HOW TO BE CONTENT
One of the things that God likes to see in his people is contentment. He wants us to be content. So this morning we will look at how God sometimes works to help us to become more content.
Prayer
Often God will put us in a situation which is uncomfortable for us in order to teach us the secret of contentment. Remember our old friend Elijah? God sent him to the Brook Kerith to wait out a drought for three years. And during this time, Ravens would bring Elijah meat and bread to eat two times a day. Just think of how this must have been unpleasant for Elijah, at least at first. In Leviticus, God told the Jews to regard the ravens, along with other birds, as unclean. The ravens were scavengers, and would eat most anything. But God instructed Elijah to eat what these dirty scavengers brought him to eat.
Also, there seems to be no variety in what Elijah ate. Imagine eating the same thing twice a day, every day for three years. Yuk! But Elijah did this without complaining. God was pleased with him and sent him afterward to do mighty works for the Lord. Elijah learned to be content with what God provided for him.
Paul said in Philippians 4:11-12, 11 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
Paul at times had plenty, but much of the time he had very little. But he said he learned the secret of contentment, whether times were good or times were bad. This then begs the question, who is more likely to find contentment, the folks with very little, or the folks with much. I have known some very poor families in Mexico who had little more than food and shelter, but yet they were some of the happiest people I know. I have also known some wealthy people who were never satisfied with their wealth. They were always striving for just a little bit more. They are always looking for something new to satisfy them. The truth is that the Paul’s secret of contentment can be found and enjoyed by anyone, regardless of wealth or social status.
Some people might be quite content in their present familiar surroundings. But if they are moved to a different country, a different culture, then many become discontent. The food is different and they do not like it. The smells are not the same. The language is hard to learn. And the social customs are strange. So now they are no longer content.
God sent Paul to many different countries and cultures. It would be hard to count the hardships that Paul encountered. He was harassed, beaten, imprisoned, stoned and left for dead. But in all this, Paul claims to have found the secret of contentment. And so can we.
Luke 10 tells us that Jesus sent the disciples to spread the gospel with nothing. He told them not to take any money, no travel bag, and no extra shoes. I mean they had nothing except what they were wearing! Then when they were invited to stay in someone’s home, they were not to go anywhere else. Even though the food might be meager and the bed hard, they were to stay there and not look around for a better deal. They were not to be picky. Jesus was teaching those disciples the lesson of contentment.
1 Timothy 6:6-8 tells us “6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.”
Paul says we should be content with food and shelter. Jesus even said that if we follow him, our earthly good might be meager. We find the story in Luke 9,
“57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”
58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
Jesus was trying to tell this young man that if he were to become a follower, that there might be times when he would have to sleep in the fields, to go without the best of food, and possibly be hunted down by the Jewish authorities.
Two antonyms of content are worry and anxiety. Worry can be so destructive. Worry not only robs us of enjoying our daily lives, but it can also do temporary and long term damage to our bodies, including
• Digestive disorders
• Muscle tension
• Suppression of the immune system
• Short-term memory loss
• Premature coronary artery disease
• Heart attack
If worry is not dealt with, it can eventually lead to depression and suicide. We just don’t need that stuff. We just don’t need it. Worry means that we have taken control of a situation that should have been left in the loving hands of our all-wise heavenly father. When we try to take control of a situation where God should be in control, we usually mess things us. Worry robs us of our peace. If we should ever find ourselves beginning to worry, we should pray, ask God to handle the situation that is worrying us, and to remove us from the driver’s seat. We should give God control of the situation, and ask for the peace and comfort that comes from putting our full trust in him.
A true disciple does not chase around after the riches and pleasures of this world. This is called greed. God’s disciple is not always looking for that next thrill, another rush. But rather, he finds peace and satisfaction where he is, doing what God calls him to do. To him, the grass on the other side of the fence is not greener. He is not chasing comfort. He will be content in any situation that the Lord puts him in.
And he will not be a complainer. Godly Contentment and Complaining are also contradictory terms. How many times did we see Elijah complain? Or Paul? How about the seventy disciples sent out? None! No complaints are recorded. When one complains, it means he is not content, not happy with what God has given him or called him to do. Remember how the Israelites complained and grumbled against God for their situation in the desert? God was not pleased with them and they suffered the consequences. Complaining only makes us more discontent and tends to spread that discontent to others. When Christians do everything without complaining, they are lights in a dark world, and demonstrate that they are children of God. The lack of complaining is a characteristic of God’s children.
Matthew 6 says 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
So then in conclusion, to be content, we must first recognize God’s sovereignty over every situation, and that he is using every situation for our good and his glory. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”
Then secondly, we must draw near to God in order to persevere. In Phillipians 4:13, Paul says “I am able to do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Thirdly, to be content, we must be thankful, always giving thanks to God in every situation.
Next, to be content, we must avoid falling in love with the things of this world. We cannot serve both God and money. Or power, or fame, or prestige, or accumulating large amounts of material goods, or glory, or anything else that might interfere with our relationship with God. All earthly things and concerns must take a distant second compared to our love for our heavenly Father.
Then lastly, to be content, we must avoid griping, complaining and arguing. Philipians 2:14-15 says, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure, children without blemish though you live in a crooked and perverse society, in which you shine as lights in the world.”
Reference: Elijah, the Bible Teacher’s Guide by Gregory Brown
