I rarely read a book other than the Bible more than once.
Here’s one that I’m now reading for the fourth time: The Art of Divine Contentment, by Thomas Watson, a 17th-century Puritan pastor and author.
Four times . . . Really?
Yes, it is that good. I need to be reminded often of the Bible’s teaching on contentment.
We are commanded to be content. “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5).
I especially like Chapter 9, “How to Learn Contentment,” which contains 18 rules that show Christians how they can attain contentment. Here is Rule 10: “Often compare your condition.” Mr. Watson unpacks this principle by explaining five types of comparison that lead to a contented life. My favorite is comparison #1: “Let us compare our condition with what we deserve.”
Here are some of his comments on this biblical truth:
“If we have less than we desire, we have more than we deserve. For our mercies, we have deserved less. For our afflictions, we have deserved more. First, consider out mercies . . . What can we deserve? We live on free grace. . . Whatever we have is not merit, but bounty. The least bit of bread is more than God owes us. We can bring kindling to our funeral pyre, but we cannot add one flower to the garland of our own salvation. He who has the smallest mercy will die in God’s debt.”
Is this not what Scripture teaches?
David said it well. “He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10). If God did treat us as our sins deserve, where would we all be right now?
In hell. But where are we right now?
This simple yet profound comparison, when practiced regularly with an attitude of joyful gratitude for God’s abundant grace toward us, is one way to learn contentment.
NOTE: There are many editions of Watson’s book available online. The one I’ve been reading is an unabridged, modern English translation by Jason Roth. This book was originally published in 1660 and is regarded as a Christian classic. Books such as this can be hard to read. Unfamiliar vocabulary and sentence structure can obscure the original meaning. This updated version makes Watson’s 17th-century writing style more accessible to readers today.
It is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback here:
https://www.amazon.com/Art-Divine-Contentment-Modern-English-ebook/dp/B077XZ55G5/
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