Are You Being Manipulated Witout Even Knowing It?

It is amazing to me that in this culture that has more than any other culture that has preceded it, we are more focused now than ever on being taken for granted, deceived, swindled, or simply being "trapped" in a relationship that "goes bad." Our divorce rates tell the tale. With divorce rates at or above 50%, we appear to be drifting ever further from any sense of real fulfillment.

Advertisers, salespeople, politicians, and yes even family members have learned something about the human condition that they repeatedly take advantage of. The Bible teaches that one is responsible to "Above all else, guard [one's] heart, for it is the wellspring of life. " This passage has often been used as a warning against unhealthy relationships, such as, for example, believers dating nonbelievers. While this application is certainly consistent with the larger context,, there is a dynamic that is often missed about guarding our hearts that rarely gets addressed. Not only do we need to protect ourselves from potentially destructive relationships and ideas,we also need to protect ourselves from destructive attitudes, especially unthankfulness and fleshly motivated discontentment. Notice I said fleshly discontentment. Not all discontentment is inherently evil, at times God even encourages discontentment as with the church at Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3:17-19:

You say, 'I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.' But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent.

This passage shows how Jesus himself encouraged a form of discontentment to combat the spiritual apathy that have plagued the that Laodicean church.

Even though there are times when God encourages discontentment to bring us to a new level of maturity in him, discontentment is the exception rather than the rule. Moreover, even in times of spiritual desert, we are called to live a life of thankfulness. Additionally, God calls us to be satisfied with the things we have (Hebrews 13:5).

When we closely examine the context of the original sin that occurred in the Garden of Eden, it becomes readily apparent that the serpent successfully sowed seeds of discontent within the First Couple. He successfully convinced them that the very God who had given them a paradise in which to live and prosper was actually holding something back. This deception ultimately lead to their sin and expulsion from paradise into a life of continual hardship. They had been deceived. What is especially significant is not simply that they were deceived, but HOW they were deceived. Satan successfully planted seeds of unwarranted discontent and ingratitude to work his destructive agenda.

Each day the American heart is bombarded by hundreds of messages. Most of these messages contain some element that is inherently designed to cultivate some form of discontentment so that we will buy the product, service, or even candidate being offered us. Sometimes these messages need to be taken seriously because they facilitate legitimate discontent that we need to experience in order to move us to where God wishes to take us next. More often however, I observe the opposite problem: our unwarranted, fleshly motivated, discontent is moving us away from the place of blessing God has for us in favor of the false promises that Satan offers with the partaking of "forbidden fruit."

The real question each of us needs to address is simply this: How does one accurately distinguish between Godly discontent and Satanic discontent? On the surface, the answer might seem complicated. Actually, it is quite simple. Discontentment that is motivated by God will facilitate the growth of our own personal character and will not focus on the weaknesses and shortcomings of others.Godly discontentment comes with specific instructions for growth and not falter for attacking others. By contrast, those who would seek to knowingly or unknowingly lead us down wrong paths will always emphasize what somebody else did or is doing wrong instead of focusing on what we can do to make something better. True leaders encourage us to be better people ourselves. Politicians and showman spend their time focusing on what others have not done for you, just like Satan accused God of doing with Adam and Eve!

The next time you hear an ad, see a billboard, or see a campaign speech, ask yourself this question: is this product, service, or person (as in the case of a politician), encouraging me to be a better person, or is it merely encouraging me to attack the status quo in favor of what is being offered. Not all discontentment is bad, but a lot of it is. When God is motivating it, it will make us better and not bitter. Who or what is shaping your life, and what attitudes are these things fostering in you? Are you truly thankful for the good things in your life,or just angry and unhappy? God's discontentment will not facilitate unthankfulness. We might want to think about that before the next election as well. Just a thought.