Leaders deal decisively with discontentment
Discontentment is a feeling of unhappiness and dissatisfaction with what you have. When there is a group of discontented people, pray not to be a leader of such.
Are you a leader? Do you have discontented followers with you? It is time to deal with this canker and save what you have.
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As a leader you must constantly monitor the level of contentment or discontentment of your followers at all times.
Happy and contented people are a joy to work with. Imagine a group of happy and pleased people.
Would it not be a joy to work with them? People who are content will go to great lengths to give of their best.
I want to work with people who are thrilled, captivated, charmed and enraptured by their job with me in the ministry. Do not be happy to lead a group of dissatisfied people!
Ways to deal with discontentment
Give good salaries and wages and be confident that those you lead are getting something good.
If people are generally not receiving enough remuneration, they have a genuine cause to be discontented.
Within the limits of your context, give people a good remuneration. Those who follow you must not only be hopeful for the future. They should also be satisfied now.
If you are the manager of a company, ask yourself whether your workers are happy in the now. It is nice to have flowery promises for the future, but what about now?
Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and followed thee. And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that have left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospels, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. Mark 10:28
Jesus not only promised blessings for the future; He also offered contentment and satisfaction for the now! He promised His disciples lands, houses and prosperity for the now as well as eternal life for the future.
If you want to be a successful manager, offer something now and have a promise for the future. That was the strategy of Jesus.
Thank God for the promises of the future. But remember that people want something now as well!
Teach about contentment
Teaching is a good tool to change the way a person thinks. Teaching the Word of God fights the deception that comes from Satan. Remember that teaching will always heal the curable traces of discontentment in your organisation.
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 1 Timothy 6:8
When a leader teaches his followers about contentment, they are likely to see that they have enough. This may solve the problem of discontentment and cure the disease of covetousness in them.
Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Hebrews 13:5
Recognise incurable discontentment and dismiss those affected
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. Psalm 1:1
There are some people who love money so much that nothing you do for them will ever be satisfactory. You must be able to pick those out. And remember not to engage in a battle you will not win.
He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase...
Ecclesiastes 5:10
Discontent, gratitude
Discontent people receive high salaries and great benefits but do not show any gratitude. When they receive an extra bonus or gift, they just make some unintelligible remark such as, “I’ll take it like that!”
In other words, “It’s not good enough but I’ll manage!” I once had some employees who were constantly grumbling about their salaries. I discerned that they were suffering from incurable discontentment.
One day, I called them up and said to them, “I think you people are not happy with your salaries.” I asked my administrator to sort out a nice settlement package for them and then we sent them off. After some months of being in the secular labour market, one of them came back to me and said, “I now realise that when I was with you, I had one of the best jobs in the country.” I was glad that this revelation had finally come.
Some people are cured of their discontentment only after experiencing the realities of life.
Let us pray that our leaders will know how to deal with discontentment and that contentment will be sown in our individual hearts!
The writer is the founder of the Lighthouse Group of churches
E-mail: [email protected]