The Purpose of Peace: Contentment (His Perfect Peace #5)
There is a vast difference between the culture I grew up in and the one now facing my kids. I don’t remember having internet until I went to University in the late 1990s. I didn’t have a mobile phone until I was 26 and there were still things called land lines! There were only TV 5 channels available and certainly no on-demand services. The world has changed and we now live in a world of instant gratification available at the power of our finger tips.
Sure there has always been some level of pressure to own the things on advertisements whether it be in the media, on TV/radio or on billboards and the like. Yet, technology has taken this pressure to new levels. Oh how increasingly difficult it has become to be content in a world in which we always need more! John D. Rockefeller whose empire controlled 90% of the oil industry when asked; “How much is enough?” replied “Just a little bit more.” But we know from experience that ‘more’ is rarely enough and some of the least contented people are those who have the most in this world!
Contentment is a topic which is specifically mentioned in the Bible by Paul, and inferred to by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. The reason we are tackling it here is because a sense of discontent is another thing that can rob us of our inner peace, and it certainly also has the potential to impact our peace with God and with others.
What exactly is contentment? The best definition I have found of Christian contentment is a 374 years old from a Puritan writer called Jeremiah Burroughs (1648) who described contentment as a rare jewel:
“Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” The Rare Jewel of Christian contentment, © 2013 Banner of Truth, p19.
1. Leaning the Secret of Contentment (Phil 4:10-19):
Writing from a prison, likely in Rome, Paul wants to thank the Philippians for their support of him and his ministry. They had been a model church in terms of their willingness to share with him in the matter of giving and receiving (v14-16). He also wants to challenge them to continue growing in Christ and teaches them about contentment:
10 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. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 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. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:10-13
Paul rejoices because of their concern and their eagerness to embrace this opportunity to meet that concern (v10). Paul wants to be clear that whether in need, or in plenty, he has learned to be content. He was content before their gift, and he will still be content afterwards! Sure, it was an encouragement, but Paul is describing an inner contentment that isn’t impacted by any gift. Whether facing persecution, suffering or imprisonment Paul had learned to be content in any and every circumstance (v11, v12). Paul wants them to experience contentment in Jesus also. Notice that they had a history of supporting him generously (v14-16), but again Paul isn’t so much eager for their gifts but that more be credited to your account (v17-18).
Paul suggests here that contentment does not come naturally – it is something that we have to learn. I think it is very encouraging to think that it was something even Paul had to learn. Moreover, it is encouraging to think that even in spite of all that Paul faced, he was able to learn this secret. I don’t know how you read these verses, but it seems like Paul explains this secret here in v13 when he says that he can do all this through Him who gives him strength. People quote this verse to mean all kinds of things. But its context is the contentment Paul has been describing and which he wants the Philippians to imitate. We will only find contentment through the strength that only Christ can give.
I find this very challenging. I am the kind of person who is always thinking about the next upgrade or improvement. There is still something positive about that – I want to improve things and that doesn’t necessarily mean a huge outlay of money. But perhaps, it does at times keep me from being thankful for all that I have. In the passage, Paul finishes his line of thought by saying:
19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19
Do you believe that to be true? For me and my family we have been dependent on God for our income for the past 20 years. In a sense we are of course all dependent upon God for all we have. But in our model of ministry funding it is a little more clear cut because we live on the gifts of others to support our ministry. I was reflecting only last week that our income has always felt a bit like the widows jar of oil that never ran out. Sure there have been difficult periods, but God has always met all of our needs. Often, it feels like the oil in the jar just keeps on stretching! Does that mean that I have always been content? Not at all, but it is something I have to keep on working on.
2. Seek first His Kingdom (Matthew 6:25-34):
Jesus of course taught similar things in His Sermon on the Mount. Three times Jesus tells people not to worry (v25, 28, 31). What were they worrying about? What to eat, what to drink, what to wear and what will happen tomorrow. Jesus then gives a number of great reasons why we should be content and not worry:
- Life is more than food and the body more than clothes
- God feeds and cares for the birds in the air who do not sow, reap or store up
- Worrying does not achieve anything
- The flowers in the field do not labour or spin and yet God clothes even the grass of the field
- God knows what we need already
- Each day has enough to worry about, tomorrow can worry about itself
I don’t know how you respond to such a list. We know that worrying is more or less impossible to stop doing. Our worry demonstrates our lack of contentment about what we already have and our lack of understanding about the God who provides.
The very first temptation in the history of mankind was the temptation to be discontent…that is exactly what discontent(ment) is – a questioning of the goodness of God. Jerry Bridges, The Practice of Godliness
Deep down we know worrying does not, and can not, help us. Yet, it is often the place where we often find ourselves. Jesus in v33 describes the alternative which is deep and profound:
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:34
Notice that here the focus is on God – specifically His Kingdom and His righteousness. Jesus didn’t just tell them to stop worrying, but rather to replace worry with a concern for the kingdom of God. Then He promises that if we do this, then all of these things will be given to us also. If God is the God who provides, then we can be confident that He will provide for us. There is a huge sense of inner peace to be had as we trust God and learn to trust in His unchanging character. He will never let us down!
3. Great gain in godliness WITH contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-10):
The final reference I want to examine comes in 1 Timothy 6 where Paul has been speaking of false teachers. In v5 he says that these false teachers think that Godliness is a means of gain. In contrast, however, Paul says that there is great gain in godliness WITH contentment…
4 …He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 1 Timothy 6:6-8 (ESV)
One commentator points out that the Greek word here for contentment (autarkeia) means complete self-sufficiency. This is the kind of contentment Paul wrote about in Philippians – a fame of mind that is irrespective of things outside of ourselves. Paul goes on to explain in v7 that real contentment is rooted in an eternal perspective. Things of this world will stay in this world. The contented heart will be satisfied with simply having the things we need. Then in v9-10 Paul contrasts such an attitude with the foolishness of greed. Those who want to be rich find themselves falling into temptation. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. Having such a love has caused many to wander from the faith.
Many of the people living around us are consumer by the pursuit of more money, more possessions, bigger houses, nicer cars and so on. For some this will be clearly true, whilst for others it is more subtle, but it is still there. What we really value is a question that can only be answered over the course of time.
Final thoughts
Psalm 37:4 says: “Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Its an amazing verse but what does it mean. Andrew Davis in his book ‘The Power of Christian Contentment’ says we could easily take this verse to mean that if we love Jesus then He will give us everything we want. He says that as his outlook matured, it morphed into “Take delight in the Lord, and He will assign me what I should want.” Then finally it became “Take delight in Christ and He will become your heart’s desire.” Jesus will satisfy us more richly than we can ask or imagine. We grow in contentment when we pursue contentment in Christ. If Jesus really is enough for us, then we will not obsess about more. It’s only Jesus who can give us the strength to be content. We grow in contentment as we get to know God better. As we do so, we will find the inner peace that we yearn for – it is a place of contentment in Him and in all that He is doing in our lives. Let me finish with some words that point us to eternity…
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace. Helen Howarth Hemmel
See other posts in this series: