{"id":477,"date":"2019-02-02T12:40:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-02T12:40:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=477"},"modified":"2019-02-02T12:47:50","modified_gmt":"2019-02-02T12:47:50","slug":"comparison-suffering-and-the-art-of-contentment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=477","title":{"rendered":"Comparison, Suffering and the Art of Contentment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Today I’m delighted to welcome Phil Knox<\/a>, who is head of mission to young adults for the Evangelical Alliance. He’s also a friend I’ve known for many, many years. Phil’s been kind enough to endorse my book, and here he shares some thoughts about contentment and about the book, Catching Contentment<\/a><\/em>.<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Childhood is an amazing and beautiful thing.<\/strong>\u00a0 My wife and I have just had our second child.\u00a0 To be fair she did most of the work, but Jos has arrived and he is amazing.\u00a0 But he has not got a clue what is going on.\u00a0 Ask him about Trump, Brexit, Premier League football or even what he wants for dinner and you will get the same blank stare and occasional smile.\u00a0 He is the epitome of innocence and ignorance.\u00a0 Our firstborn, Caleb is six.\u00a0 He cares a lot more about what he has for dinner, is football mad, but is pretty chilled on our relationship with the European Union.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we get older, our experiences and relationships open our eyes to the world around us.<\/strong>\u00a0 The veneer of innocence begins to wear and the veil of ignorance fades.\u00a0 As I think of my own childhood, it seems fairytale-like as I look back through nostalgic, misty eyed fondness.\u00a0 However, as I approached and entered adulthood, my eyes widened to perceive two things that threatened to pull the rug of childlike contentment.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first was comparison.\u00a0 <\/strong>We grew up on a council estate in a house that was big enough for our family of five and as a little boy you never contemplate what it would be like to move.\u00a0 Our family home was all I ever wanted.\u00a0 As I visited family and went to friends\u2019 houses from school I would see another world of spacious living rooms, long gardens and bigger TVs.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second was suffering.\u00a0<\/strong> Whilst comparison grew steadily, suffering hit me like a sledgehammer to the face.\u00a0 Until the age of 21 I had known little suffering.\u00a0 My grandparents had died, but they were old and I understood that death at old age was part of life.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t bullied, my parents didn\u2019t divorce and my football team never got relegated.\u00a0 But at 21, in a defining year of my life, my dad had a catastrophic heart failure and died suddenly aged 48.\u00a0 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comparison and suffering are enemies of contentment.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a world where our favourite online habit is social media\nwe spend hours voyeuristically spying on the lives of our friends and we cannot\nescape the inner monologue that repeatedly nags us to see how our happiness\nmatches up to theirs.  Our Facebook walls\non our smartphone have become the looking glasses we hold up to compare our\nlives to theirs and ask, \u2018Mirror, mirror on the wall, who\u2019s the fairest of them\nall?\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"

Photo by rawpixel<\/a> on Unsplash<\/a> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Our Facebook walls on our smartphone have become the looking glasses we hold up to compare our lives to theirs and ask, \u2018Mirror, mirror on the wall, who\u2019s the fairest of them all?\u2019 <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Comfort has been elevated to almost idol status.\u00a0<\/strong> Social awkwardness is avoided, we pursue financial stability and desire physical snugness.\u00a0 But when suffering unexpectedly comes and shatters our comfortable world we are surprised, cry foul and even hide it from those around us, because the narrative of our society is that you can have it all, when you want it, however you like it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this world we desperately need to rediscover the art, the\nstate and the discipline of contentment. \nYou might say we need to \u2018catch\u2019 it. \n<\/p>\n\n\nIn this world we desperately need to rediscover the art, the state and the discipline of contentment. You might say we need to \u2018catch\u2019 it. @PhilKnox reflects on #CatchingContentment by @LizCarterWriter\u00a0 <\/a><\/span>Share on X<\/a><\/span>\n\n\n

Liz Carter was my babysitter.\u00a0 <\/strong>Her parents led the church I grew up in through those years of ignorance and innocence.\u00a0 As I read her story, knowing only some of it in part, I could feel the struggle and wrestle she walks through fighting the narrative of our comfort-obsessed, comparison-driven society on one side and the un-Biblical, unhelpful Christian tendency to think that \u2018when you follow Jesus, everything will be fine,\u2019 on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We need a deep, holy dissatisfaction with the world that drives us to rail against injustice, proclaim the Good News from the roof tops and whisper it to our friends and daily cry, \u2018Thy Kingdom Come!\u2019\u00a0<\/strong> But we also need as deep a holy satisfaction with our own circumstances to quieten our moaning, fight our comparative spirit and ride the waves of pain and adversity in a world of brokenness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why \u2018Catching Contentment\u2019 is so important, why Liz\u2019s story is so authentic and why you should read it.<\/strong>\u00a0 Today, may you find discontentment with the world and let it fuel your prayers and action, but may you choose a childlike, counter-cultural contentment in a consumer-driven society.\u00a0 May you pray the famous old prayer for serenity for the things that you cannot change, courage to change the things you can, and wisdom to know the difference.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you so much to Phil, and I do echo this prayer for all of you as you read:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

May you choose a childlike, counter-cultural contentment in a consumer-driven society.  <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Follow Phil on Twitter @philknox<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today I’m delighted to welcome Phil Knox, who is head of mission to young adults for the Evangelical Alliance. He’s also a friend I’ve known…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[173,182,160,164,181,107,183,133,169],"class_list":["post-477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-catching-contentment","tag-childhood","tag-comparison","tag-contentment","tag-envy","tag-god","tag-kingdom","tag-prayer","tag-suffering"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8T2j8-7H","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":491,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=491","url_meta":{"origin":477,"position":0},"title":"Finding contentment in chronic illness","author":"liz","date":"February 12, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\"The other day I was speaking about my new book on a radio show. As part of the session, listeners were invited to call in and ask questions or comment on what they\u2019d heard. I found great resonance in what people were sharing about their own suffering. And then someone\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"brokenness\"","block_context":{"text":"brokenness","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?tag=brokenness"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DrewC0iWsAIgeh-.jpg-large.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DrewC0iWsAIgeh-.jpg-large.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DrewC0iWsAIgeh-.jpg-large.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":387,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=387","url_meta":{"origin":477,"position":1},"title":"Catching Contentment – Book Trailer","author":"liz","date":"October 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It's just over five weeks now until publication, and so much is happening - and so much remains to be done! I'd appreciate prayers over the next few weeks, particularly as I've just come out of a fairly nasty infection which laid me flat for 3 weeks or so, so\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"books\"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?tag=books"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/7Cu7Ua7FabM\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":484,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=484","url_meta":{"origin":477,"position":2},"title":"A few radio interviews…","author":"liz","date":"February 4, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"It's been a completely new, and somewhat daunting experience for me this last few weeks, as I've recorded a couple of radio interviews and a Podcast. I'm so thankful that all the presenters were so friendly and easy to talk to, but it was scary nonetheless. I still don't feel\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"catching contentment\"","block_context":{"text":"catching contentment","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?tag=catching-contentment"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DD-80-Liz-Carter-Catching-Contentment-600x600.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DD-80-Liz-Carter-Catching-Contentment-600x600.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DD-80-Liz-Carter-Catching-Contentment-600x600.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":442,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=442","url_meta":{"origin":477,"position":3},"title":"Catching Contentment – Giveaway!","author":"liz","date":"December 5, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It's almost a week since I came out of hospital, and I'm gaining a little strength every day, though it's taking much longer than I'd like. There were two things I wanted to do on publication day and couldn't, so I'm doing them now. Only 3 weeks late :) Both\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"catching contentment\"","block_context":{"text":"catching contentment","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?tag=catching-contentment"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/liz3-246x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1364,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=1364","url_meta":{"origin":477,"position":4},"title":"Unseen Miracles: Guest post by Rachel Yarworth","author":"liz","date":"January 25, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I'm delighted to welcome Rachel Yarworth to the blog to share some of her story. Rachel has written a wonderful, relatable book called Friend of God, which I found compelling and encouraging. What I particularly liked about the book is that Rachel is not afraid to be real: she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Book Reviews"","block_context":{"text":"Book Reviews","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?cat=175"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mock-00974.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mock-00974.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mock-00974.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mock-00974.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/mock-00974.png?fit=1200%2C960&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":551,"url":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?p=551","url_meta":{"origin":477,"position":5},"title":"This Stuff Works.","author":"liz","date":"April 8, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"The idea of religious belief can seem a strange old thing, can't it. We live in a time when we are equipped with so much knowledge about the way the world works and how we've evolved to get where we are. Some would say that there's no room for the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"catching contentment\"","block_context":{"text":"catching contentment","link":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/?tag=catching-contentment"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/20190406_092215-3.jpg?fit=653%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/20190406_092215-3.jpg?fit=653%2C460&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/20190406_092215-3.jpg?fit=653%2C460&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=477"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":483,"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477\/revisions\/483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}