It is the will of God that we as Christians are content. But how can we be content? Paul lays out the secret of contentment here in Philippians 4:11-13.
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The Secret of Contentment
Philippians 4:10-13
As the apostle Paul draws his epistle to the Philippians to a close, he has two things on his mind: the Philippians’ gift, and his own contentment.
Remember the historical situation. Paul is a prisoner in Rome. The Philippians have sent Epaphroditus to Paul with a gift. I’m sure they were hoping to make this stay in prison a little more comfortable.
In 4:10-20, Paul takes time to commend the Philippians on their recent gift to him. And in the midst of that discussion, he takes time to teach them about Christian contentment.
Both of these subjects are worthy of a separate message. Thus, we are going to look at Christian contentment in today’s message, and Christian giving in next Sunday’s message.
Before we dive into our text for the day, let’s do a quick New Testament survey on the subject of contentment.
Luke 3:14, “Some soldiers were questioning him, saying, “And what about us, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not take money from anyone by force, or accuse anyone falsely, and be content with your wages.” Here, John the Baptist is describing what the fruits of repentance look like for a soldier. John tells them that it is to be content with their wages. A soldier could be tempted to use his power and position to take advantage of the common people, but John tells them that the will of God is just the opposite. They are to be content with their wages, rather than taking money from people by force.
1 Timothy 6:6-8, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.”
Hebrews 13:5, “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”
I think one thing we can see very plainly about contentment is that it is the will of God for the Christian. God wants His people to be content. John the Baptist exhorts the people of his own generation to contentment. The apostle Paul urges Timothy to be content. The author of Hebrews commands his readers to be content. I think we can safely conclude, then, that contentment is the will of God, and discontentment is sin.
Well, with that as a short introduction, let’s delve into our text in Philippians to see what we can learn further about contentment. There are three great truths I want you to see from our text: Content is Inward, Contentment is Learned, and Contentment is in Christ.
1. Contentment Is Inward
What is contentment? The Greek word translated as “contentment” is a compound word made up of autos, which means self, and arkeo, which means sufficiency. Literally, it would be rendered “self-sufficiency”, but nothing could be further from the truth. Contentment is not to be self-sufficient; it is to be Christ-sufficient. Biblical contentment is to be sufficient or adequate in one’s self, completely independent of the circumstances of life. It is to be satisfied within one’s own inner being, no matter what your lot in life happens to be.
The modern meaning of contentment is “not needing more; feeling like what you have is enough; being satisfied or happy with one’s possessions, status, or situation.” It is the opposite of greed and dissatisfaction. We need to be clear here – there are many things that we should never be content with. We should never be content with the sin in our lives. We should never be content with the needs and suffering of people around us. We should never be content for people to die and go to hell. When I speak of contentment, I’m speaking of our possessions, status, or situation in life.
The problem today is that everyone instinctively knows that they should be content, but they are seeking their contentment outwardly. The average American will move 11.7 times in his life, or an average of every 3-5 years. I figured out that I have lived in at least 16 different homes during my life. We are a restless people, somehow thinking that if we lived in a different location our life would be more satisfying.
The average length of a marriage in the United States is 8.2 years. One family psychologist did a study on discontented boredom among suburban affluent children. He discovered that on average a five year old child owns 250 toys. Now, that child has only been alive 260 weeks! He has been accumulating toys at almost one per week over his entire life! Has your experience taught you that you are more content the more toys you have, the more meals you eat out, the more movies you watch, the more money you make? No, it is actually the opposite. Often, the more we have, the more we want and the less contented we are.
Of course the problem with finding contentment in these ways is that we are looking in all the wrong places. We are looking outward to find contentment, when in reality, contentment is inward. Contentment does not depend on outward circumstances. It is a lot like joy. We are to rejoice in the Lord always. That’s because Biblical joy doesn’t depend on what we are going through, but who we know. Contentment is experienced the same way.
4:11, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Whatever circumstances. In other words, any and all circumstances. Then Paul expands on these various circumstances in verse 12. They include humble means, going hungry, and suffering need. They include prosperity, being filled and having abundance. In other words, for Paul it didn’t matter if he was living in poverty or prosperity. He was content no matter what was going on. He was satisfied. He had enough.
This truth reminds me of the story of Horatio Spafford and his family. Horatio had a beautiful family, his wife Anna, and four daughters. Anna and the girls left for Europe, while Horatio remained behind temporarily. As Anna’s ship was crossing the Atlantic, it collided with a powerful iron-hulled Scottish vessel. There was a great gash in the ship, and within twelve minutes, the ship sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Later, a sailor in a small boat spotted a woman drifting on a piece of wreckage. It was Anna. Her four daughters had drowned, but she had been saved. Nine days later when she arrived in Wales, she wired Horatio, “Saved alone, what shall I do?”
Horatio booked passage on the next available ship to join his grieving wife. About four days into the voyage, the ship’s captain told him that they were in the very spot where his wife and daughter’s ship had gone down. And, it was there on that Atlantic crossing, that Horatio wrote those famous words: “When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, It is well with my soul.”
That is the truth of Christian contentment. Surely, there was nothing outwardly for Horatio Spafford to find satisfaction in. But his contentment was not dependent on anything outward. He found his contentment in Christ alone.
2. Contentment Is Learned
“I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am… I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry”
“I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity”
What this tells me is that contentment is not intuitive. We are not born with the knowledge of how to be content. We do not instinctively gravitate toward contentment and away from greed. We must learn it.
So how do we learn contentment? I believe it takes time and experience as a Christian to learn this lesson.
Let’s take a few examples. Let’s say you have an unsaved husband. You have prayed for him and witnessed to him and drug him to church, but he is still not saved. Although you can never be happy about that situation, you must learn to be content in that situation.
Let’s say you have an inoperable brain tumor, and nothing the doctors have been able to do has been able to stop the growth of that tumor. You have prayed and fasted, and the church has prayed and fasted for you, but the tumor is still there. You must learn to be content in that situation.
Let’s say you dislike your job and you have tried and tried to change careers, but nothing has ever worked out. You are still working in a deadbeat boring job that you dislike. You must learn to be content in that situation.
So, how do we learn contentment? Contentment is all about being satisfied in a given situation in life.
- We learn through life experience, that money, status, or position never satisfies us permanently. Sure, it may give us a sense of satisfaction in the short term, but that satisfaction quickly wears off. That new car that you bought a year ago does not provide near the same satisfaction today. It has become old hat. About five years ago, we bought a red Toyota Prius. We loved that car. Well give years later, and three collisions later, we are not so infatuated with it. That new job is no longer your dream job. That new home no longer captivates your attention. All possessions rust, get dented, or decline over the years. You can write Jesus’ statement over everything you experience in this life, “Everyone who drinks from this water will thirst again!” (Jn. 4:13). There is nothing in this life that will give you complete and permanent satisfaction. That’s the first lesson, and all of us must learn it by experience.
- We learn to look away from the things of this world to find true contentment and satisfaction.
We must learn by experience that the things of the world don’t satisfy, and that Christ does!
3. Contentment is In Christ
“I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.”
After Jesus said that everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again, He said, “but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (Jn. 4:14).
Paul said in verse 12 that he had learned the secret of contentment. Well, I believe verse 13 is that secret. Paul had learned that he could do all things through Christ who strengthens him. Now, the “all things” that Paul could do was not literally every possible thing. Paul is using the phrase “all things” in its context. He has just been speaking about being able to be content in all circumstances, poverty or prosperity. Then he says he can do “all things” through Christ who strengthens him. Obviously, he means he can be content in any and all circumstances through Christ who strengthens him.
But how? Contentment is all about being satisfied inwardly. Paul had learned that even when he could not be satisfied outwardly, he could always be satisfied inwardly, because Christ dwelt in him. And that’s true for us as well. When a dearly loved family member dies, Christ still dwells within us. When we lose our job, Christ still dwells within us. When we learn that we have a terminal illness, Christ still dwells within us. When we can’t pay our rent, Christ still dwells within us.
Christ is the ultimately satisfying One! The Christian must learn how to find his satisfaction in Christ within, when the things of the world do not provide satisfaction.
Psalm 90:14, “O satisfy us in the morning with Your lovingkindness, that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.”
Psalm 145:16, “You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”
Psalm 63:5, “My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.”
Brothers and sisters, when everything in your life is not what you wished it was, you can still be content. Why? Because no matter what is going on in your life, Christ still dwells within you, and you can draw upon His fullness. Now, you must learn to be content, by learning to find your satisfaction in Him. If you are constantly trying to find satisfaction in your outward circumstances, you will always be frustrated and upset. But, if you learn to find your satisfaction in Christ, nothing can take that away!
Conclusion
Brothers and Sisters, how are you doing with contentment? Let every frustrating situation in your life drive you to Jesus Christ to find real satisfaction.
Are you dissatisfied with your financial situation? Are you dissatisfied in your marriage? Are you dissatisfied in your job? Are you dissatisfied with your health? Whenever you feel frustrated or upset about outward circumstances in your life, that’s your cue! The Holy Spirit is nudging you to turn to Christ. He alone can provide you with that inner sense of satisfaction. Your outward circumstances may not improve, but you have a place you can go to drink of the water of life.
You might be in a place of need. Christ can fill you in that situation. You might be in a place of abundance. Your outward abundance can’t fill your inward longing for Christ. You must learn to go to Him in humble means and abundant means, in poverty and in prosperity. He wants to be your Provider no matter what situation you are in.
How do you find contentment in Christ? You need find your satisfaction in Him. That means, you need to be a worshiper. As you worship Jesus Christ, you will find that you will be drinking from the living waters that alone can satisfy your soul. I urge you to become a worshiper. I’m not talking about singing some praise songs on Sunday when the church meets. I’m talking about getting alone with God and worshiping Him on a daily basis.
I urge you this morning – let Christ be enough for you! If Christ is enough, then you can be content in any and every circumstance.
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