people are so consumed with rage against Donald Trump that they may not know what to do with their time if they aren’t preoccupied with being angry at the president.
But, let’s be honest, it isn’t just the left that is angry. The right is angry as well. And, even if we can’t find a way to be angry at the government, there seems to always be something about which we can be frustrated, angry, or irked (just think: road rage, public schools, your neighbor’s yard, or your pastor). Gary Larson illustrated this well in a Far Side cartoon:
We struggle with contentment.
This shouldn’t come as a surprise. The flesh is weak and selfish. Paul outlines the fruit of the flesh as, “sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these” (Galatians 5:19-20). The flesh isn’t easily satisfied, it always wants more. More power, more control, more pleasure, more stuff…
But, the fruit of the Spirit is different: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control” (Galatians 5:22-23). The fruit of the Spirit is positive and forward looking. The fruit of the Spirit resides not in wants and desires, but in contentment and trust.
Contentment as Apologetics
In our age of rage, anxiety, and anger, one of the greatest defenses of the Christian faith will come from those believers who show contentment. Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have.” Are you content? When Christians choose to not live with contentment, they tell the watching world that Jesus isn’t enough. When you live frustrated and angry, you tell a watching world that you don’t trust in Jesus to make everything right. When you are constantly bitter and upset about politics, you tell others you are depending upon the government to fix everything that is wrong.
In a world that always wants more and is always frustrated, Christians show the value of their Savior when they choose contentment and trust what Jesus has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When you choose to live content in your Savior, you reaffirm, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Returning to Psalm 2, we find,
Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying,
“Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast away their cords from us.”He who sits in the heavens laughs;
Psalm 2:1-6
the Lord holds them in derision.
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
“As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.”
Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? Because they want control. They desire to unseat the Holy One of Israel. But, the Lord sits in heaven and laughs. God is in control. He will not be moved.
When you choose to live with contentment, you affirm God’s sovereignty and holiness and you proclaim to the entire world that you trust in HIM to deliver you safely home. When you live with contentment, you give feet to your faith and defend the value of Christianity to a tired and doubting world.
Choose contentment.
But godliness with contentment is great gain,
1 Timothy 6:6
