I was on my way to Vania's school, talking to myself in the empty car. And somehow I ended up thinking about contentment and ambition.
Yes, I have ambition. I like nice things - matching plates, silverware, a comfortable bed, and air conditioning. I can live with less. But why?
Yet I have lived with less. And I was fine. So if I can be content with less, why do I want more?
I think ambition is more about about the shape of things. Contentment says I don't care about the things. Nice stuff isn't about the stuff. Dreams come from God. Dreams and ambition drive work. They give a reason to our lives, a goal and something to aim at. Contentment is when I accept where the arrow lands - even if it isn't quite where I thought I was aiming.
It's easy to get caught up in the extremes of both view points. We all know the movies about work-aholics who neglect the people in their lives pursuing stuff. On the other hand, there are people who won't work for anything. But they'll take whatever they can get their hands on. That's not contentment. That's laziness.
Contentment puts in the work God asks of me and accepts what the fruit He produces from it - whether that fruit benefits me or someone else. I don't have to get what I worked towards. I have to do the work. And trust God in whatever comes. Easier said than done.
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