The Tenth Commandment

This weekend at VCC Dave Workman finished the Summer of Love teaching series with a message that reflects the essence of the tenth commandment; the commandment being "You shall not covet" and the message being "Love Contentment". You should hear for yourself using the video link here. My purpose here is to reflect on what I heard because I have questions, of course.

I struggle with contentment; seemingly always have, and the subtitle of this blog suggests that someday I hope to overcome this apparent void in my life. My primary question as it relates to contentment in the circumstances of life has to do with God's will and his use of restlessness to communicate a change of scenery or a directive to travel a different path. Is it possible to be unnecessarily struggling with circumstances trying to find joy when the Holy Spirit is in fact using the un-joy to say "This is not for you or not for now"? Simply put, is it acceptable to covet contentment all the while searching for that satisfaction of being and doing exactly what God wants? Maybe it is not so simple. The message was good and timely considering my current feelings of restlessness. I just wonder if in the process of trying to keep the tenth commandment one could miss a message from God.

Questions that I do not have answers to often complicates the process. The redeeming factor in all of the wrestling, depression, doubt and fear is that it is better than the alternative. That alternative is to be clueless; rambling on in a wandering, dead end path without any knowledge and with much naivety. Being satisfied with second best and unfulfilled in purpose is a terrible thought. The intense struggle of finding those specifics seem like a high price to pay. I think I have worked myself up to the point that loving contentment seems much harder than not coveting. Something tells me that although Dave did not outright say that to love contentment is harder maybe the truth of the teaching is that exactly. This commandment, in truth, maybe about more than not desiring something that I do not have, but rather (or additionally) to love what I do have.

I will let you know if I figure anything out. Meanwhile, watch the video and comment your own take.