Recently, I was able to go see the new movie Limitless with my good friend and mentor Matt Gibson (@thelordslove). Limitless is a film that centers around the struggle of a "writer," divorcee, and borderline alcoholic, who is presented with the key to tapping into the seemingly limitless potential of his own brain. While on a drug that unlocks the 80% of our brains we can't access, Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper) can think a thousand miles a minute and remember anything he's ever learned, seen, or heard. His brain is a over-clocked super computer. This incredible new intellectual capacity quickly resolves all his immediate problems, such as writers block, untidiness, and lack of romance. But with it comes an insatiable appetite for more. He wants everything—money, jet-setting to lavish parties, beautiful women, and thrill-seeking. Of course, all this is too good to be true. The plot is quickened by the drug's mysteriously unforeseen side-effects.

The surprising side-effects wasn't the only forehead-slapping aspect of this film either. Even though this isn't meant to be a formal movie review, I have to say Limitless put my suspension of disbelief to the test. Several plot holes were large enough to drive a very fast Maserati through. But the biggest let down of this movie was its failure to bring closure to the main character's internal conflict.

I'm not sure Limitless has a clear "moral." The ending was far too ambiguous for my taste. While it seems that Eddie no longer wants to amass wealth for no apparent reason, or romance random foreign females, he doesn't entirely seem to "learn his lesson" in the end.

Contentment

What I think can be gleaned from this kind of story, if it is redeemable at all, is that contentment is required for true inner peace—and contentment is a choice. There will always exist opportunities to covet, envy, and want more. The grass will always seem a little greener on the other side, and we'll always be tempted to think that the next thing will solve all our problems. But the truth is, the solution to all our problems is available in each and every breath. It is the trust in our Creator that releases all anxiety and finds contentment in today's blessings.

I'm just as guilty as anyone of thinking the next thing will solve all my problems. But it's time to face reality and admit that the last hundred things I trusted to save me ultimately failed. (As a famous Bad Boy once said, "Mo' money, mo' problems.") That next job, that next book, that next diet, that next _______________, isn't our Savior. Only Jesus is. I read somewhere recently something to the effect of: "If you're checking Twitter more than a few times a day, you might be looking for an addict's fix." More information won't satisfy us—especially not what 140-character game is trending today, or what theological debate is hot in the evangelical blogosphere.

Contentment is not merely rejection of future "more," it's the recognition of our present "enough." What God has in store for his children is exceedingly and abundantly beyond that which we can think or imagine—but we have to stop thinking of that blessing as a future "more" and recognize that it is also a present "enough." If the center of our self-worth is rooted in our identity in Christ, we have everything we need now. No future status can rival our present one. God has already blessed us, God has already empowered us, God has already called us, and God dwells in us right Now! We can't fathom how tremendous a blessing this is. It is beyond our comprehension.

Contentment is also power. Paul, an early Jesus follower and urban church-planter, suffered greatly as he spread the message of God's presence in Jesus of Nazereth and his victory over sin and death. He was stoned (meaning he had rocks thrown at his head, not that he got high), shipwrecked, and whipped. Sometimes he had plenty of provisions, other times he was broke and had to depend on God for everything. Regardless of his circumstances, he learned that the simple trust in God that produces contentment was spiritual power. He wrote in a letter to one of the churches he planted,

I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. - Phil. 4.10-13

Jesus supplies the power we need in any circumstance when we trust him. This is the secret to contentment that Paul learned.

Much has been made already of the fruit logo with a bite missing that belongs to the computing company of which I am very fond. I will resist the temptation to stretch that parallel any further. Suffice to say, I, along with millions of others, regularly want the next thin, fast, and sexy product that promises to unlock all our hopes and dreams. This gadget-lust is particularly strong in me and I do not yet own an iPad. So when the iPad 2 was announced in all its incrementally-better glory, I felt I had to have it. Since seeing Limitless and reflecting on contentment, I've come to the decision that I don't need an iPad and that I'm very content with all the many blessings God has already bestowed upon me. I have an amazing family, a wonderful church, and God is calling and equipping my wife and I for ministry. We're all healthy (most of the time), and happy (most of the time), and have a great time with each other. We have so many reasons to be content.

I definitely don't want to trivialize the genuine need in the world right now with my petty materialism, but I don't think they are entirely unrelated. If we in the West mastered our greed and discovered the secret of contentment that Paul teaches, could the oppressive poverty caused by our demand for labor in developing countries be curtailed? I don't know, but as Tim Colegrove recently commented in this context, "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction." Could our contentment mean global justice? I don't know. But I know that I want to continue learning how to trust Jesus now for my every need, praise him for the incredible blessings he's already provided, and rest in limitless contentment.