3.19.2009

Subtraction, Not Addition

A Christian comes to contentment, not so much by way of addition, as by way or subtraction. That is his way of contentment, and it is a way that the world has no skill in. I open it thus: not so much by adding to what he would have, or to what he has, not by adding more to his condition; but rather by subtracting from his desires, so as to make his desires and his circumstances even and equal….

Now I say that a heart that has no grace, and is not instructed in this mystery of contentment, knows of no way to get contentment, but to have his possessions raised up to his desires; but the Christian has another way to contentment, that is, he can bring his desires down to his possessions, and so he attains…

The world is infinitely deceived in thinking that contentment lies in having more than we already have. Here lies the bottom and root of all contentment, when there is an evenness and proportion between our hearts and our circumstances…the root of contentment consists in the suitableness and proportion of a man’s spirit to his possessions, as evenness where one end is not longer and bigger than the other. The heart is contented and there is comfort in those circumstances.

- Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

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