Exercise 9

EXERCISE NINE

Using it

A Study in Contentment

by Ron Wilkins

“But now you must complete the doing of it” are words penned by the Apostle Paul when he wrote to Christians who stood by ready to give. (II Cor, 8:11) James wanted those who he addressed to be “doers of the Word,” not hearers only. Learning how to be content in every state is a fine thing; doing it is even better. Teaching others to do it is as good as it gets. This is a powerful method and there are many ways it can be used.

“Every Statement Contentment” is a way of life. The method used to obtain it is a gift of God through His inspired Word. By this method pain carriers can learn to be pain processors and live their lives free of distress. Just as Paul said. “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed.” Trouble will come, but the emotional pain that comes with it can be processed using the master skills and the method taught in this series. Use it to obtain contentment, maintain contentment, live contentment, and teach contentment to others.

This method works every time it is used. God designed it to do the job and to do it effectively. It is personal. It is designed for our individual use. It is our super weapon. It is our tools and our skills which God has given us to use to achieve success. But unless we use it we will most certainly lose it.

Use it to restructure flawed thinking. Better still, use it to prevent flawed thinking. Learn to use it consistently in the first step of human behavior. Not just once in a while when the pain won’t go away, but use it every time the four steps to human behavior occur, and they occur hundreds of times in a day. Learn to live out Hebrews 5:14 “who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Healthy thinking is always good, accurate and assertive. Flawed thinking is always based on the evil of error. Learn to discern.

Napoleon Hill’s twenty year research into the Science of Success revealed that only two percent of Americans think accurately on a consistent basis. Join the two percent club and become on of the ‘few there be who find it.” Be one of the “few there be” who use it enough to live it. Live the “way of peace.” Use it to shut down the behavior cycle dead in its tracks. Stop the cycle, and the wheat shifting of Satan comes to a screeching halt. Use the method of the “way of peace” to stop the cycle before it has a chance to advance to the second step. The cycle is like a truck, once it starts rolling on a down hill run, it can’t be stopped.

Use the “way of peace” to repair the damage that slowly occurred down through the years of unprocessed emotional pain. Accurate thinking turns flawed thinking into strong, healthy thoughts. The kind of thoughts that turn the unfair fight around to victory. Accurate thinking

and assertiveness are power tools in repairing the spiritual damage that slowly erodes the soul. Drawing near to God that he may draw near is a fantastic experience...try doing it through the advantage of accurate thinking, assertiveness and high listening skills. Drawing near to God with healthy thinking will mow down any old habit of behavior, no matter how entrenched or solidified it is.

Use the way of peace to defuse high anger situations in the lives of self and others. Don’t just ask what Jesus would do, live out what Jesus would do. He used it and they dropped their stones, silenced their accusations and even fell back on the ground before Him. Use it as the servant of Naaman did to help someone else gain a victory by helping them restructure their flawed thinking and lower their anger enough to do the right thing. People will take the right action if they are not blinded by pain or anger.

Use it to take away your pain as well as your neighbor’s who lives across the street, next door, or in another town. Everyone has heavy issues of emotional pain they have not been able to process. Neighbors, friends and family may not discuss “religion” with you, but they will tell you about their emotional pain. If you are in a position to teach them to take their pain away, they will also be willing to listen to what the Bible teaches. Jesus took away the pain of the people and they listened to every word He said. They came to believe what they once would have stoned Him for. What is your image of a “personal worker?” Is it a frail little man in a black suit holding a religious tract preparing to have the door slammed in his face? Try switching it to your sitting at a table with the very neighbor you enjoy the most. Dressed in comfortable clothes and sipping coffee or tea while you teach him how to take his pain away. Jesus took their pain away first then they gladly listened to Him. Follow His pattern.

Teaching people to be content by removing their emotional pain will open doors that the most carefully written tract can never do. Does this mean we should avoid teaching book, chapter and verse? Absolutely not. It means the door must be opened if book, chapter and verse is going to be taught. We need to learn how to open doors instead of looking for doors that are already open. Following the pattern the Lord put before us is as valid as any book, chapter and verse.

Use the “way of peace” to form strong bonds, and heal damaged relationships that are torn apart by hurtful words and actions. Let the healing begin by listening to what is hurting the hearts of the those who God puts before you. Allow your empathy to be expressed in refreshing words of hope and good news. Remember, the word “Gospel” means “good news.” When friends, neighbors, family and new acquaintances are hurting show them the good news message so they can learn to stop the hurting by adopting God’s way for removing emotional pain. Minister to them until they too have the method down pat, and encourage them to teach others also.

Clayton Pepper cried out down through his long years that every aspect of the church should be an outreach ministry. What could possibly be a better ministry than teaching those needing help to take away their pain? What could possibly work better than following the pattern the Lord put before us? He took their pain away, and then he taught

them what they needed to learn. They gladly received His words, even about things they would otherwise have refused to hear. They were so thankful for having their pain taken away that they heard Him gladly. Follow the pattern, teach those who God places in your presence how to take away their pain, and gain both their confidence and the opportunity to teach them what the Bible has to say about important subjects. Don’t just ask what Jesus would do.. do what Jesus would do.

Pain carriers who learn to be pain processors go from sitting on the bench to the playing field. They get out of the pew and into the thick of the battle. Reflect on the parable of the talents; preserving the doctrine of Jesus is a high motive, but it doesn’t win the world for Christ. Yearn to learn that you might...EARN.

ASSIGNMENT

1. Describe a situation you have been in where you could have used your knowledge of how to remove emotional pain to help someone else remove theirs.

2. List three thinking errors you observed in them that prevented them from thinking accurately.

3. List three things they could have done to reduce their pain.

QUESTIONS

1. How is the behavior cycle like a truck?

2. Why must we satisfy all five areas of human endeavor to be content?

3. How can the “way of peace” open doors?

4. How can the “way of peace” form strong bonds?

5. How can the “way of peace” defuse high anger situations?

TRUE or FALSE

1. “Every State Contentment” is a way of life.

2. The word Gospel means “good news.”

3. Drawing near to God is not necessarily fantastic?

4. Jesus was only concerned with the spiritual aspects of man, not his physical.

ANSWERS FOR EXERCISE EIGHT

1. Though faith and the learning process.

2. Having the faith that contentment can be learned.

3. Emotional pain that won’t go away.

4. Believing that it can be done and the fear of shame.

5. Too many distractions.

TRUE or FALSE: 1. (F) 2, (F), 3. (T), 4. (T), 5. (F)