Young singles you hear almost non-stop the words, “Just be content and then the Lord will bring someone to you.”
This is severely faulty on so many levels. First and foremost because it is works-based. ‘Get your act together and God will bless you.’ ‘Be good enough and the Lord will bring what your heart desires.’
But there’s another deadly, if not even more destructive line of thinking in these words. And it’s this:
Contentment is a singles person issue. Not a married person’s one.
And the truth?
Contentment issues don’t go away just because one says, “I do.” In fact, there are indicators that there is way more discontent among married people than there are singles.
Divorce is rampant. And even where there is not divorce, there are discontentment issues. A spouse might think,
“Should I get divorced as I’m/We are not happy?”
“Did I marry the right person?”
“If he/she would change we could be much happier”
It’s discontent.
When we frame the context of discontent as the problem for a single person, then it falsely sets up an assumption that once a person marries then discontent dissolves away.
Discontent is not a single person’s issue. Nor is it a married person’s issue.
It is a heart issue. A people issue. A sin issue.
May we be like Paul and be able to say…
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (Php 4:11).
