How To Be Content

Title: Love Where You Live

Text: Philippians 4:4-12

Bottom Line: If I’m not content with where I am and what I have now, I won’t become content when I get “_________”

Intro

Good morning Real Life! I hope you all had a great thanksgiving with plenty of family, friends, food, and of course football!

This is by far my favorite time of the year. I love the food, the family, every time my wife and I go to the store and I see Christmas decorations I have to look through it all. I love this time of year.

Tension

But a problem that we can’t ignore and it is glaringly obvious during the holiday season. We are some of the most discontent and joyless people in the world. And that’s why we decided to do this series looking at what it means to actually be full of joy and content in every season of life. Last week we looked at joy, this week we are going to look at how to be content.

Let’s be honest we’ve all felt discontent in our lives at some point. This time of year there are no shortage of voices telling us what we need to have to finally be content. Each ad tells us our lives are missing something and if you just buy this car, that phone, if you just give these toys, drink that beer, wear these clothes, if we just had their product then our lives would be complete. We will spend millions this Christmas season trying to find that product that will leave us feeling content with our lives.

Yet many will wake up in January still discontent. We are a discontent people. Always looking for the next thing that we think will finally be enough. If we can just get that job, that wife, if we only had a bigger house, a nicer car, made more money, if we could only get pregnant, then, then we will be happy… We keep searching for something that we think if we can get then we will be happy.

Listen this is a tough message for me to preach, because I’m just like many of you. I am discontent. And I buy into the lie that if I just had BLANK then my life would be better. But here’s the hard truth I’ve learned… If I’m not content with where I am and what I have now, I won’t become content when I get “_________” Whatever you are after… If I’m not content with where I am and what I have now, I won’t become content when I get “_________”

Now we may find temporary satisfaction in a job, a new car, a new relationship, more money, or whatever we are after. But they will all fade and leave you feeling discontent once again searching for something else to fill that void. Not that those things are bad, in fact most are good things. Money, marriage, kids, cars, houses, promotions, iPhones, and tvs are all good things. Listen, black friday is a good thing! At least for people watching… These things are good, we should have pleasure and enjoyment in them. But if you aren’t content without them you won’t be content with them.

If you believe me let’s look at a few examples of people that have had them all… Tom Brady, the greatest QB of all time… If you disagree I just want you to know it’s okay to be wrong. There’s grace for you. After each game Brady does a postgame interview. And inevitably whenever a question about the Super Bowl comes up a reporter will ask Brady what his favorite Super Bowl ring is. With a smirk on his face he will say “The next one.” This guy has been to 7 Super Bowls won 5 and is arguably the greatest QB playing the game and is on one of the best teams in the history of the sport. And he is still discontent.

This discontent doesn’t just live in the world of sports. I’m going to put some pictures up and I want you to shoot out who it is… (Elvis, Michael Jackson, Prince) What do these people have in common? Shout it out… One other thing is they all struggle with chronic depression. And I’m not talking just about mental illness, it’s a chronic discontentment with their lives.

This really bothers me because they have everything you and I are after. They have all the money, the power, the success, the houses, the cars, the fame, they have everything that you and I think that we need to be content and happy. And they still suffer from deep deep dark discontentment. We think if we just had more then we will be happy, but these people have it all and still are discontent. What’s going on here?