What Does The Bible Say? | Contentment
Philippians 4:10-13 is a passage many of us have heard of. You’ve probably seen it framed “I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” Today’s culture has taken this verse to mean “I can succeed in anything through Christ” meaning, I can pass this test, get this promotion, make this touchdown, because Christ is on my side. But the true meaning of this text is much more meaningful.
Philippians 4:10-11
10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
EXPLAIN:
v.10 The Philippian church sent a monetary gift to Paul. He was imprisoned. He rejoiced in that they had concern for him. He doesn’t mention the gift here. He simply focuses on the heart of the church. Just the basic act of thinking of him and his ministry brought joy to him.
v.11 He assures the church that he isn’t lacking anything. The REASON by which he can confidently live in such a way is because he has “learned in whatever situation [he is] to be content.”
What is contentment? To be happy/content with what one has or where one is. A state of adequacy and sufficiency
And now he’s going to explain “WHATEVER”
Philippians 4:12-13
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
EXPLAIN:
“whatever” is lowness, abundance, plentyness, hunger, need
What was whatever for Paul? All these, persecution, imprisonment, martyr
He says “I CAN DO ALL THINGS” All these. Earthly victory and defeat. Through Christ who is our adequacy and sufficiency. ENDURE
The sufficiency of my savior upholds my contentment in ALL THINGS. But before expanding on that point. Let’s start with what DISCONTENMENT produces.
What does DISCONTENMENT produce?
Greed – I want more
Jealousy – I want what they have
Impatience – I want it now
Laziness – I want nothing
Stinginess – I want to keep everything I have
Psalm 10:3
3 For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses[a] and renounces the Lord.
There is both an obvious picture of sin when we think about greed and a not so obvious perception. What we have now is not sufficient, therefore, I must get what I want by any means.
Many of us know the obvious sin. You can’t love God and money at the same time. Yet, we fail many times.
How many times have you caught yourself fantasizing about what you would do with a million dollars? “I’d give so much of it to the church”
How many of us thought “man if I made this amount I would be stress free” Yet we get what we want and still stress. Are you thinking like that right now?
What are you willing to do just to get more? Have you been willing to LIE? HURT OTHERS? STEAL?
“Well I haven’t done any of that for money”
Greed can at times not be so obvious. We do a pretty good job of hiding our greed with “good intentions”
“I need more for my family because I didn’t grow up with enough”
“I need more because what I have doesn’t secure the future of my kids”
I need more because I want to influence others
Greed says I need more.
Jealousy says I want what they have
James 3:16
16 For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice.
This is a difficult one to admit. Being motivated by jealousy will only bring about hurt.
You are willing to count the blessings of others as a curse onto you. You might see a coworker getting rewarded for the same amount of work or at times less, and you think it’s a matter of fairness but it really is rooted in jealousy. You get comfortable and join in the gossip. You talk about them with others and are willing to criticize them with others.
Jealousy can at times pertain to our desire to be part of a certain social class. “I need to have this because the people I work with, hang with have it.”
James 3 plainly explains “disorder and every vile practice”
What have you been willing to do to get what others have?
Have you joined the Gossip? Have you gone into debt just trying to hold up the social façade?
Greed says I want more.
Jealousy says I want what they have.
Impatience says I want it now
Proverbs 14:17
17 A man of quick temper acts foolishly,
and a man of evil devices is hated.
Discontentment keeps us from seeing what we have now as a gift from God. We make ourselves God. What are we willing to do to get what we want when we want? And if it isn’t going our way we blame everyone for our misery instead of realizing our own sin.
Contentment is life changing because life stops being about our happiness but instead becomes more about the way Christ is being glorified through your life. Kind of funny that Contentment means being happy with what you have and what you are, yet it produces selfless living for others.
Greed says I want more.
Jealousy says I want what they have.
Impatience says I want it now
Laziness says I want nothing
Proverbs 19:15
15 Slothfulness casts into a deep sleep,
and an idle person will suffer hunger.
Contentment is not idleness, apathy, complacency or laziness. You can’t be content with what you have and not be willing to work and toil the blessings and works that God has set out for you. You don’t just see your circumstances and cross your arms. Laziness is a sign of discontentment. Because I don’t like or care for what I do have, I am willing to let it die, diminish and fade. Doing nothing reveals the value you hold for that certain thing.
Have you stopped working as hard you should? Have you stopped working in excellence? Is it because you don’t care for that job or degree?
Greed says I want more.
Jealousy says I want what they have.
Impatience says I want it now
Laziness says I want nothing
Stinginess says I want to keep everything I have
Proverbs 11:24
24 One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
Living in fear of losing what you have is not a sign of being content in the Lord. “I just want to keep everything that God has given me.”
Ultimately, stinginess shows that we aren’t willing to trust God with our needs. There is a difference between wisely using your resources and idolizing our possessions. We then miss the point of why God has even given them to us.
The Parable of the Rich Fool (Luke 12:16–21)
Jesus tells the story of a rich man whose land produced a large harvest. Instead of sharing his abundance or using it wisely, the man decided to tear down his barns and build bigger ones to store all his grain and goods. He told himself, “You have plenty stored up for years—take life easy; eat, drink, and be merry.”
But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?”
Jesus ends the parable by saying, “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
IF ALL THINGS ARE THROUGH CHRIST. My focus should be “How should I be using what I have now, where I am now to further spread the Gospel of Christ.
· The sufficiency of my savior upholds my contentment in ALL THINGS.
WHITE KNUCKLES:
Many of us live this type of life. The opposite of contentment. It’s a white-knuckle life. The tighter you grip the more your knuckles turn white. And we are prone to grasp onto our wants and possessions pretty tightly. This is the type of tension we live in. DAILY.
I WANT THIS PROMOTION. LOOK AT WHAT THEY HAVE, I WANT THAT. I DON’T JUST WANT THIS BUT I NEED IT NOW. GOD GIVE IT TO ME NOW AND I’LL KNOW YOU’RE REAL. I JUST WANT TO RELAX AND LIVE COMFORTABLY. UNBOTHERED. I CAN’T LOSE ANY OF THIS. IT’S MINE AND NO ONE ELSE DESERVES IT.
And the tension affects us every day. It makes us irritable, angry, confused, sad. Contentment in Christ is the answer. ALWAYS. Because when we see that our salvation in Christ is sufficient then we can OPEN OUR HANDS.
Then, it’s RELIEF. (CHANGES TO CHRIST RESPONSES)
I WANT MORE > CHRIST IS MORE THAN ENOUGH
I WANT WHAT THEY HAVE > CHRIST DESERVES ALL MY DEVOTION
I WANT IT NOW > ETERNITY WITH CHRIST FUELS THE WAY I LIVE TODAY
I WANT NOTHING > WORK ALL THINGS UNTO CHRIST
I WANT TO KEEP EVERYTHING I HAVE > CHRIST GAVE ME WHAT HE HAD (INHERITANCE)
The sufficiency of my savior upholds my contentment in ALL THINGS.
I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST doesn’t mean I get what I want, what I think is fair, what I think I need. It means I have what I need and everything else is Christ’s
This is how Butch Wilmore can be stuck in space indefinitely and say I NEED JESUS. I need to be at church. I need to be with my church family. For Wilmore, I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH CHRIST, led him to endure his circumstances. Not just survive but thrive and be a vessel for Jesus.
What is the driving force to all of this?
If Christ is sufficient for my salvation. The salvation from eternal separation from God. Salvation from the Just wrath of God against my sin. Their was a chasm that separated us from the Father and we trust that Christ lived a perfect life, died a perfect sacrifice, resurrected on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father. That Jesus has done enough.
Peter says this in Acts.
Acts 4:11-12
11 This Jesus[a] is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.[b] 12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men[c] by which we must be saved.”
If he is enough for my salvation then why isn’t he enough for our lives now? Because when we fall into discontentment we are saying. I need Christ and I need more. I need salvation but I also need a big savings account. I need Jesus but I also NEED to find the person I’m going to marry like yesterday. I need Christ but I also need to know that my kids remember me by how much I left them.
No. If Christ is enough for salvation. He is enough for ALL THINGS
Philippians 2:5-8
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,[a] 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,[b] 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,[c] being born in the likeness of men.8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
HEART CHECK:
Take a moment to think about the one thing or several things you can’t surrender to God. That’s still causing you to live with white knuckles.
MONEY CAREER PROMOTION DEGREE REPUTATION COMFORT FREE TIME GETTING MARRIED HAVING KIDS FUTURE PLANS