If I were to ask you today, “Are you content with your life?” I believe I might get many different responses. I’m sure a lot of different subjects or objects might come to mind. It leads to the conclusion that:
Contentment is Complex
It is complex because it involves so many different arenas. You may be satisfied or content with some areas of your life but not content with others. You may be content with your home and family life. But you are not content with your job or friendships. You may be content with your friendships but not your finances. You may be content with your clothes but not your closet space. You may be content with the town you live in but not the house you live in. You may be content with the food you eat but not content with the status of your overall health. So there are a lot of variables concerning contentment.
In addition, contentment is more complex because we live in a consumer-oriented world. Some have identified our issues related to contentment as First World problems because many other places like in the Third World do not have options on what they will eat or where they will live or where they will work. But whether you have many resources or few resources does not always bring contentment. More about this in a moment.
President Trump is making trade deals and has been successful primarily because America is the largest consumer nation in the world. America’s consumer class spent nearly $19 trillion on goods and services in 2023. For context, this was about 68% of the US GDP that year. We are purchasing many items imported from other countries from the shoes and clothes we wear to the cars and computers we operate. And it is not only what we have but the AMOUNT of that we possess.
Regarding contentment, we are finding out the truth which Jesus spoke, “A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of their possessions”. Again, more about this later. This is not speaking against possessions but their priority in our lives, especially as it relates to contentment. This truth is portrayed well in the phrase made popular in a modern song by Cheryl Crow… “It’s not getting what you want…it’s wanting what you got”. That statement certainly parallels Jesus statement and what Paul is teaching here
These statements bring about the question of the:
Origin of Contentment
Where does contentment come from? How do we find contentment? The word in the original language literally means, “self-sufficient”. This means we are not dependent on circumstances but find adequacy in the Lord. Like Psalm 23 reads, The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want…or as one little boy said…The Lord is my Shepherd. He is all I need!
When I have gone to do Disaster Response, after a devastating storm, the team had to be “self-sufficient” because there were no resources to sustain you. And you must be extremely flexible as you work through limitations, content with your limited resources because there are no other options! Everything else has been destroyed. So, you must be self-sufficient as you go into those areas to respond. And you must be content with no conveniences. Now in that case we volunteered to go to face limited resources. But what this is talking about is facing circumstances which we do not sign up for, but must still learn contentment whether we choose them or not.
I think it is important to note that verse 13 reads, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. This verse is often misunderstood. This is not so much about raw power or the ability to do anything but the ability to face any obstacle with contentment through the power of Christ.
It gives us a true picture of contentment which is not to settle for less than our best, but to strive for excellence even in both the best and the worst circumstances. Notice, Paul wrote I know how to be abased and exalted. I know how to have abundance and to have little or nothing. We are to strive for excellence in our work and in all the roles we engage in our daily lives. But at the same time, we must come to a place of recognition where we know we have reached a limit and find contentment there. (Beecher)
But it is precisely at this point of recognition where we struggle to know the boundaries or the limits we have reached. Martin Luther was very candid about his own failure with contentment at times. Luther said, “Next to faith, this is the highest art; to be content in the calling in which God has placed you. I have not learned it yet” (Martin Luther)
There is a story of a man who went to stay in a monastery for 5 years. He took a vow of silence. At the end of every year, he could speak 2 words. At the end of the first year he said, “Hard bed!” At the end of the second year he said, “Bad food!”. At the end of the third year he said, “I quit!” The head Abbot over the monastery then said, “I’m not surprised. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you’ve been here!” Funny story but so true to life.
I must confess, like Luther this is something I am still learning in several areas. If you are honest today, I’m sure most of us would have to admit the same struggle. Remember Paul said here, I have learned to be content. How do we learn contentment?
A Key Question of Contentment: What is Enough?
We see this on a more personal level when we typically we hear those familiar lines at McDonalds, “Would you like to super-size that?” We are continually bombarded with advertisements that appeal to our desire for more. So, we truly struggle to recognize when we have enough…enough food…enough clothes…. enough property…enough of anything! This may on the surface sound anti-progressive. But the point about contentment is not being against improvements or advancements or against having things. But moderation is a key biblical word that helps us maintain the right balance in life. It is simply not allowing our possessions to possess us. This leads to another important principle about learning contentment:
Contentment is Avoiding Extremes
Theologian John Stott has a great word about contentment. He writes, “Comfort is dangerous, and we should constantly be re-examining our lifestyle. The New Testament is beautifully balanced on this. Paul avoids both extremes in his teachings. Asceticism is a rejection of the good gifts of the good Creator. This is where we renounce resources that might be good and helpful. I mentioned in the Newsletter about a great lady Lola Walls who refused AC. Her life could have been much improved, and she might have lived even longer. This is one extreme. Its opposite is materialism—not just possessing material things but becoming preoccupied with them. In between asceticism and materialism is simplicity, contentment, and generosity, and these three virtues should mark all of us. It’s not a question of rules and regulations about our income, and how many rooms or cars we have.
Henry Ward Beecher wrote, “if a man has come to that point where he is so content that he says, “I do not want to know anymore, or do anymore, or be anymore, he is in a state in which he ought to be changed into a mummy.” So, contentment does not mean we are settling for mediocrity or removing the desire to improve. We are certainly called to give God our very best and Paul indicates that we are to pursue excellence.
But we struggle with a strong misconception that acquiring more will bring us a greater sense of satisfaction or contentment. If we just had the right job, or the right house, or the right salary, then we would find contentment. But when we finally get the “right” thing, we find only fleeting or temporary contentment. It becomes an endless cycle, and contentment is never truly gained. Actor Jim Carey put it like this…I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see it’s not the answer”. Again, nothing is wrong with any of those things. But in themselves, they do not bring contentment or lasting joy.
A great story of a man who bought a house for his family in a nice neighborhood. He liked the house. But then one day he was driving around the larger area and saw another house surrounded with a white picket fence. It had bigger rooms and there was a bigger yard. And he found himself growing discontent with his own house, wanting one like this one! He then questioned himself, “What is going on with me?” He talked to Christian friends, and they termed it the “EVE SYNDROME”. It was like Eve who had all the Garden of Eden…all the other trees…and there was only one tree she could not eat from…but she did. She was not content with what she had, or the boundaries God had established. The Eve Syndrome is alive in each of us. It is the struggle to live beyond our limits, even beyond the boundaries that God has established. We continue to search for things that really cannot satisfy our deeper spiritual needs.
Another key principle in learning contentment is:
Develop A Grateful Heart
Paul was writing this from prison, not knowing if he would live or die. Yet this was the most joyful book he wrote. Hence, in the worst of circumstances he was content, even rejoicing!
There is a true story of the late Billy Graham visiting a wealthy friend in the Caribbean. He invited Dr Graham and his wife Ruth for lunch at his lavish home. He was 75 years old and throughout the meal he seemed close to tears. He stated, “I am the most miserable man in the world. Out there is my yacht. I can go anywhere I want to. I have my private plane and my helicopter. I have everything I want to make my life happy. Yet I am miserable. Graham said he talked to him and prayed with him trying to point him to Christ. Their next visit was from a local Baptist pastor who came to visit them in their cottage. He was an Englishman who was also 75 years old and a widower who spent most of his time taking care of his 2 invalid sisters. Yet he was full of enthusiasm and joy and love for Christ and others. He said, “I don’t have 2 pounds to my name, but I am the happiest man on the island!”
Later that evening in reflection of their experiences, Dr Graham asked Ruth, “Who do you think is the richer man?” She didn’t have to reply because they both already knew the answer. A man who had everything but was not content. A man who had next to nothing as was very content. It was not what they had or didn’t have. It was a heart of gratitude that made the difference.
In I Thessalonians 5 Paul gives some wonderful instructions about Christian living which I think are key in learning contentment. Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. (I Thess 5:16-18) All those are important, but I am focusing on gratitude related to contentment.
A man had a terrible quarrel with his wife. He was a long way from being content. He stormed out of the house and went for a walk to let off some steam. As he walked, he began to pray about his wife and what frustrated him in their disagreement. And as he walked further, he recalled her strong- willed spirit, her somewhat fiery personality and her great desire for him to be a better man. Those thoughts all came into his mind. Suddenly, his whole outlook changed, and he began to thank God for all the traits that attracted her to him from the beginning. His discontent and anger were changed by gratitude.
The person with discontent has the attitude that everything he does for God is too much and everything that God does for him is too little. (Don Kistler).
Gratitude is to acknowledge that God’s grace is sufficient and that everything we do for God is too little and everything God does for us is too much. And we give praise and thanks to God in every circumstance. One final story.
There was a farmer who lived on a small farm all his life. It was a good life, but he grew tired of it. He was now looking for something different, something better… He became very critical of the old farm. Every day he found something new to complain about. Finally, he decided to sell the farm. He listed it with a real estate broker who was putting together a sales advertisement. The advertisement was listed and included all the positives of the old farm: Ideal location, modern equipment, healthy livestock, fertile soil, etc. Before the ad was placed the broker called the farmer and read the advertisement to get his approval. After he read it, the famer thought only for a moment and said, “Stop everything!” I’m not going to sell! I’ve been looking for a place like that all my life”.
I suspect that for most of us God has placed the best things in life right in front of our noses…Heb 13:5 reads, be content with what you have. Sometimes the Lord has to open our eyes to see and understand the greatest gifts He has already given us, right in front of us. And even in our time of darkness or trial we can say as Horatio Spafford in his great hymn, “Whatever my lot… thou hast taught me to say…It is well…It is well with my soul.” That is the power of contentment in all circumstances.
Is it well with your soul? Are you learning contentment as Paul teaches? Maybe there are certain areas that God may be speaking to you about where you need greater balance or moderation? Or areas where you may simply need to develop greater gratitude for the things you already have?
Let us pray as we prepare our hearts for Holy Communion.