Intro: Why is there so few people in the world who are content with life?... so few people who are satisfied with their life.
Philippians 4:11-12 Paul wrote that he had learned the secret to contentment.
Typical logical deduction would assume that the more a man has, the more content he would be. (ill. Skit: “Your money or your life”)
I AM REALLY CONTENT...
I am really content — until I start looking through the Sears catalogue.
I liked my car — until I saw the new P T Cruiser.
I am satisfied with my clothes — until I stroll through American Eagle, or the other Mall stores.
I love our home — until I think of what it would be like to own a log cabin on the shore of some remote lake.
I am satisfied with every area of my life — until I start comparing with someone else’s life.
I feel like I have enough of everything — until I see someone who has more.
SOURCE: Rodney Buchanan in "An Attitude of Gratitude" on www.sermoncentral.com.
Solomon who has researched and experimented on this subject says that more possessions and more money do not bring more contentment (v.10) Huh?!
It’s one of those things that just don’t make sense to a normal human. "Have you had a taste of the best this world has to offer? You went to Hawaii once on vacation, so now it’s harder for you to enjoy the state park. You’ve eaten a steak at Ruth Chris, so it’s harder to be thankful for a meal at Ponderosa. You’ve driven a Jaguar, so now you can’t be as content with your used Chevrolet. You’ve cheered for a national champion, so now it’s difficult to be grateful when your team has a good season but doesn’t take home the title..."
"It is a rare person who, when his cup frequently runs over, can give thanks to God instead of complaining about the limited size of his mug!"
Think about how much better off I am than many dead rich people of the past… History books are filled with wealthy people who were practically destitute compared to me. I have a 2 ton heat pump and energy efficient storm windows; Julius Ceasar did not. Entire nations trembled before Alexander the Great, but he couldn’t buy dog food in bulk and he didn’t have a Sam’s Card. Napoleon didn’t have Directv complete with hundreds of channels and with the Sunday NFL Ticket Package.
Given how much better off I am than so many famous dead people, you’d think I’d be content. The trouble is that, like most people, I compare my prosperity with that of living persons: neighbors, friends, the rich and famous.
There is really no rising or falling standard of living. Over the centuries people simply find different stuff to feel grumpy about. You’d think that merely not having bubonic plague would put us in a good mood. But no, we want a hot tub too.
Adapted from Condensed from Home, David Owen, in Reader’s Digest, July, 1996, p. 193.
Reasons money can’t buy happiness (5:10-17)
1. As money and possession multiply so do problems (v.11)
2. The blessing of possessions bring the curse of responsibility for them (v.12) (ex. every seminary student dreams of a “big church”)
3. As money and possessions multiply so does greed (v.13)
4. People tend to put their trust in their money and possessions instead of God (v.14) (Prov 23:4; 1 Tim 6:17)
5. Money and possessions can’t do anything for us in eternity (vv.15-16)
a. Everyone will leave this world empty-handed
i. Formula for self assessment: Add up everything you have that money can’t buy and death can’t steal.
b. In the late 1800’s, an American tourist visiting Poland was welcomed at the home of a learned Rabbi, Hofetz Chaim. He was surprised to find the Rabbi’s home was a simple room filled with books, plus a table and bench. He asked, “Rabbi, where is your furniture?” “Where is yours?” replied the Rabbi. “Mine?” asked the puzzled American. “but I’m a visitor here; I’m only passing through.” “So am I”, said the Rabbi. Let’s not get too tied to this world, and we’re not home yet. Robert Leroe @sermoncentral.com
3 Truths you must understand in order to experience contentment (5:18-6:2, 9)
1. Happiness is not a goal to achieve but is something we find as we are seeking to achieve our God-given goals. An old dog was watching a young dog chase his tail. The young dog stopped to rest, and told the older dog, “I believe happiness is in my tail, and if I catch it, then I will have happiness!” The older, wiser dog said, “I caught mine once. . . and I found out that happiness is not in the catching, it’s in the pursuit.”
Sometimes it seems like the people who seem like they’ve “caught” everything they were chasing after haven’t found joy in it! Darrell Stetler II @sermoncentral.com
a. Have you ever searched for something like your car keys and couldn’t find them but while you were searching you found something else that you weren’t particulary looking for but were glad to find?
i. If you look for happiness you will never find it.
b. God has not designed happiness as a future event but a present reality.
i. Like the airline pilot who was flying over a river. He said to his co-pilot, “See that river down there? When I was a boy I would fish down there and every time I would see a plane flying over I would thing, “I sure would like to be up there flying that plane.” Now every time I fly over that river I look down and think, “I sure would like to be down their fishing!” A.T. Stewart @sermoncentral.com2. Material possessions are not given by God to be hoarded but are given to enjoy (vv.19-6:2)
a. There is a story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren’t you out there fishing?" he asked.
"Because I’ve caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman.
"Why don’t you catch more fish than you need?’ the rich man asked.
"What would I do with them?"
"You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you’d have a fleet of boats and be rich like me."
The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?"
"You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist.
The fisherman said, "What do you think I’m doing right now?!"
The story makes a valuable point. You don’t have to have a lot of money to enjoy your life! We forget that sometimes! We fall into the trap of thinking that we’ve got to have more and more! We’re misled into believing that life is missing something unless we have that new toy. Marc Axelrod @sermoncentral.com
i. 1 Tim 6:17
b. Possessions are for us to possess not vice versa
3. What you have right now is better than what you think you want (6:9)
a. This is God’s world and we are just living in it.
b. Mother Teresa gave her life to feed starving people and later to minister to the dying in Calcutta, India. In an interview, a writer asked Mother Teresa about her feelings of being used of God to minister to the poor and the world. Her little work was known world wide, from the Pope to the President of the USA.
She answered, "But it is His work, I think God wants to show His greatness by using my Nothingness."
She was asked later, "You feel you have no special qualities?"
Mother Teresa replied, "I don’t think so. I don’t claim anything of the work. It is His work and I am like a little pencil in His Hand. That is all. He does the thinking, He does the writing. The pencil has nothing to do with it. The pencil has only to be allowed to be used."
c. I am Thankful for.........
the taxes I pay
....because it means I’m employed.
the clothes that fit a little too snug
….because it means I have enough to eat.
my shadow who watches me work
....because it means I am out in the sunshine.
a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning and
gutters that need fixing
....because it means I have a home.
the spot I find at the far end of the parking lot
....because it means I am capable of walking.
my huge heating bill
....because it means I am warm.
all the complaining I hear about our government
....because it means we have freedom of speech.
the lady behind me in church who sings off key.
....because it means that I can hear.
the piles of laundry and ironing
....because it means my loved ones are nearby.
the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours
....because it means that I’m alive.
weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day
....because it means I have been productive. Conclusion: Paul said he had learned… maybe he even got some help from reading Solomon’s research on the subject… but Paul knew a secret that I want to share with you.
The secret to contentment is putting Jesus first in your life! (v.13)
Someone has said "I spent most of my life searching for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Then I finally found it at the foot of the cross."
Professional golfer Paul Azinger was diagnosed with cancer at age 33.
He had just won a PGA championship and had ten tournament victories to his credit.
He wrote, "A genuine feeling of fear came over me. I could die from cancer. Then another reality hit me even harder. I’m going to die eventually anyway, whether from cancer or something else. It’s just a question of when. Everything I had accomplished in golf became meaningless to me. All I wanted to do was live."
Then he remembered something that Larry Moody, who teaches a Bible study on the tour, had said to him. "Zinger, we’re not in the land of the living going to the land of the dying. We’re in the land of the dying trying to get to the land of the living."
Golfer Paul Azinger recovered from chemotherapy and returned to the PGA tour.
He’s done pretty well.
But that bout with cancer deepened his perspective. He wrote, "I’ve made a lot of money since I’ve been on the tour, and I’ve won a lot of tournaments, but that happiness is always temporary. The only way you will ever have true contentment is in a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I’m not saying that nothing ever bothers me and I don’t have problems, but I feel like I’ve found the answer to the six-foot hole." A. Todd Coget @sermoncentral.com
Do you want to discover the secret of contentment? Make Jesus Christ the Savior and Lord of your life.
