Today we frequently hear that people are plagued by anxiety, insecurity, depression, and even suicidal thoughts. The one condition that underlies them all is discontentment. Whatever we yearn for in our lives, in essence what we really long for is to be content in whatever circumstance we find ourselves. That's what the Puritan Thomas Watson writes about in this slim volume.
This book is not be confused with “The Rare Jewell of Christian Contentment” by Jeremiah Burroughs, another excellent Puritan treatment on this topic. Be assured that the Puritans are not as difficult to read as you might expect. Some writers from that era are more difficult than others, but Watson is one of the easiest to read. He is clear; writes in short sentences; often uses common, every-day illustrations to make his point (discontentment is like a drop or two of vinegar that sours a whole glass of wine-p.26); and employs vivid imagery to make his point, as when he discusses God's ways with the proud: "He has no better way with them than to brew them a cup of wormwood." (p.75).
Watson advances so many attractive reasons to seek contentment that you will come away with no higher goal in life than to shake off your grumbling and complaining. At its root, discontentment is just boiled over pride. "The discontented person thinks everything he does for God is too much, and everything God does for him is too little." (p.84). And, "he who is little in his own eyes will not be troubled much to be little in the eyes of others." (p.14).
Consider also the practical benefits of contentment: a person would be highly celebrated who had a remedy for the problem of poverty, but Watson suggests another approach – seek to be content with what you have! (p.58). Our real trouble is not our circumstances, but our discontented hearts. "It is not the water outside the ship, but the water that gets within the leak which drowns it. It is not our outward affliction that can make the life of a Christian sad; a contented mind would sail above these waters." (p.27)
Watson sometimes repeats himself, and seems to occasionally lack pastoral sensitivity. For instance, to the parent who lost a child, he writes, "If he (the child) was rebellious, you have not so much parted with a child as with a burden." (p.32). Wow. That sounds pretty cold. Makes me wonder if Watson had ever lost a child himself. He was apparently imprisoned for a short time, however, so he did know some measure of his own hardship, but this particular thought might have been better kept to himself.
All books need to be read critically, even those by the Puritans, but Christians today would benefit from reading more of these great saints, not less. I came away from this book with a greater desire to fight for contentment, since it is one of the greatest Christian virtues.