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Reading Classics Together - The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (IX)
- 08/20/09
- 14
So after being just a little bit underwhelmed with chapter eight, I thought that Burroughs came back strong in chapter nine. Actually, I'm sure it is my fault and not his that I found the previous chapter slow-going, but I digress. There were a lot of things in this chapter, once again dealing with the evils of a murmuring heart, that hit me right between the eyes.
Summary
Some weeks I use this space to give a blow-by-blow account of the chapter while other times I use it to share a few of the things that most impacted me. Today I want to focus instead on just quotes. As I've said before, Burroughs is incredibly quotable and I thought I'd share just a few of his best quotes from this chapter. Even if you haven't been reading the book, I'm sure you'll enjoy the quotes! Here we go:***
The Spirit of God extenuates evils and crosses, and magnifies and amplifies all mercies; and makes all mercies seem to be great, and all afflictions seem to be little. But the Devil goes quite contrary, says Luther, his rhetoric is quite otherwise: he lessens God's mercies, and amplifies evil things. Thus, a godly man wonders at his cross that it is not more, a wicked man wonders his cross is so much: 'Oh', he says, 'none was ever so afflicted as I am.' If there is a cross, the Devil puts the soul to musing on it, and making it greater than it is, and so it brings discontent.
***
Oh, what baseness there is in a discontented spirit! A discontented spirit, out of envy to God's grace, will make mercies that are great little, yea to be none at all.
***
This is the very reason why many mercies are denied to you, because of your discontent. You are discontented for want of them, and therefore you do not get them, you deprive yourselves of the enjoyment of your own desires, because of the discontent of your hearts, because you do not get your desires, and is not this a foolish thing?
***
If God gives the man or woman who is discontented for want of some good thing, that good thing before they are humbled for their discontent, such a man or woman can have no comfort from the mercy, but it will be rather an evil than a good to them.
***
If you murmur against those whom God makes instruments, because you have not got everything that you would have, against the Parliament, or such and such who are public instruments, it is against God.
***
You are never so prepared for present wrath as when you are in a murmuring, discontented fit. Those who stand by and see you in a murmuring, discontented fit, have cause to say: 'Oh, let us go and take the censer, let us go to prayer, for we are afraid that wrath is gone out against this family, against this person.' And it would be a very good thing for you, who are a godly wife, when you see your husband come home and start murmuring because things are not going according to his desire, to go to prayer, and say: 'Lord, pardon the sin of my husband.' And similarly for a husband to go to God in prayer, falling down and beseeching him that wrath may not come out against his family for the murmuring of his wife.
***
The Devil is the most discontented creature in the world, he is the proudest creature that is, and the most discontented creature, and the most dejected creature. Now, therefore, so much discontent as you have, so much of the spirit of Satan you have.
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Comments (14)
I agree there are many good quotes in this chapter. But the one that most got my attention was the last on, # 13:
"God may justly withdraw his care of you, and his protection over you, seeing God cannot please you in his administrations."
I cannot comprehend what it would be like for God to withdraw his care and give up on me!
Here is one of my favourite quotes:
"Discontent and murmuring eats out the good and sweetness of a mercy before it comes."
I posted on my blog regarding this quote. Check it out if you like: http://quercuscalliprinos.blogspot.com/
Tim,thanks again for the opportunity to participate in the group. It has been wonderful.
Jude
I found this chapter very heavy and thick with convicting reminders. Noone like the Puritans to put the fear of God back in a soul.
My overview and commentary for this chapter are in two parts:http://lauriemo.blogspot.com/2009/08/rare-jewel-chapter-9-part-1.htmlhttp://lauriemo.blogspot.com/2009/08/dire-warnings-against-murmuring-evils.html
Gale,The comment you posted is the one that caught my attention as well. We are in essence telling God to do just that when we murmur - withdraw His care and protection from us because we think we can care for and protect ourselves better. "Oh, what an ugly face has this sin of murmuring and discontentedness!"
I also liked all the quotes reprinted here. Powerful stuff. And I join with Jude in thanking Tim for getting the group together. It has definitely helped my understanding of each chapter to read the thoughts of others, as well as keeping me accountable to pace myself through.
This chapter was very convicting to me (well, they all have been). I went through a period in my life where I had to remind myself to THANK GOD daily for the WAY he was taking care of me, because I wasn’t so sure in my heart that it was all that great. It really helped because of course his ways ARE the greatest, but sometimes our self-centeredness blocks the view of that.
I posted about the remaining seven evils of discontentment here: “What’s so bad about complaining?”
As all of you have commented, I have enjoyed this book so very much. In fact it is one of the most beneficial things I have ever read for my Christian walk. (Guess that tells a little something about me hummm).
I would very much like to see comments here on this site from other readers on a question that has been much on my mind as I have read. This question has been particularly pressing during this chapter on murmuring.
How do we need to reconcile all the wisdom that Burroughs shares in this book on contentment with the dreams that each one of us has?
I have been trying to achieve a dream for several years now. I plan to continue to strive for it while simultaneously seeking His face to ensure I dont get outside God's will. If it is not God's will that I achieve my dream I simply won't achieve it and I accept that.
But how do we remain content and yet still strive for something? I saw Tim say something elsewhere on this site that really intrigued me. He said that he had a problem with "open door" theology. He stated that sometimes he believed that one needed to kick down the door. I loved that.
So how do we reconcile the two. I am not trying to start something I am just genuinely struggling with it in my own life.
I hate to sound trite, but there is a quote from Empire Strikes Back that has haunted me since the first time I saw that movie as a teen. There is a part where Yoda says of Luke, "Always your mind on what is to come or what might be, Never your mind on what you are now doing."
That's been me for most of my 45 years. This book makes me want to change that. But do I give up on dreams?
Chris,You do ask a question I am sure all of us here seek. Your question instantly brought a quote to mind from the book "Holy Sweat" by Tim Hansel. (Lisa Notes reviewed this back in June)
Someone asked his friend RIck "What are you going to be doing five years from now?"Ricks answer was worth remembering, he began "I don't know".To which his friend remarked, "What's the matter? Don't you have dreams? Don't you have goals? Don't you have plans?"Rick answered "Of course I do. I've written down my goals and I've got incredible, specific plans, but I happen to be following Somebody who is notoriously unpredictable"
I too have incredible and specific plans, short and long range, written down. And I worked on, improved, and enjoyed one today. But God has me in a place currently where I can do nothing but wait on HIS plan. Which like Rick above, is far superior to any plan I can make.
And with that, is where we must learn to be CONTENT in CHRIST!
What struck me most about this chapter was Burrough's exhortation against murmuring not only externally, but internally. I teach high school Bible, and believe me, there can often be a lot of internal murmuring going on about either my students, my salary, or my sense that my gifts could possibly be used elsewhere. Burroughs reminds me again that my heart is what needs to be set right, and that murmuring is rebellion, and internal murmuring will eventually "break out" into open rebellion. I continue to profit greatly from this book, and gather that I will read it again, Lord willing. I will certainly commend it to others.
Chris,Contentment is not synonymous with complacency. Contentment and hopes, dreams, and goals are not mutually exclusive. If your goals arise from a heart satisfied right here and right now with Christ, in your current circumstances, then pursue them. If, however, your dreams and goals are the product of discontent with God's dealings with you thus far, then those are not goals you will be pursuing to the glory of God. If you can dream your dream and plan and take steps to make it succeed, and be content with the situation every step of the way, even God sees to it that you never make it past the first step, that is consistent with contentment.
When I first became a believer, at the age of 40, I found myself in a bit of a quandary. It seemed everything I had ever done, every thing I'd ever desired or pursued, every task I ever accomplished had been motivated by discontent in one form or another. It turned my world upside down, and left me temporarily at a stalemate - not knowing what to do once I began to learn contentment. I found myself for a time without any motivation to do anything. Little by little I began to find godly motivations - consideration for my family and friends - love for others - thoughtfulness for neighbors (as opposed to competing with them). And now I'm back to doing and planning, fully expecting at any time for God to change my plans (as Gale mentioned above).
Thanks Tim for doing this again [RCT]. How can the Christian read this chapter (and ch. 8) without doing some serious introspection! How am I not only murmuring against God but how is it affecting others around me [home, church, work, community] in pointing to myself and not to God. Yes, these chapters are extremely convicting. These chapters ought to be read by every pastor, elder, lay leader-while everyone else in the church body is reading them- seeking forgiveness in robbing God of His glory through our murmuring. This book, so far, has taught me that I have a ways to go in regards to contentment while at the same time, I rejoice in God's mercy and grace in the Holy Spirit 's work in my own life to bring growth in this area of my life while reading through this book in conjuction with the Word [TCRJoC reinforcing/reiterating what the Scriptures teach]. MAy we all continue to mature in Christ through biblical contentment.Soli Deo Gloria!
Gale and Laurie, My thanks to you both for your thoughtful responses. I agree with and understand you both.
Gale,
I had not framed it as you have here, but as I look back over my previous two years, I see that this is exactly what God has been doing in my life. He has been teaching me to be content while I wait upon him. Two years ago, nothing was happening fast enough for me. For months nothing (relating to my goal) was happening at all. I grew frustrated, I got upset, I murmured against God. Then came this past year. LIke an ominous storm cloud, this year came. Now the darkness has subsided for a time and as I look back I see that only when I stopped flailing and murmuring did God begin to move.
Laurie,
Godly motivations. I like that phraseology a great deal. And if you look at what I describe above, I must admit that my original motivations were not particularly Godly.
Thanks again to you both.
Blessings,Chris
Found this quote today and thought I'd share it here, in light of the conversation."Imagine a world with no competition. You would fall asleep. There's not even a reason to get up anymore in the morning." Karl Lagerfeld (fashion designer).
Laurie, nice find. Thanks for the quote.
I came across this one today that’s also fitting for our study. It helps me with some of the thoughts I'm wrestling with. The full paragraph is here:http://firstimportance.org/2009/08/24/a-life-of-thankful-discontentment/
“We are thankful for the many things in our lives that would not be there without His grace, but we should not settle for partial inheritance. We should want nothing less than all that is ours in Christ!
In this sense, God does not want us to be content with less than what He wants for us. He calls us to continue to wrestle, meditate, look, consider, resist, submit, follow, and pray until we have been completely transformed into His likeness.”
- Paul David Tripp & Timothy S. Lane, “How Christ Changes Us By His Grace”
Have made my comments at my blog. Check them out if you like:
http://reformedbookclub.blogspot.com/2009/08/rare-jewel-of-christian-contentment_26.htmlhttp://reformedbookclub.blogspot.com/2009/08/rare-jewel-of-christian-contentment_27.html