The Unseen Danger of Discontent

Photo by Marina Khrapova on Unsplash

The other night I was struck by the picture of the Garden of Eden in my son’s picture Bible. It was a simple drawing of Adam and Eve, two trees, and a berry bush.

I thought. . . This picture does not even begin to capture the splendor of what Adam and Eve could have enjoyed!

Think about it.

Adam and Eve were surrounded by a lush garden of flowering and fruit-producing trees, plants, vines, and bushes in a beautiful landscape that exceeds our most vivid imagination.

We do not know how many trees were in the garden, but we do know there was one tree from which they could not eat.

One tree out of hundreds, thousands, or even millions of various plants.

Think about what happened in this garden. The serpent came to tempt. . . but consider what he did. He overstated the fact that Adam and Eve could not eat from one tree.

One tree!

He made this one forbidden tree seem so enticing and alluring, that Adam and Eve could not resist. In a sense, Satan put a magnifying glass over this seeming deficit, which drew out discontent in their hearts.

Isn't this what we see him doing today?

He blinds us to the goodness and blessings around us, then he highlights the things in our life that are not what we would hope or desire.

He emphasizes those things we wish were different. He makes us very discontent, in hopes that we will defy the Word of God to obtain the thing we want or feel we deserve.

He did it then. He does it now.

So today ask yourself: Does my mind fixate on what I wish were different? Is my disobedience sourced in discontent?

What would today look like if I chose to replace thoughts of discontent with thankfulness?

Take a step back, and rather than focus on the one thing that you should not have, focus on the contentment, joy, and blessing of all the good things in your life. Refuse to fall prey to Satan’s desire for you to only see what you can’t have and begin to enjoy the innumerable things God has given you.