Contentment in a Culture of “More”: Learning to Want What God Wants

Contentment in a Culture of “More”: Learning to Want What God Wants  

One of the most uncomfortable—and freeing—lessons God has been teaching me lately is contentment.

Not the Instagram version of “gratitude” with a latte and a sunset, but the deep, sometimes painful, reordering of my desires. The kind of contentment where you realize God might actually be asking you to live with less, trust Him more, and stop measuring your life by what you own, drive, or wear.

The lesson on contentment hasn’t been theoretical for me. It’s been sitting in my driveway.

The Whisper About Two Cars

When we moved here, one of the things we were excited about was the parsonage. It made sense: live there for a couple of years, grow the church, then eventually buy a house. That’s just the “normal” American trajectory, right?  

We’d owned a home before. We’d always had two cars. It never felt extravagant—it just felt standard.

About 18 months ago, I sensed God whisper something that I honestly didn’t want to hear:  
“Do you need two vehicles?”

I brushed it off. We’re busy. We have kids. Ministry is unpredictable. Two cars made life easier. Besides, who doesn’t have two cars?

Then my white Honda Accord literally caught on fire in our driveway. We bought another vehicle. That lasted about 12 months. Then both cars needed major repairs at the same time.

And the whisper would not leave:  
“Do you need two cars?”

Eventually, we sold both vehicles and bought one car.

It has been a very practical, very daily lesson in contentment. Shared schedules. Coordinated trips. Saying no to certain conveniences and accepting limits.

But also: a growing peace that we are living more in alignment with what God is asking of us, not just with what our culture assumes is normal.

What Is Contentment, Really?

Here’s a simple definition I’ve been sitting with:

Contentment: the state of being peacefully satisfied and accepting the present moment.

“Peacefully satisfied” doesn’t mean you never plan, grow, or change. It means your sense of worth and well-being isn’t tethered to getting the next thing, the bigger thing, the newer thing.

Which brings me to a commandment we rarely talk about, but which quietly exposes the rest.

The Commandment That Exposes Our Hearts

In Exodus 20, the last of the Ten Commandments says:

 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.  
 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox. 

In the original language, Moses chose the word hamad for "covet" and "want".  There is a reality of our desires. They reveal what’s going on in our hearts.  The 10th commandment impacts all of the other 9 commandments.  

The first Exodus Generation was given the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20.  Moses gave the 10 Commandments again to the second Exodus Generation, as recorded in Deuteronomy.  

Moses used the word hit’avah to describe the ‘covet,’ which means to crave.  

How do you determine if your desires, cravings, or wants are righteous? How do you know they are unrighteous?