The Blessing of Contentment
“Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11
If anyone had a reason to be discontent, it would be the Apostle Paul. He endured several extreme difficulties as he traveled through Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece, Crete, Sicily, and many other places to which the Lord sent him to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. He was locked up, beaten, pelted with stones, shipwrecked, harassed by fellow Jews, robbers, idol worshippers, and just about everyone who did not desire to hear the gospel. He went without food and water, and endured the cold and the heat. His greatest distress was that of caring for the churches that he had planted across the land (II Corinthians 11:28). He was constantly having to write letters to rebuke things that were going on in these churches. He had a tremendous amount of responsibilities. Talk about having a bad day–Paul had more than he could count if he was a person who dwelt on the negative side of life. But he did not allow all of these hardships to destroy his integrity or his dignity, and he was an inspiration to the Christians of his day and of our day as well.
What is contentment? Webster’s Dictionary defines it as “being happy enough with what one has or is; not desiring something more or different; satisfied.” Do you know anyone who could have his or her picture in the dictionary next to the term “contentment”? Discontentment is not necessarily a bad thing. Just think of all the inventors who were not satisfied with the status quo and went to work to develop ways and products to make our lives easier. However, to constantly live without contentment is a certain path to depression and misery. If there is anything that has become a worldwide pandemic, it is that of a lack of contentment in the lives of an awful lot of folks. The political situation in our nation has shown us how dissatisfied most of us are with those who are supposed to be serving their constituents but rather are getting rich in the process. Politicians use discontentment among the public to make promises that they either cannot keep or will not keep. Folks are fed up, and they have every right to be fed up, but many of the problems arise because folks are refusing to take responsibility for their own happiness. They want someone else to fix it. Everyone is a victim, at least that’s what the politicians want us to believe.
Folks become discontent when they don’t have everything that they think they should have. People are envious of those who have more, but many people do not want to do the work and take the risks that are required to get ahead. Instead they develop an “entitlement” mentality, but even if they get all they desire for practically nothing, they still will not be content because they don’t understand what it means to be content. They look for riches, material goods, nice homes, new cars, etc. to feed that desire to be at peace and be happy with life, but find that none of these things will bring contentment, at least not for very long. The new eventually wears off. For many, they have not learned that a real relationship with Christ can bring the peace, security, and contentment that all people desire. When one turns to Christ, he or she discovers a whole new outlook on life, and it is not about getting more stuff. It is about serving the King of kings and Lord of lords. There’s no greater joy than that.
The type of contentment that Paul had come to embrace was choosing to not allow personal desires and comforts to disrupt his mission of spreading the gospel. To see folks repent of their sins and believe on Christ was worth everything that he went through in serving Christ. There’s nothing like the feeling when one has completed a task and has seen good results from their work. I consider Paul the most successful evangelist that has ever walked the earth. There have been others since him who have also been very successful in their endeavors to preach the gospel worldwide, but none of them as far as I know had to deal with as many hardships, persecutions, and opposition as Paul did.
To be content IN one’s circumstances brings great peace, but one doesn’t have to be content WITH their circumstances. By all means, we should do what we can to change our circumstances as God would lead us, but as the Serenity Prayer states: “God grant me the serenity (calmness, tranquility) to accept the things I cannot change; Courage to change the things I can; And wisdom to know the difference” (attributed to Reinhold Neibuhr, 1892-1971). One more thing: God can use our circumstances for His glory and to help us mature in Christ. Most of the time, God is about changing us and not our circumstances.