Content as Cats

Sometimes I just like to watch what’s happening around me and reflect on it. I’m sure I’m not alone. I know others who ‘people watch’ or ‘bird watch’ but I’m not just focused on people or animals. I like to look at the whole picture around me. I think we get a better understanding of our world when we simply watch and listen and observe.
And especially when we have a new experience or environment. For me, I’m learning all sorts of things about cats. Simply watching them helps me understand their behavior. Now, I had cats growing up, but they were barn cats, so I didn’t get to observe them regularly throughout the day. The cats I have now, however, give me a chance to see how they behave more of the time.
And what struck me this past week about my cats is how content they seem to be. My cats may be more docile than others because they let the kids tote them around like bags of flour, but I think most house cats are similar. And I started to wonder why they might appear so content to me. I thought about how their basic needs are met with consistent food and water, a safe environment and the availability of interaction (cat to cat and cat to human). And for a cat, maybe that’s enough.
But then I got to thinking about why I’m not content most of the time. I have all of my basic needs met, and even much more than I even need, but I don’t find contentment in my life all of the time. And that’s more than just worry and anxiety, but an actual longing for more in my life.
So, what makes me discontent in my life? Well, I think there’s a very good discontentment that we naturally have that we need to pay attention to, like discontentment with injustice or bad habits in our life. But what about financial contentment or relational contentment. Why do we always want more? I think part of it is the good discontentment leaks into the bad discontentment. But even more it’s about defining what we need. We know what’s out there. We know what we don’t have. And if we don’t define what we truly need, then we’ll always be searching for something more.
Paul writes to his protégé Timothy in 1 Timothy 6.6-8: “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” Paul defines contentment as food and clothing. I would say he is assuming our relationship with God and with others, but he keeps it pretty simple. So I pray we define what we truly need and, with God’s help, learn to be content with that. God bless.