Content or Complacent?

I’ve come to realize that motivation is the difference between being content or being complacent. According to Merriam Webster, Contentment is the state of being happy and satisfied and Complacency is a feeling of being satisfied with how things are and not wanting to try to make them better.

There are aspects of my life that I would like to improve. As of late, I’ve started analyzing this inventory of ‘needs improvement’ by deciding if I’m content or complacent with it. Once I started really looking at each item, I noticed there were some things that I had to question why they were on the list. I once heard someone say, we spend too much time trying to please people who don’t really care about you. Why is that? Now that I’m in the 40 club, I’m proud to say, for the most part, I’ve learned not to waste energy on what ‘they say.’ However, I’m human. In my first post, “Will I Ever Catch Up? ,’ I talked about my desire to be a better Pastor’s Wife.

Now here’s the thing, I want to be me. I’m good with me. In my humble opinion, being authentically you is the greatest gift you can give to the world. If GOD wanted us to be like one another, then HE would have made us all the same. And…that would be incredibly boring. This is where it gets a little slippery – being ‘me’ sometimes fight with what I believe the role of a Pastor’s wife should be. Pastor John preached about motives this past Sunday. It got me thinking about what really is my motive for wanting to morph into what I believe a Pastor’s wife should be. Is it to please others or to please GOD?

Ok, so what do I believe a Pastor’s wife should be? Here’s a short list: compassionate, selfless, helpful, loving, approachable, ready to embrace all GOD’s children, gracious, kind, ability to share wisdom without judgment, etc. Being all these things, ALL the time, comes with heavy responsibility. Because, Lord forbid, if you’re having a bad day and you’re not presenting your best self…whew… let’s just say, ‘church folk’ can be brutal. A good friend of mine said’ We don’t allow people to be human’. Shout out to CA! Truth be told, as Christians, we should all strive to exhibit these characteristics – Pastor’s wife or not.

I had to get real with myself. I’m not all those things ALL the time. The question is – am I content or complacent with it? I don’t know. I’m still trying to figure it out.

FINAL WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT – Galatians 1:10(NIV) Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Not satisfied? Ask yourself why.

Be Encouraged! Be Blessed!

  this Pastor’s Wife