Contentment

 

In Philippians 4:11-13 Paul shares a statement about contentment. He says he’s learned to be content with what he has, and whatever state he is in, because of his relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul says he can be content because he “can do all things through Him (Christ) who strengthens me”.  When he wrote this, Paul was in prison, not some place we would think to find much contentment.

Contentment isn’t an easy commodity. I’d say discontent is more likely to be the state in which we find ourselves. Tariffs, recession, high prices, political unrest – all of this and more contribute to the discontent we feel. We probably say “if only” a lot.  If only I had more money. If only I had a better job. If only I could lose weight. If only I had more sun.  If only these conditions were met, then I could be happy, content.

I am very discontented with our federal government. Every day I read in the news something that agitates me, adding up to a long list. We have begun a government shutdown, not much room for contentment in that, especially for the people whose jobs are on hold. I listen to our representatives argue over their side, and struggle to see where they can find middle ground. The decisions being made on our behalf by our government raise my anxiety and certainly my discontent. I’m guessing people on both sides of the political divide don’t feel much differently than me. All of us have our "if onlys" 

I don’t need the government to affect my contentment. I already have bills to pay, doctors to see, people to mollify. Even doing the laundry can mess up any state of contentment. I hate doing the laundry because it is never done. You can wash it all, fold it and put it away and already there are more things in the laundry basket. Silly to have that affect my contentment, but some days it does. And probably for most of us, it’s the little things that get hold of us.

What does it feel like to be contented? Certainly peace of mind, a sense of well-being. At the beach, sitting outside our house on a warm day, listening to the ocean and the birds, there I feel a lot of contentment. It’s when I let in all the other noise that my contentment disappears into agitation and worry. I’ll remember a doctor’s appointment coming up with an unknown procedure. My thoughts will stray to an unresolved issue with a friend or family. Even a memory of some spousal irritation can pop in, and contentment hits the road.

I was just reading about the Apostle Paul facing a shipwreck. (Acts 27) He was on his way to Rome. God had told him he would have a ministry in Rome. God wasn’t finished with Paul’s work here. When it looked like the worst was about to happen, Paul tells the crew that they would all survive; this wasn’t the end. However, the ship would be lost.  Good news, we will live. Bad news we will have to swim for it.  Sounds like a frying pan/fire situation. But they did get to shore and survive. Paul did get to Rome. He went as a prisoner, but was under house arrest for years, allowing him much freedom to minister and share the Christian message. Eventually he was placed in prison awaiting execution. It was there he wrote his words about contentment.

All this tells me that contentment isn’t about the absence of difficult circumstances. We think it is, but since such an absence is rare, Paul probably has it right. Paul’s contentment wasn’t about having a carefree, peaceful life. He said he had learned to be content in whatever circumstances faced him. So contentment is more than being problem free.

So what is contentment? According to Paul it is something we can learn. This would infer a choice (to learn or not). Paul learned contentment through a lot of extremely difficult circumstances. He learned not to say “if only”, but to accept the present and rest in that. Most important, he learned the God was with him through the storm, into the water, and onto the shore. God was with Paul in minimum security and maximum security prison. God was with him as he was led to, and during his execution. Through it all, Paul was content because God was with him. Paul had learned to focus on God, not on his circumstances. 

The Bible reveals that Paul was human and had his moments of angst. But over his lifetime he had learned contentment. He’d learned to trust that God had his life in hand, and would never leave or forsake him, even in the worst of circumstances. He knew God had a plan for his life, and at the end of his life he looked forward to Heaven and eternity with the God he loved and served. He wrote in Romans that even death can’t separate us from the love of God.

In another place I was reading about how gratitude can help with our anxieties and discontent. If I were to focus on the things I do have, it takes my mind from the “if onlys” For this week, the laundry is done. My doctor’s appointment showed everything is ok. My family is healthy. I have terrific friends. My husband is a saint. I have much to be thankful for. But what if I was to lose it all, on what do I then base my gratitude? Ultimately, for me, I am grateful that my Creator God died for what I deserved and now walks with me through whatever life throws at me. Everything else is really only temporary. Only God remains the same “yesterday, today and forever.” And this God chose to make a relationship with Him a daily, living reality. The ship may sink. I might have to swim to shore, but He is with me. I might even drown (a real possibility, my being such a terrible swimmer), but still, He is with me and I will step from the water into Heaven.

Ultimately, then, contentment lies in remembering Whose I am. Every day I learn more about living life with God. And that life includes learning to be content, whatever the circumstances, because He is bigger than the circumstances.  Governments and laundry come and go, but God promises to always be with me, through it all. I can learn this because He promises “I can do all things” through Him “who gives me strength”.