Discontentment begins when focus shifts from Jesus Christ and His Kingdom to our problems and the details of life. It usually involves something we think we ought to have but do not, so we feel God has given us the short end of the stick. We imagine that more money, a bigger home, a better job, or better health would make us happy, so we become ungrateful, dissatisfied, and bored with spiritual things and God's purposes. This is the first step in a downward spiral: concentration on the problem, followed by contempt for it, contrivance to solve it, and finally being conformed to and controlled by the world rather than transformed into Christ's image. Left uncorrected, this leads to separation from God and spiritual death. Israel in the wilderness is the example, according to I Corinthians 10:6, 11. In Numbers 11 the people complained, craving the fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic of Egypt and scorning the manna. Yet manna was perfect, healthy, and varied food that God gave to discipline and train them (Deuteronomy 8:3-5), and it pictured Christ, the true Bread from heaven (John 6:32-35). Because they believed happiness came from cucumbers and garlic, they grew ungrateful for God's miraculous provision. Complaining is generally the first sign that our focus is on problems rather than on Christ. The remedy is to regain focus, remembering that God is always aware of our trials and never leaves nor forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5), even when it seems otherwise.

Discontentment is the restless, just-a-little-bit-more drive, called "affluenza," that Solomon exposes in Ecclesiastes 5:10: he who loves silver will not be satisfied with silver. The drive for more is not evil in itself, since God placed it in us, but it becomes a destructive craving when it runs out of control, and Satan stirs up the greed. It leads to window shopping for status, yearning for what cannot be afforded, debt, and slavery to lenders. Money cannot answer the deep human need for assurance, and wealth brings its own troubles: others consume it, and it robs the rich of sleep. Nor can wealth be taken beyond the grave, and it can vanish overnight, as Jesus' parable of the rich fool shows. Contentment is not natural. Paul had to learn it over years in a relationship with Christ, who proved faithful and whose grace is sufficient. The cure is therefore believing that God is faithful to supply every need. Practically, a person should work faithfully at the job he has rather than restlessly seeking something bigger. He should enjoy and thank God for what his labor provides rather than lament its meagerness, and accept both work and wages as God's gift. The ability to enjoy those blessings is also God's gift, so that life can be lived without regret.

God commands contentment in all things, grounded in His promise never to leave or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5), because contentment spares heartache and keeps us from breaking His commandments. Discontentment springs from the carnal nature and its clouded reasoning. Solomon saw that those who love silver or abundance are never satisfied (Ecclesiastes 5:10), so money and possessions cannot bring true happiness. We may enjoy them, but if they are all we pursue, we will never be content. Discontented people keep up with the neighbors, buy compulsively, sink into debt, and become slaves to credit. Discontent also breeds jealousy, ingratitude, and the loss of joy in a thoughtfully given gift. It is not only about possessions, as when a parent's insistence on grandchildren pushes children toward sin. Cain shows its deadly course: when God corrected his sacrifice, he refused to repent and let jealousy and rage drive him to murder. Instead, we must give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18), including trials and corrections that build godly character. Discontent began with Satan, who, proud of his beauty and position as a covering cherub, was no longer satisfied and tried to usurp God's throne (Ezekiel 28). He still broadcasts his discontent and ingratitude through the world (Ephesians 2:2) and led a third of the angels and all mankind into it. Even converted Christians who do not control their minds can fall into the same sin, which can lead to eternal damnation. Discontentment is a serious sin.

Discontentment is the root of refusing to join in festivities: a self-centered unwillingness to be happy with what God has given or with the blessings others receive. It began with Satan, who could not be content with the honor and authority God bestowed on him (Ezekiel 28:12-16). He wanted his own way, rebelled, and cut himself off from the joy of God's presence. Misplaced priorities distill down to one, self. Scripture shows the same attitude in Jonah, who understood God's mercy yet pouted in anger when Nineveh repented. It appears in Michal, whose pride and jealousy led her to despise David's joyful worship and left her barren. It appears in Israel, who griped about food, water, and leadership despite God's constant provision and so never entered the Promised Land. It also appears in the Pharisees, who rejected the way God presented the Messiah and attacked Him at every turn. The remedy is to accept that God has placed each person where He wants them (I Corinthians 12:18), to be content and humble with what He has given (I Timothy 6:6), and to rejoice when honor comes to others or to oneself (I Corinthians 12:26). Carnal-mindedness brings death, while spiritual-mindedness brings life and peace (Romans 8:6). Complaining about God's appointed Feast, its leaders, its site, or its provisions quenches the Spirit. God commands rejoicing in His Feast (Deuteronomy 14:26), so believers must choose to be festive like David rather than sullen like Jonah.

Discontentment, driven largely by covetousness, fuels the frantic pace of modern life. People determined to get ahead of their neighbors enter the rat race, keep up with the Joneses, and climb the ladder with a driving need for more. This pursuit pours time and energy into the cares of this world (Matthew 13:22) and breeds stress, fear of slipping behind, and cutthroat competition that tempts people to cut corners and take harmful chances. Remove covetousness and life would slow at once, because people would be content with themselves and with what God has given them. Their striving would aim at bettering themselves and reaching their full potential rather than at defeating competitors. Life's ramming-speed tempo is therefore not of God, who works steadily and patiently, not frenetically. The restless, confused, pulsating lifestyle also robs people of peace. God is the author of peace, not confusion (I Corinthians 14:33), and Christ gives a peace unlike the world's (John 14:27). The opposite of running to and fro is being still, and only in stillness can a person find real peace and come to know God.

Discontentment is the root from which coveting and envy grow, and it ends in destructive sin. Comparing ourselves with others makes us notice what we lack, and the dissatisfaction that follows becomes coveting, a desire for the thing. Coveting becomes envy, resentment toward the person who has what we want and think we should have. Envy can in turn lead to hatred and even murder. Jacob's family shows this. Leah and Rachel each envied what the other had, and their sons learned the pattern. Joseph's brothers, resentful that their father favored him, plotted to kill him. Satan is the origin of the pattern. He grew discontent with his position, coveted God's glory, and envied God's exaltation until it erupted in rebellion. Now he envies humans, who are destined to be co-heirs with Christ, and he plants mines of discontentment, covetousness, and envy in our minds. Envy ignores the sacrifice behind what others have achieved. It is rottenness to the bones (Proverbs 14:30), and it displaces love, because agape does not envy. The cure is contentment grounded in trust. Hebrews 13:5 says to be content with what we have, because God will never forsake us and will give what we need when we need it. Covetousness is idolatry, a lack of faith, and a sin against both God and neighbor. The wisdom from above is peaceable and merciful, while envy brings confusion and every evil thing (James 3).

Discontentment began with Satan, who broadcasts his unhappiness to humanity, so Christians must control their minds and resist it. It is especially dangerous for those who, like Satan, have been given so much: Christ's sacrifice, the Holy Spirit, and a place in God's Family. Ingratitude despises these gifts and risks eternal life. Discontentment works like a disease, subtly and slowly growing out of control, until we find ourselves doing what we once condemned in others. God's antidote is I Thessalonians 5:16-18: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in everything. A mind busy with gratitude leaves no room for discontent, and thanksgiving reveals that all things work together for good for those who love God (Romans 8:28). Facing disappointment is a constant choice between accepting it and moving on or sinking into discontent. A dashed travel plan, met with a refusal to be discontented, later became a means of helping others and bringing blessings, whereas giving in would have blocked God's will. Discontentment is a sin. It spreads through careless words that hurt others, and it breeds marital trouble, adultery, jealousy, lust, pride, hatred, coveting, and even the world's wars and quarrels. Giving thanks in everything is a command, not a suggestion, and failing it fails a test of faith. Since God's Kingdom will be a time of continual rejoicing and thanksgiving, no one who has not overcome discontent will be admitted, because it would spoil the atmosphere and relationships there, and Christ cannot be sacrificed a second time (Hebrews 10:26). Especially in unstable times, Christians must keep their focus on becoming like Christ and on their calling as kings and priests (Revelation 5:10), learning, as Paul did, to be content in any situation (Philippians 4:11).

Discontentment is universal, and its core problem is the belief that life has been unfair, that others are better off, and that God Himself has dealt unjustly. Israel's complaint in Ezekiel 18, "The way of the Lord is not fair," shows this resentful attitude, while God answers that it is Israel's ways that are unfair. Even in an affluent nation, people never seem to have enough money, house, car, or perfect spouse and friends, and they are inwardly miserable for lack of internal contentment. Circumstances do not create discontent; people do, and each decides whether to be content. Discontentment is exhausting, much like the fatigue of resisting the world and Satan. It solves nothing: impatience produces no good fruit, solves no problems, fulfills no desires, and supplies no needs. Even a catastrophe like 9/11 did not wake people from it, as many accused God of unfairness and denied that national sin played a part. The remedy is work, not apathy. Paul, though naturally as prone to impatience as anyone and enduring beatings, shipwrecks, stoning, hunger, and imprisonment, learned contentment through faith that God is just and fair in everything He allows. True contentment is a deep, permanent state of mind, grounded in godliness, repentance, and obedience, and strengthened through Christ.

Wicked people will not have any contentment or tranquility. Outward peace hides inner turmoil and discontent. People war with themselves in conflict with what is right and with their own ignorance. There is a conflict of conscience and weakness that allows actions a stronger conscience would forbid. Man's manic search for identity reveals discontent and immaturity as well as foolishness found in ignorance and rebellion.