JAMES TOEWS
The secret

There is nothing like a good secret to get our attention. A locked door, a letter marked “Confidential”, a passage with a hidden entrance, a whispered conversation – all draw our attention with the power of a black hole. The old proverb, “Curiosity killed the cat”, says far less about cats than it does about us as human beings.

One of the most famous secrets is the “secret” of contentment. The quest for contentment has preoccupied humanity since the beginning of time, and countless years and fortunes have been spent on the search.

The quest for contentment is so deep because it is driven by more than one source. The most obvious source of the drive for contentment is calamity. In the Bible, the entire book of Job is committed to one man’s search for contentment in the face of disaster. Job’s plaintive cries have been echoed for thousands of years: “Sighing comes to me instead of food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil” (Job 3:24-26 the Bible). For Job, like many of us, the search for peace is driven by personal tragedy.

A less obvious but no less desperate search comes from an entirely different source. Amazingly, prosperity also drives the search for contentment. One of the most famous such quests in modern times came in the 1960s. At the peak of their popularity as rock musicians, the Beatles set out on a search for contentment. Their search went in many different directions but eventually led them to an ashram in India. They floated back to the West wearing saffron robes, listening to sitar music and chanting mantras. For a time, it seemed like the whole world had concluded that the secret of contentment could be found on the mountaintops of the Himalayas.

Thirty years have passed since the Beatles’ quest, and with the Western discovery of Eastern “contentment” has come the Eastern discovery that, properly packaged and marketed, the “secret” of contentment sells very well indeed. The gurus of the East have successfully blended with the promoters of Wall Street and Hollywood and now are indistinguishable from all the other salesmen of happiness.

The secret of contentment remains the best marketing hook in history and continues to be exploited mercilessly by booksellers, automakers, motivational speakers and toothpaste manufacturers. One does not have to be a hardened cynic to suspect that, in fact, the “secret” has not been discovered and that the marketers are simply exploiting human desperation in the same way that promises of miracle cures are sold to those dying of cancer.

But what if this “secret” was in fact revealed long ago? What if it was accessible to anyone who truly wanted it? What if it was equally available to rich or poor, to wise or simple, to those at the very top and those at the very bottom of the social orders of society?

In fact, nearly 2000 years ago, a Christian named Paul made an amazing claim: “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” (Philippians 4:12, the Bible). Paul claimed to have learned the secret of contentment regardless of the fickle circumstances of life. This is an amazing claim!

So what is that “secret”? It is the “secret” which Jesus Christ spent His lifetime delivering and which He commissioned His followers to proclaim around the world. The “secret” is that the Creator of the universe wants access to our lives, that the Creator wants to restore our relationship with Him, a relationship damaged by years of misuse. A life given to God is the path which leads to contentment.

So why does this “secret” appear hidden? Perhaps a freely offered gift has too little to offer to the salesmen of the world. Perhaps it is more convenient to climb the Himalayas than to reconcile with God. Perhaps discontent has become so natural that leaving its bondage is frightening.

The fact remains nevertheless: The “secret” was revealed 2000 years ago, and Jesus’ words still go out to any who will listen, “Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29, the Bible).