CONTENTMENT

An old saying goes: “The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything.” A happy person submits to God, knowing whatever they are given by God is the best for them (11:86). By appreciating what they have instead of worrying about what someone else has, they find happiness in God’s blessings upon them.

God tells us, the more we thank Him, the more He gives us (14:7). This is true in both this world and the next. The more we appreciate God’s blessings, the more our souls grow. The more our souls grow, the happier we become.

On the other hand, people who do not believe in God and the Last Day become preoccupied with this world. Their glass is always half empty, and they do not see or appreciate what they have. Being unappreciative leads to worldly loss.

[16:112]  GOD cites the example of a community that used to be secure and prosperous, with provisions coming to it from everywhere. But then, it turned unappreciative of GOD’s blessings.

Consequently, GOD caused them to taste the hardships of starvation and insecurity. Such is the requital for what they did.

And from the spiritual dimension, those whose souls are not content spend  their lives worrying about worldly gain. They end up forgetting God and their soul.  If this life is our priority, we receive our share here (Quran 2:200, 42:20), but lose the Hereafter. The unhappy stories of some of the richest people in the world tell us that this life does not bring happiness. If a man’s heart is not content, the riches of this world will not help him. Instead of appreciating what God gave him, he will want more and more (Quran 74:12-15). There will always be a void in his life, something missing.

Both the Quran and the Bible remind us to put God as our priority.

[1 Timothy 6:17] Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to

put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

Rearranging Our Priorities

[18:46] Money and children are the joys of this life, but the righteous works provide an eternal recompense from your Lord, and a far better hope.

What do our efforts in this world yield? We work very hard going to school, doing homework, taking tests—to get degrees, all so that we can find a job that lasts for how long? 50 years? 100 years? Quran 18:46 says righteous works provide an eternal recompense. Since this life goes on for 50-100 years and the Hereafter goes on eternally, for infinity, then we should be putting in that ratio of effort for each. Mathematically any number 50, 100 or even 1000 divided by infinity is zero. Logically, we should be spending zero time for this life, and all our time seeking God and the Hereafter. This is why being appreciative is truly for our own good.

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