Complacency vs. contentment.

There's a difference between the two. But what is that difference? And how do you find true contentment? Here's how...

I’ve been a little agitated lately. Just ask my wife. Little things have been bugging me. Or things that shouldn’t take root in my brain have started to again. I say “again” because that’s what happens when my clinical anxiety and OCD “flare up” so to speak.

I don’t like those times. It’s not fun for me, and it’s definitely not fun for those around me — especially the ones I love.

I made that the focus of my prayer and journaling time this morning, then. And you know what I got in response? A diagram. Yes, a diagram. A Venn diagram to be exact. And I think that diagram will help you, too. Especially if, or when, you find yourself agitated.

My prayer this morning started with this: “Father, I’m agitated lately. And yet I feel myself becoming too comfortable. I want to be desperate for you. How do I not become complacent?”

That was, apparently, the magic question. Because that’s where I got one of the clearest answers I’ve gotten in weeks.

“Jon, there’s a difference between complacency and contentment.”

OK, that’s interesting, I thought. See, lately I’ve been trying to figure out if I’ve been simply in a season of contentment that is so foreign it makes me feel guilty, or if I’m in a season of complacency and what I’m feeling as a result is conviction.

Ever been there?

God’s response: “Both.” For the first part of this year, I’ve been in a season of contentment. It’s been a sweet, sweet time. It’s actually been like nothing I’ve experienced before. But lately, and especially as the summer has started to set in down here in Texas and routines have changed, I’ve been battling complacency.

OK, OK, so what is the difference? That’s the question you might be asking, and it’s the question I asked God as well. That’s where the diagram comes in, and it’s really helpful. Here it is, a visual representation of how God showed me the difference between complacency and contentment: