We don’t need to choose between having contentment or having vision. We can have both, as long as they remain in balance. We have to look at the whole account of God’s Word and realize that He gave us the doctrines of both contentment and vision, and He obviously wants us to have both in our lives. The problems occur when we are out of balance. The problems occur when we view the dynamic as a mutually exclusive choice – either/or.

Contentment

First, contentment acts as a restrain on vision – a check and balance, if you will. A lack of contentment unleashes vision and drive to become something it should not be. When we are not satisfied in Christ, we feel the need to do more, prove more, achieve more at no end – we must always have “more”. Think “work-a-holic” type situations.

I grew up a big NASCAR racing fan. I would watch almost eve-ry race on Sunday afternoon in-between Sunday morning and Sunday evening church services. I have distinct memories of sit-ting in the church parking lot, listening to the final laps of a race, and then racing in myself to the building to make it on time for the worship service. One of the most exciting types of racing to watch (or listen to!) is what they call “restrictor plate” racing. A restrictor plate or air restrictor is a device installed at the intake of an engine to limit its power. In layman’s terms, it’s a metal plate with some holes in it, that when installed, prevents some airflow into the engine, thus reducing power and therefore speed. The main goal of a restrictor plate is to limit the cars from reaching speeds above 200mph. The engines on these cars are so powerful, that if left unchecked on a large track like Daytona Speedway in Florida, the results would be really fast – and really dangerous. While the engine still operates as it should in a restric-tor plate race, it’s controlled for the environment that it’s in.

In the same way, without contentment, the engine of vision is unrestrained. Contentment is the restrictor plate for vision. Left unchecked, vision and drive will leave much destruction in their wake. As an example from everyday life, a “workaholic” has very little contentment, by definition. Yes, they enjoy what they do and take pleasure in their work many times, but they are never satisfied. They are always looking for more, always feeling the need to achieve more. In short, their vision has lost its restrictor plate somewhere along the way.

King Solomon had something to say about this kind of person:

Unless the Lord builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the Lord guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.
Psalm 127:1-2

What this verse teaches is that there is a point of diminishing returns when it comes to our work, and this tipping point is Di-vinely appropriated. When we are not resting and content in Christ, we labor in vain. When we work without stopping, we are trying to build the house our self, and we are not trusting the Lord to take what we have worked for and multiply it. God’s de-sire is for us to have periods of rest, periods of sabbath. When we ignore that, we violate His principles and His Word. It turns out that it is useless to work overly long hours at all. God will care for us, and thus, we should be able to work hard, and then rest contently.

Hard Work Required

Now please don’t misunderstand. I do believe in hard work. God also says this:

If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat. For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly manner, not working at all.
2 Thessalonians 3:10-11

But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8

God wants us to work hard – to run our engines at full capacity. But He also reminds us that we are running on the super-speedway called life, and we need to run with the restrictor plate of contentment in mind.

Vision

On the other side of the coin, a lack of vision makes contentment an idol. We can be tempted to use contentment as an ex-cuse to avoid hard work. That’s out of balance.

God clearly wants us to have vision, to work toward goals, to pursue a better future. Vision is Godly – a part of godliness. God is the Creator; God has a vision and plan for your life. And to be like Him means to do the same – to have a vision.

The key is the balance – to have this vision together with contentment. Vision acted upon from a heart of contentment is God’s ideal for us.

This post is a part of a series of posts that are excerpts from my book “Finding Your Midpoint: Locating the Balanced Positions for Your Life and Ministry” – available on Amazon or wherever books are sold.