Inspired by the nineteenth-century showman P.T. Barnum (of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus), the 2017 musical The Greatest Showman tells the story of a man on a mission for fame. Ambitious and relentless, Barnum rises from the depths of poverty to unimaginable heights of worldwide sensation. But this is no common rags-to-riches story. Not satisfied with extraordinary success, Barnum craves more. At the height of his fame, Barnum gambles everything to use a famous opera star to satisfy his critics. Capturing the true irony of Barnum’s desires, the opera singer’s capstone ballad is the repetitive and haunting cry of “never enough,” which serves as a commentary on Barnum’s insatiable hunger and eventual downfall. “Towers of gold are still too little,” she sings. “These hands could hold the world but it’ll never be enough.”

This story and song resonate because they undoubtedly echo the common cry of the human heart. Ever since Eve desired more and succumbed to the temptation of the serpent, discontentment has plagued our world. The Barnum of The Greatest Showman is undoubtedly paradigmatic of twenty-first-century America. Never before has there been so much excess coupled with such widespread dissatisfaction. How much is enough? “Just a little bit more,” John D. Rockefeller famously quipped. Even if we resist this common ethos of our age, we’re still bombarded with advertising that tries to convince us that what we have now is, indeed, never enough.

How, then, does the gospel of Jesus Christ speak to this common quest for more? The tenth commandment, “You shall not covet” (Ex. 20:17), gets right to the heart of this matter. Westminster Shorter Catechism 147 identifies the duties required here as a “full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his.” With this we see both a Godward and an outward disposition of true contentment.

The Godward aspect of contentment is best understood in the preface to the Ten Commandments when the Lord reminds Israel that He is the One “who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex. 20:2). As covenant Lord, Yahweh had rescued His people from bondage, He had demonstrated lordship over the created realm and every so-called god of this world, and He did so out of His great love for them—not because they had earned or deserved it. Not only did the Lord redeem them, but He also gave Israel the land of rest, with the promise to meet their earthly needs in the days ahead.
What we learn here is that true contentment is found in knowing the character of God and His history of faithfulness and in trusting in His sovereign wisdom and goodness to provide. Far from the stoic idea of passive resignation to our fate, godly contentment is positive assurance, joy, and gratitude that God personally watches over us and supplies all our needs. True contentment means being satisfied in Him, trusting His faithfulness, and holding on to the truth that nothing here on earth compares to the inheritance that awaits eternity. True contentment is freely submitting to and delighting in God’s fatherly provision for us, whatever that might be.

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