The 911 Handbook Study Guide Answers
© 2000 Kent Crockett
Lesson 3/Chapter 3
When You Are Discontented: May I Change Seats, Please?
Answers are written in italics
Contentment-Deficit Disorder isn't a real disorder, but simply a scapegoat on which to blame our restlessness. Name several ways discontentment is manifested.
Restlessness, complaining, continually thinking about quitting your job, moving to a new location, changing spouses, envy toward others.
Because crabs are nearly everywhere, it's easy to be seated next to a crab. Listed below are four things when seated next to one.
First, Accept the fact that God has given you an assigned seat.
Read Philippians 4:11-12. Paul wrote this passage while in a Roman prison. He said he learned how to be content. Was there a time when he didn't know how? If so, how did he learn it?
Yes, there was a time when he didn't know it. God taught him how to be content. Paul learned how frustrated he could be by not trusting God to control his life.
Paul said he learned the secret of being content. Name some facts about secrets.
Secrets are "inside" information. It's not common knowledge to everyone.
Very few people know secrets--and few people know the secret of being content.
Secrets are shared with people who can be trusted with the information.
Paul believed God assigned him a seat in prison. What does this say about God's control of our circumstances?
It means that God is control of our circumstances, even when bad things happen to us.
How does our view of circumstances influence our contentment?
If we believe God is in ultimate control of our circumstances, then we don't have to worry or become restless.
Second, Learn to coexist with the crab.
Why does the grizzly bear choose to coexist with the skunk?
Because sometimes it is better to get along than create a stink.
What can we learn from this example?
There are lots of circumstances that are better to accept than change.
How can fighting your crab make your situation worse?
The person can bring others into the fight. Sometimes we don't understand the consequences until later.
Discuss some ways God is using the crab in your life.
God teaches me to be more patient and love those who are unlovely.
If your crab is a person, what is the attitude we should have toward him or her? (Luke 6:32).
We must show love and kindness to the crab.
Third, Realize changing seats does not solve the problem.
Myth #1: "If I could be with someone else, then I would be happy."
Single people want to change seats and get married, while married people want to change seats and be single again. Discuss how people have illusions of what life will be like "on the other side of the fence."
Every person has faults, which aren't discovered until after the person has been known for a while.
Discuss the statement, "Discontentment is an internal problem, not an external one."
Discontentment is a restless inside which is difficult to please. It has more to do with perception than it does reality.
Myth #2: "If I could just go somewhere else, then I would be happy."
Why does the grass always look greener somewhere else?
We usually don't discover the weeds until we get to the other side of the fence. It is an illusion to think there is a problem-free environment.
Myth #3: "If I could just get something else, then I would be happy."
Read 1 Tim. 6:17. If God has given us all things to enjoy, what keeps people from enjoying things?
Enjoyment is determined not so much by the value of the object as it is our attitude toward that object. You may not appreciate a glass of water unless you have been a desert for a while.
Why must we first be happy with what we already have before we can enjoy the new things we receive?
An ungrateful person will always be ungrateful (no matter how nice the present he receives) because of his sour attitude.
If we aren't happy with what we already have, why won't we be happy with new things?
Our negative attitude taints whatever it comes in contact with. If you put clean clothes to dirty water, the clothes doesn't make the water clean, but the water makes the clothes dirty. If we aren't happy with what we have now, we have a "dirty" attitude.
Fourth, Don't allow the crab to ruin your trip.
What does it mean to "enjoy the trip"?
Enjoy life to the fullest, not matter what circumstances we face.
How can a crab keep us from enjoying the trip through life?
If we let the crab get to us and take away our joy, peace, and contentment, we have allowed the crab to ruin our trip.
What can we do to keep the crab from ruining the trip?
Make up our minds and determine in our hearts to not to let the crab steal our joy. Be thankful, rather than complaining about our circumstances.