GROWING A CONTENTED SPIRIT
On a scale of one to ten (one being discontent and ten being very content) how content are you overall with your life? Think about that for a moment.
Contentment is an illusive quality today. Much of the business world works hard to breed discontent so that we will buy products and keep the economy vibrant. If a commercial tells us that something is new and improved we are supposed to feel that we have less than the best and must go out and buy the next thing. When Playstation came out it was the greatest gaming console yet, until PS2 and PS3 came out. And do you ever feel like you have enough gigabytes on your computer? Casinos air commercials that portray life as boring so that you will come and be entertained at their establishment and maybe win some money. What would you do with a million dollars a year for 25 years? Beat the winter blahs and take a Mexican holiday.
We are constantly bombarded with commercials and promotions that make us yearn for more. It is difficult to be content in a society that thrives on our discontent.
And it’s not just about stuff. We are told that our bodies are out of shape and we believe it. Then we tell ourselves that we must climb the ladder of success ever higher to more important positions, and that we must gain more degrees to be smart enough to gain those positions. Even in our marriages we feel that our spouses are lacking something and we go looking for more.
Yet last week we read Romans 12:2 which challenged us to “…not conform any longer to the pattern of this world…” The pattern of this world is to never be content; the transformation of the Christian mind is to be content in any situation. Why would you need to learn contentment? To be content is a spiritual virtue that Jesus lived and Paul taught. They exemplified contentment. Contentment is the true mark of a mature believer and an objective to be cultivated by all believers who want to grow in Christ.
If you are interested in growing a contented spirit, I want to share some thoughts from Philippians 4:10-13.
1. Appreciate the concern others show
Our lesson on contentment begins with our attitude towards other people. Paul, having received some kind of gift from the Philippian church, said, “I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it” (4:10).
It sounds like this church was a little slack in showing Paul support. That is not the case. Having planted this church a dozen years prior, the Philippian church had gone through some hard times. They were now in a position to help Paul and Paul is happy for them that they could send this help. So he is not saying “finally, it took you long enough” but is truly grateful that they are strong enough to help.
Evidence of a contented spirit comes through in situations like this. How we respond to the care and concern, whether it be a little or a lot, shows how content we are. Those who are discontent will tend to blame others for their trouble. They will complain that they are never cared for and will grumble about their lack. There is even a bit of the “victim” mentality in them that they are helpless and put upon. They even expect their friends to read their minds and know instinctively what they need.
All of us feel that way sometimes. When care is shown to us can we acknowledge it cheerfully or do we moan that it is not enough? Can we rejoice when our spouse or friend takes the time to love us? Can I show grace when no one comes and cares for me?
Christian love compels us to care for each other. Paul said to the Galatians, “Carry each others burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2). But two verses later he writes, “…each one should carry his own load” (6:5), which teaches us that while we need to care for one another we still need to care for ourselves.
2. Be satisfied in what you have
The question of attitude quickly turns to need. Paul makes an odd comment: “I am not saying this because I am in need…” (4:11). You have heard repeatedly how Paul is in prison and in chains. He possesses very little in earthly goods and is not climbing any social or career ladders. But the odd statement he makes is “I don’t need anything.”
What is it that we truly need? That is a difficult, and perhaps painful, question to ask ourselves. We live in a fiercely cold climate in winter requiring that we possess a decent house. Apart from this, as Paul told Timothy, “…if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1Ti 6:8). Those are the basics of necessity.
Yet we are sucked into the ever swirling vortex of acquiring other “needs.” Of course we know that they are “wants” but somehow they have crossed the line into “needs.” As I prepared this sermon I was stumped at this point with the conviction of what I’m saying to you. We have a lifestyle that has trapped us in the very addictive cycle of consumption. I am guilty myself of not being satisfied with my possessions. When something newer comes out I am drawn to the new technology.
What’s wrong with this lifestyle? Aside from a lack of contentment we are telling God something loud and clear. The writer of Hebrews said, “Keep your lives free from the love of money (insert “stuff”) and be content with what you have, because God has said ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb 13:5).
When we love the idea of having “stuff” and are discontent with what we have, we are telling God that what he has provided is not enough. We are telling him that we don’t trust him to give us what we need. In short, if we are discontent with our stuff, it is a short hop to saying we are discontent with God himself.
3. Understand what contentment means
Paul could say he didn’t need anything because “…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances” (4:11). What does it mean to be contented as Paul meant it?
a) Not self-satisfaction – Contentment does not mean settling; it is not complacency. Students should not be satisfied getting Cs when you could make As. We can strive for excellence within the boundaries of being content. If you have the skills to be an office manager you don’t have to settle for a mailroom job.
b) Not self-sufficiency – Contentment is not complete independence from all things and all people. You need no one and nothing for you are enough in and of yourself.
c) It is self-surrender – This is the essence of God-dependence. It is having all we need in God to sustain our lives. The Christian has hidden resources as we read in John 4:14 “…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” This allows us to accept any situation that life throws at us. We believe that God is enough and we surrender to his will.
Jerry Bridges said, “This is the secret of being content: to learn and accept that we live daily by God’s unmerited favor given through Christ, and that we can respond to any and every situation by his divine enablement through the Holy Spirit.”
Listen to the rest of what Paul told Timothy about contentment: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1Ti 6:6-9). See the contrast here? Godliness goes with contentment; discontent leads to destruction. So Paul tells us that it is imperative that we learn to be content.
4. “Learn” to be content
Notice that Paul repeats himself. He said in v. 11, “I have learned to be content…” Now he says again, “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” (4:12).
Last week we talked about renewing our minds being a process, that you don’t learn to rejoice in the Lord always overnight. The same is true of learning to be content; it is a process of discipleship that takes time.
Paul calls it a secret. The word “secret” was used by mystery religions to describe people who had worked their way up through the lower degrees of the cult and had finally been admitted into full possession of the mystery itself. Paul uses the same word to mean that he had reached a level of maturity. I know the secret, he says, and circumstances can never touch me. But it took experience and time to learn the secret.
Contentment is not something that comes to us naturally. We are more naturally inclined to a) compare ourselves with others; b) to always want more than we have; c) to interpret someone else’s good fortune as coming at our expense; and d) to complain. You don’t have to teach these things; they come naturally to us.
Contentment is not natural. It is something that we have to learn over time. We don’t DO something to be content. We must learn some things in order to be content. Our minds need to be renewed, our attitudes towards stuff changed, and our faith deepened to develop contentment.
Contentment is a state of satisfaction that is anchored to our confidence in God that results in a joyful celebration of life. It requires us to trust God for our needs. It rewards us by showing us that God does take care of us.
5. Realize our true strength
With this attitude of contentment Paul reached a stage where he was liberated from the chains of stuff, or ambition, or misdirected dependence. We come to that often quoted and often misunderstood verse, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength” (4:13).
There is an apparent link between this strength and the thoughts behind 2 Corinthians 12. In that passage Paul talks about having received a thorn in the flesh and how he pleaded with God three times to take it away. Jesus replied to him saying, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9). Paul could have said in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things by his grace,” for it would mean the same thing.
Let’s note three things about this wonderful verse:
a) Paul does not say “I can’t,” for that is the language of pessimism.
b) Paul does not say “I can,” for that is the language of presumption. This leaves God out of the equation.
c) Paul does say, however, “I can…through Christ,” and this is the language of power. This is the powerful and dynamic contentment that we seek. This is victory over temptation; grace for every trouble; strength for every task. Jesus gives us the power to face every trial of life and the power to be content no matter what the circumstances.
True contentment comes from living life understanding that everything pales in comparison to knowing Christ. Isn’t that what Paul said earlier? “I consider everything a loss compared to knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (3:8). That is the lifestyle and the attitude we need to adopt concerning this life. All things will pass away. You can’t take it with you. And it will pale in comparison to the stuff that God has in store for us when we begin the eternal chapter of our lives.
Homework
I fully realize how difficult this sermon must be for you to hear. It has caused me incredible agony to think about it and to write it. When we take honest stock of our attitudes towards the things of this world we have to admit that we are addicted to purchasing or possessing or yearning for more. Someone said that it is ironic that when we are feeling discontent we go and buy something. Unfortunately it is true.
We are in a process of discipleship as followers of Christ. As such we can simply admit that we have a problem and that our lifestyles need to change in order to honor Jesus who gives us grace to meet all our troubles. To help us in our spiritual growth allow me to suggest four practical steps to learning contentment:
1) Learn to act better than you feel – Do you shop to feel better? Do you yearn for a promotion to validate your existence? Do you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence? (you know what I mean). Choose to rule over your feelings, not the other way around. Choose to believe that you have everything you need at the present moment.
2) Refuse to compare yourself with others – So your neighbor has a new thing-a-mijig, so what? So you’re not the class president or the owner of the company. If God needs you in those positions then he will make a way possible for this to happen.
3) Accept people the way they are and not as you would like them to be – Nothing makes us more discontent than wishing people were more accommodating, or more like us, or whatever. Be glad that God has made us all different.
4) Accept things as they are and not like you would like them to be – Contentment is the certainty that when you need anything God will give it to you, and not before.
When you feel that you are lacking something remember “I can do all things through him who gives me (grace)”
AMEN
