I Can’t Get No Satisfaction: The Secret to Contentment

In the summer of 1965, The Rolling Stones released the song “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction,” landing them their first U.S. #1 hit. Just this week, the Gallup organization released the findings of a recent poll stating, “Satisfaction with the state of affairs in the United States has dipped to the 30% level.” 56 years after Mick Jagger and his fellow English rockers complained that they couldn’t get any satisfaction, we are still having trouble getting some today.

If you look up “satisfaction” in the dictionary, you’ll find this; satisfaction is the state of being content. So I guess that means The Rollings Stones could have just as easily sang, “I can’t get no contentment.”

If contentment is getting what we want, we’ll never be content. If it’s getting what we need, and the U.S. is the richest nation on the planet, you and I should be very content, but we’re not. The Apostle Paul said all we need to be content is food and clothing. Yes, there are some in our country who are lacking in these basic necessities, but I’m guessing those of you reading this have plenty of food and clothing.

If Gallup is right in their research, that only 30% are content, then that means 70% of us aren’t.

Benzodiazepines, a category of drugs that includes such members as alprazolam (Xanax), clonazepam (Klonopin), diazepam (Valium), and lorazepam (Ativan), that are prescribed for the management of anxiety disorders and panic disorders, are written by physicians about 21 million times per year.

Please understand, I think pharmaceuticals are wonderful. I am thankful for the breakthroughs in modern medicine that help us manage and cope with illnesses that not too many years ago, there was no treatment for. But might we be overdoing it a bit?

And what about those who don’t take benzodiazepines and choose self-medication? The Washington Post reported in 2017, that one in 8 adults (nearly 13% of the U.S. population) now meets the diagnostic criteria for alcohol use disorder. Another 4% suffer from a substance abuse (drug) disorder. Drug abuse and addiction cost American society more than $740 billion annually in lost workplace productivity, healthcare expenses, and crime-related costs.

Even though we are the most advanced civilization ever, we still can’t get the contentment we so greatly desire. I think we’ve blurred the lines between what really matters in life and what doesn’t; that is, what brings contentment and what doesn’t.

The Bible has much to say about contentment. Here are five of my favorites:

• I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:12-13
• But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 1 Timothy 6:6-7
• Trust in the Lordand do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.  Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Psalms 37:3-6
• My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
• You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Isaiah 26:3

If you’re experiencing a bit of smoldering discontent in your life, consider starting each day by prayerfully meditating on these five verses. Contentment is not getting what we want; it’s getting what we need. As Christ followers, we have the cure for the 70% who are not content. I’m reminded of that old hymn that gives us the perfect prescription for contentment:

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

You can’t get no satisfaction? Quit trying and start resting in the grace of Christ.

Play to win this week in the game that really counts!