contentment is something you learn

 

An airline pilot would always look down keenly whenever he was flying over a particular lake in Tennessee. One day his co-pilot asked why he always did this. The pilot pointed out and said to his co-pilot: “See that little lake? When I was a kid I used to sit in a rowboat down there, fishing. Every time a plane would fly overhead, I would look up and wish I was flying it. Now I look down and wish I was in a rowboat, fishing.”

In Philippians 4: 10-13 Paul says “ 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”.

Contentment is that sweet inward quiet, an inner sense of rest and peace. Paul was a contented man. In verse 11, he says, “I have learnt to be content.” He was anxious for nothing (v.6). Truly the peace of God (v.7) and the God of peace (v.9) were his portion.  What was the secret of his contentment?  The phrase “to learn” means to discover by experience.

Paul’s contentment was not bred in nature; his spiritual contentment was not something he acquired immediately after he was saved. He had to go through many experiences in order to learn who the source of true contentment was. It may have taken some time, but Paul's training had borne fruit. He had learnt the secret of being content “whatever the circumstances”; “in any and every situation”.

The statements “whatever the circumstances” and “in any and every situation” cover every condition of life. Paul went through a lot in life, in 1 Corinthians 4:11-13 he states “we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless ...we are cursed...we are persecuted...we are slandered, we have become the scum of the earth.

In 2 Corinthians 11:27 he says “I have labored and have often gone without sleep... I have been cold and naked”. And yet, somehow he could say in 2 Corinthians6:10 “Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing and yet possessing everything.”  The key to contentment is not having everything you want but being grateful for everything you already have.

Paul had experienced times in his life when he was keenly aware of his needs. He had experienced other times when he realized he had plenty of resources. Ultimately, he found that neither condition seemed to affect him much; his personal stability and contentment didn't depend upon his external status. Christ was inside him and moving his life forward, so these externals were of secondary concern.

Paul’s contentment did not change with the changing circumstances. He was able to see beyond what had happened to God’s sovereign purposes. He could see life from God’s point of view. In plenty or in poverty God was still in control and was weaving his ways through both of these conditions.  He knew that God had so ordered his personal circumstances that no matter what situation he found himself in, he had everything he truly needed to be content.  

We tend to be a very discontent people. Most Christians don’t experience contentment to the degree that God desires us to. We overlook the great blessings we already have and get discontented for a trifle. If you can’t be happy with what you already have, you won’t be content even if more is added to you. What you think is greener pastures might be worse than what you have.

Satan was the seal of perfection, full of wisdom, perfect in beauty and perfect in his ways (Ezekiel 28:12,13,15). But he was not contented with his glorious state, he wanted something higher “I will be like the Most High” (Isa.14:12-14). Because of greed, he lost even what he had. Adam and Eve lived perfect lives in Eden, they had everything. But, that was until the devil planted a seed of discontentment in Eve.

 Thinking their human nature too low, they aspired to be like God. They had access to all the trees of the garden, yet none would make them content except the forbidden tree (Gen 3). They were thrown out of the garden. The Israelites were rescued from slavery, but they soon longed for “the fish we ate in Egypt...also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic” (Num. 11:4-6).

Lot chose the fertile, well watered plains of the Jordan Valley and the city of Sodom instead of the tent life on the mountain (Gen.13). Soon after, God burnt Sodom down. Angels had to literally pull Lot and his family out of that city, just before the fire came down (Gen.19:15-20). Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” (Gen.17:18).

God responded “I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers (Gen.17:20). But Ishmael was a son of strife (Gen. 16:12) and his fruitful and increased descendant only brought sorrow to Abrahams descendants. King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived (1 Kings 3:12, 4: 29-34).  He was also very rich, (I Kings 10:14-25, 27). Yet, he was always searching for something better until he gave up (Ecc.2).

We live in a very discontent society. We live in a culture that is not content with little or much. Meeting needs is a consuming passion and the needs never get met.  We have developed a concept of life that says “the whole of life is a process of man meeting his needs; all of existence is simply to satisfy self”. This has set man on an impossible course.  He’s going to spend all his life trying to meet his needs. 

Paul was never a victim of the circumstances. He never let the circumstances of this life devastate him. He had strong faith in God and his promises.  He also knew what Jesus said, “you may have to be hungry now but you’ll be full later. You may have to weep now but you’ll laugh later (Luke 6:21).  Jesus commanded “guard against all kinds of greed; a man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions” (Luke 12:15).  

Hebrew 13:5 says “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have”. Paul had learnt to be thankful for the basics of life. He told Timothy that “godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content (1Tim. 6: 6-7).

Contentment is not available to just a few but is the practical potential available to every child of God. Only genuine believers can be truly content, for in the final analysis, contentment is not a natural attainment but a supernatural gift from God to His children! A believer's degree of contentment in this world is a reflection of their degree of contentment regarding the world to come!

The more the invisible, eternal things above grip our heart, the less will be the power of the visible, temporal things of the world to cause us discontent. Paul lived in difficult circumstances but he lived above them. He had an eternal perspective.  He lived in the light of the glory to come, not in the light of the pain here.  His affections were on another kingdom. 

Paul knew that the chief end of man was not to meet his needs, but to glorify the God who created him, worshipping and enjoying him forever.  After using his great wisdom and unlimited resources to experience, experiment, observe and wisely analyze the life of man “under the sun” Solomon wrote this “here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind (Ec. 12:13).

We have lost that satisfaction with little that Paul knew.  Some are not experiencing contentment simply because they are looking in other places for that which only God can provide. Proverbs 19:23 says “the fear of the Lord leads to life;  then one rests content, untouched by trouble.  In Isaiah 55:2 and Jeremiah 2:13 God wonders why we persist in pursuing those things that were never designed to satisfy instead of coming to Him for contentment.

Contentment is a habitual thing, of the soul. Contentment doth not appear only now and then, as some stars which are seen but seldom; it shines with a fixed light in the firmament. Are you content? Can you say in whatsoever state you are “I am content and perfectly at peace?”  Have you obeyed the command of God to be content?  If you are a parent, give the gift of contentment to your children.

In Philippians 4:13 Paul says “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” A literal translation would read: “I am strong for all things in the One who constantly infuses strength into me.”  In Isaiah 41:10 God tells us “do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you”. We can endure all that happens on the outside because we are strengthened by Christ on the inside.

Notice the balance between our part and God’s part. “Through him”, shows us the source of our power. Jesus said “Apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). This verse promises that we can do everything that God commands us to do.  His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life (2 Peter 1:3).