Contentment
When you are a teenager, you think you know it all. When you are a young adult, you know you know it all. But you become an official adult when you realize that you don’t even know half of what there is to know. In thinking about adulthood and what it means to be mature, there are three words that the apostle Paul used in Philippians 4:11 that capture our attention: “I have learned…”
There is an expectation that by the time you are in your 40s you have gone from trying to figure it out to having at least a few things figured out. But the only way you can have figured out some things is if you have learned some things along the way in life. Experience may be a good teacher, but are you a good student? Just because you have experienced a lot that doesn’t mean that you have learned a lot.
What separates grown-ish from grown is, “I have learned.” Spiritually mature Christians are able to say, “I have learned…” One of the most important lessons that we can learn is contentment. The inability to be content creates a restlessness in the heart. That restless can lead to depression, over indulgence, unwise decisions, and moral compromise. Paul says in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am...” Paul writes these words about contentment as he is in prison. He had experienced poverty and prosperity. He has been ballin’ and has been broke. When you learn contentment, you have learned to be satisfied with life even when where you are and what you have falls short of your wants and wishes.
“I have learned…” means that we are not born knowing contentment. It doesn’t come naturally. We have to grow to get there. Those who are growing in contentment will testify, “There was a time when I thought fortune was more important than faith. There was a time when I would rob God in order to reward myself. There was a time when if my money was funny, then my attitude was stinky. But I have learned!”
I have learned not to let external circumstances rob me of my internal joy and peace. I have learned not to worry about wealth. I have learned not to stress over success. I have learned not to bow down to the altars of attainment and achievement. I have learned not to make money my master. I have learned to live life above my circumstances by living life dependent on Christ. My deficiencies are covered by the greatness of His sufficiency. I have learned the secret to contentment: the secret is Christ. In any circumstance and in every condition, it is the strength of God that enables me to be content. I have a learned not to be miserable in my misfortune or proud in my prosperity.
How do you get to the place where you can say, “I have learned to be content”? How do you develop contentment?
If you are going to be content, you have to learn some other things before you can learn to be content. There are some prerequisite courses that are required before you can get your certification in contentment.
You have to learn of Jesus. (Matthew 11:28-30). When you learn about Jesus and learn from Jesus, you learn humility. You move from having a sense of entitlement to a sense of indebtedness. When you learn from Jesus, you learn trust. It is in learning of Christ that we find what we are looking for. The rest and reassurance in our souls is the result of learning from Him. The rewards of rest and reassurance are a result of the relationship that you have with the Redeemer.
When you learn from Christ, you learn that suffering is inevitable (Hebrews 5:7-8). The Son of God’s experience with the human condition gave Him a unique perspective in terms of identifying with our weakness. Sometimes our lack of contentment comes from the erroneous belief that we shouldn’t be going through what we are going through and that our lives should be better than they are. Righteousness does not exempt you from suffering; righteousness empowers you in suffering. Suffering is instructive. It teaches us to submit to the sovereignty of God.
When you learn from Jesus, you learn obedience. Obedience shouldn't be contingent upon blessings. It does not require obedience when you and God want the same thing. It takes obedience to do the will of God when it is different from what we want to do. Often that path that God chooses for us to walk is not the path that we would choose for ourselves. Yet we must trust that our suffering is working an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17).
If you are going to learn contentment, you should learn that you cannot change people, but God can. Additionally, if we are going to learn contentment, we need to realize that most of the time, things do not turn out as bad as we imagined. Not everything that is possible is probable. How many times has your worst case scenario actually happened?
If you are going to learn contentment, learn what really matters). When we focus on the work that God has assigned to us, it moves us out of our self-centeredness (Isaiah 1:17). When you look for opportunities to bless others, you realize how blessed you are (Titus 3:14). Many of the things that we stress about don’t matter. We spend our time in unfruitful, unproductive activities. The things that matter the most to us should be what matters most.
If you are going to learn contentment you should learn that God can redeem any situation and revive any relationship. “I'm in it, but I am not in it alone!” God can redeem you despair and turn it into hope. He can redeem the darkness and make light. God can breathe life back into your marriage and your family relationships. Lord, help us to grow in contentment.
There is an expectation that by the time you are in your 40s you have gone from trying to figure it out to having at least a few things figured out. But the only way you can have figured out some things is if you have learned some things along the way in life. Experience may be a good teacher, but are you a good student? Just because you have experienced a lot that doesn’t mean that you have learned a lot.
What separates grown-ish from grown is, “I have learned.” Spiritually mature Christians are able to say, “I have learned…” One of the most important lessons that we can learn is contentment. The inability to be content creates a restlessness in the heart. That restless can lead to depression, over indulgence, unwise decisions, and moral compromise. Paul says in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am...” Paul writes these words about contentment as he is in prison. He had experienced poverty and prosperity. He has been ballin’ and has been broke. When you learn contentment, you have learned to be satisfied with life even when where you are and what you have falls short of your wants and wishes.
“I have learned…” means that we are not born knowing contentment. It doesn’t come naturally. We have to grow to get there. Those who are growing in contentment will testify, “There was a time when I thought fortune was more important than faith. There was a time when I would rob God in order to reward myself. There was a time when if my money was funny, then my attitude was stinky. But I have learned!”
I have learned not to let external circumstances rob me of my internal joy and peace. I have learned not to worry about wealth. I have learned not to stress over success. I have learned not to bow down to the altars of attainment and achievement. I have learned not to make money my master. I have learned to live life above my circumstances by living life dependent on Christ. My deficiencies are covered by the greatness of His sufficiency. I have learned the secret to contentment: the secret is Christ. In any circumstance and in every condition, it is the strength of God that enables me to be content. I have a learned not to be miserable in my misfortune or proud in my prosperity.
How do you get to the place where you can say, “I have learned to be content”? How do you develop contentment?
If you are going to be content, you have to learn some other things before you can learn to be content. There are some prerequisite courses that are required before you can get your certification in contentment.
You have to learn of Jesus. (Matthew 11:28-30). When you learn about Jesus and learn from Jesus, you learn humility. You move from having a sense of entitlement to a sense of indebtedness. When you learn from Jesus, you learn trust. It is in learning of Christ that we find what we are looking for. The rest and reassurance in our souls is the result of learning from Him. The rewards of rest and reassurance are a result of the relationship that you have with the Redeemer.
When you learn from Christ, you learn that suffering is inevitable (Hebrews 5:7-8). The Son of God’s experience with the human condition gave Him a unique perspective in terms of identifying with our weakness. Sometimes our lack of contentment comes from the erroneous belief that we shouldn’t be going through what we are going through and that our lives should be better than they are. Righteousness does not exempt you from suffering; righteousness empowers you in suffering. Suffering is instructive. It teaches us to submit to the sovereignty of God.
When you learn from Jesus, you learn obedience. Obedience shouldn't be contingent upon blessings. It does not require obedience when you and God want the same thing. It takes obedience to do the will of God when it is different from what we want to do. Often that path that God chooses for us to walk is not the path that we would choose for ourselves. Yet we must trust that our suffering is working an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17).
If you are going to learn contentment, you should learn that you cannot change people, but God can. Additionally, if we are going to learn contentment, we need to realize that most of the time, things do not turn out as bad as we imagined. Not everything that is possible is probable. How many times has your worst case scenario actually happened?
If you are going to learn contentment, learn what really matters). When we focus on the work that God has assigned to us, it moves us out of our self-centeredness (Isaiah 1:17). When you look for opportunities to bless others, you realize how blessed you are (Titus 3:14). Many of the things that we stress about don’t matter. We spend our time in unfruitful, unproductive activities. The things that matter the most to us should be what matters most.
If you are going to learn contentment you should learn that God can redeem any situation and revive any relationship. “I'm in it, but I am not in it alone!” God can redeem you despair and turn it into hope. He can redeem the darkness and make light. God can breathe life back into your marriage and your family relationships. Lord, help us to grow in contentment.
