President Ronald Reagan one time told the story of when he was a teenager, he needed a new pair of boots made. In those days, you couldn’t just go to a shoe store, you went to the shoemaker shop.
The cobbler asked the young man- “Do you want blunt end toes or pointed end toes?”
Reagan shrugged his shoulders and said, “I don’t care, whatever you think.”
When the boots were ready, Reagan examined his new boots and looked at the toes. One of them was flat, the other boot was pointed.
Reagan said, “How can I wear a pair of boots like this?” The cobbler said, “You said do whatever you want… you didn’t care.”
From that day on, Ronald Reagan said “If you don’t make a decision about the things that matter the most to you, somebody else is going to make them for you.”
If you live your life in the “whatever” mode… like nothing matters, then don’t be disappointed when you don’t see God directing your path.
Welcome back to week #3 of our series, “Whatever”. We’ve learned that when Jesus says, “Whatever”… it’s different. It’s authoritative.
So far, we have taken a look at 1 Corinthians 10:31 where Paul says, “Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God.”
Last week, we talked about John 14:14 where Jesus said, “whatever you ask in my name, I will do it.” And this week we turn our attention to this incredible chapter in Philippians where Paul says…
…for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have.
Whatever I have… I’m good! That’s a hard place to get. This might be the hardest of all the “Whatever’s” that we will discuss. Especially because of this first reason.
1. Contentment is learned, it’s not automatic.
In our Scripture today, you’ll notice that Paul says, “I have learned to be content”. Notice that Paul didn’t say, “I was born content.”
He also didn’t say… “you know what, I just woke up one morning and I was all of a sudden content.”
He knew something that every individual has to figure out at some point… contentment is something that is learned.
In other words, it took some work. It took some spiritual discipline for me to get to the point where I was content. It’s something that takes some time and some effort.
Have you ever watched a toddlers play with toys? You can give one child 20 toys. They will ignore nineteen of them…
and immediately grab the one toy another child is holding.
Suddenly that toy becomes the most important object in the universe. And when the other child won’t give it up… what happens? Absolute meltdown.
Because discontent is something we are born with. You don’t have to teach children to complain. Nobody ever sits down with a child and says,
“Now listen carefully buddy… today I’m going to teach you how to whine.” They just know. Discontent comes naturally.
But contentment it has to be learned.
Someone once said: “If money bought contentment, rich people would never complain.”
But have you ever noticed… People with a little money complain.
People with a lot of money complain. People with fame complain.
People with success complain.
Because the issue is this… it’s not how much you have…
the issue is what your heart expects life to give you.
Paul says: “I have learned.”
And I think what he meant by this was that this lesson that he learned likely came through life experiences.
Paul had experienced hardships in his life. Paul had experienced loss through the years. And when he went through those seasons he discovered something incredibly powerful: God was enough.
2. Contentment is independent of circumstances
Paul goes on to say this in verse 12… I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.
In other words: Paul says, “I’ve experienced both sides.”
I’ve had plenty. I’ve had nothing. And I learned something important… Contentment doesn’t live in circumstances.
Have you ever said this before? “I’ll be happy when…”
I’ll be happy when I get that promotion.
I’ll be happy when I get married.
I’ll be happy when the kids are older.
I’ll be happy when I retire.
But the problem is…
Every time you reach that place… A new “when” appears.
Years ago, Theodore Roosevelt famously said…
“Comparison is the thief of Joy.” - Theodore Roosevelt
Comparison sneaks into our spiritual lives too?
For example… You start the morning off by doing a devotion. Maybe you read the morning devo’s that I send out each week and you’re pretty pumped.
But then… you scroll through social media and see that other person… you know… the one that’s practically auditioning for a Bible movie.
They’ve got candles lit, they’ve got their overprice Christian coffee mug, the dog looks like it’s about to lead in prayer.
Meanwhile, in your house, the toddler is eating the corner of your Bible, the dog’s barking at the mailman, and you’re just trying to keep him from knocking over your candle and setting off the smoke alarm.
But that’s what comparison does… it takes a beautiful moment of progress and makes it feel like failure.
Paul didn’t say, “I have learned to be content when my family and me looks Instagram-perfect.” He said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
God’s not grading families against each other… He’s cheering for both families. He’s cheering for your spiritual growth, not perfection.
The only competition or comparison God is interested in is comparing ourselves today wit who we were yesterday. Are you growing in the Lord?
The Bible is full of people who were content in their circumstances.
Joseph’s life reads like a roller coaster: Betrayed by his brothers, Sold into slavery, Falsely accused by Potiphar’s wife, Forgotten in prison
Yet nowhere do we see Joseph consumed by bitterness or resentment. Instead, he continues to serve faithfully wherever he is placed.
Even when he finally rises to power in Egypt, Joseph doesn’t take revenge on his brothers. Instead he says something remarkable:
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.” — Genesis 50:20
Joseph shows contentment because he trusted God’s purpose even in painful circumstances.
Look at King David… Before he ever wore a crown, he was a shepherd boy in the fields of Bethlehem.
He wasn’t complaining about being overlooked by his father or ignored by society. Instead he was: Writing psalms, Worshiping God, Protecting sheep, probably Practicing with a slingshot
David learned to be faithful in obscurity. Psalm 23 reveals his heart: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
David understood that when God is enough, you don’t feel like you’re lacking.
Think about Job. He loses almost everything in a single day:
His wealth, His servants, His children, Eventually his health
And yet his first response is almost unbelievable:
The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away.
Praise the name of the Lord!”— Job 1:21
Job doesn’t pretend the pain isn’t real, but he refuses to abandon trust in God. Contentment doesn’t mean you don’t feel pain.
It means your trust in God survives the pain.
How about one from the New Testament? John the Baptist had massive influence. Crowds followed him and respected him as a prophet.
Then Jesus arrives… and the crowds leave John to follow Him.
John’s disciples were upset about it, but John responded with incredible humility. “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
John was content to step out of the spotlight because his goal was never personal fame… it was God’s glory. Contentment is the freedom to celebrate God’s success even when it isn’t centered on you.
The moment we start measuring our life against someone else’s life… Contentment disappears.
Paul says: I’ve had plenty. I’ve had little. But my peace didn’t come from either one.
3. Contentment purifies ambition, it doesn’t kill it.
Some people misunderstand contentment. They think contentment means: “Don’t strive for anything.”
“Don’t improve anything.” “Don’t pursue goals.”
But biblical contentment does not kill ambition.
It purifies ambition. And what it looks like is this.
Instead of us striving out of our insecurity, we are now striving out of purpose. And our purpose is to bring honor to the Lord, like we talked about a couple of weeks ago.
Before Jesus changes us, a lot of our striving is fueled by something that is usually pretty unhealthy.
We strive because we are trying to prove ourselves. We want recognition. We want approval. We want to feel like we matter.
So we chase success, validation, applause, and status. And the problem with that kind of striving is that it never satisfies.
No matter how much we achieve, there is always another ladder to climb, another comparison to win, another person to impress.
Insecurity-driven striving is exhausting. It constantly asks the question, “Am I enough yet?”
But when a person understands who they are in Christ, everything changes. Our identity is no longer something we have to earn—it’s something we have already received.
We are loved. We are redeemed. We are accepted. We belong to God. And once your identity is settled, your motivation shifts.
You’re no longer striving to be somebody.
You’re striving because you already belong to Somebody.
That means the goal of our work, our service, our effort, and our ambition is no longer self-glory. It becomes God’s glory.
Whatever we do, do as unto Him. When our contentment comes from His purpose for our lives instead of trying to keep up with the Jones’s or the Kardashians or whoever your measuring stick is…
If we are striving to please Him, instead of others or even ourselves… it changes everything.
There is a big difference between these two mindsets:
“I need this to feel important.” Versus “I want to use what God gave me to serve Him.”
One is driven by emptiness. The other is driven by calling.
Contentment doesn’t make you lazy. It makes you free.
Free from trying to prove yourself. Free from chasing approval.
Free from tying your identity to success.
Then number four in our outline…
4. Contentment comes from Jesus, not our conditions.
Paul eventually reveals the secret in verse 13.
“For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”
The secret of contentment is not… better circumstances, better possessions or better opportunities. The secret of contentment is Jesus Himself.
Because when He becomes your source… Everything else becomes secondary.
Imagine for a moment that someone gives you a flashlight. Imagine someone giving you a flashlight. If the flashlight battery is weak… The light flickers.
But if the flashlight is plugged into a power source…the light stays strong… make sense? If you’ve got new fresh batteries it will stay strong. Or if it’s one that can go on a charger and it’s been on the charger for awhile… it stays strong and bright.
If you try to charge your flashlight by plugging it in to a potato… it’s not going to work. I don’t care what science experiments you have seen with a potato… it’s not going to work.
But… as long as it is connected to the source of power… all good!
But what we do in life is this… we try to power our lives with things that were never meant to be the source.
Money, recognition, success, approval. But those batteries eventually run out. Paul says: My strength… My peace… My contentment… comes from Jess Christ… not our conditions.
But here is what we have a tendency to do sometimes… we are so fixated on our conditions… we miss the blessings from God… that would bring us contentment.
Do you remember when FedEx ran a Super Bowl commercial several years ago?
The commercial spoofed the movie Castaway, in which Tom Hanks played a FedEx worker whose company plane went down, stranding him on a desert island for years.
Looking like the disheveled Hanks in the movie, the FedEx employee in the commercial goes up to the door of a suburban home, package in hand.
When the lady comes to the door, he explains that he survived five years on a deserted island, and during that whole time he kept this package in order to deliver it to her.
She gives a simple, "Thank you."
But he is curious about what is in the package that he has been protecting for years. He says, "If I may ask, what was in that package after all?"
She opens it and shows him the contents, saying, "Oh, nothing really. Just a satellite telephone, a global positioning device, a compass, a water purifier, and some seeds."
Like the contents in this package, the resources for growth and strength are available for every Christian who will take advantage of them.
But we miss out on these resources, because we are too busy chasing things that we think we have to have to be content.
And so now… maybe you’re thinking… “Ok, Ron… this all makes sense, but how do I know what contentment looks like? When will I know that I’ve turned a corner and am now content.
Let me quickly share with you four things that I think are sure marks or signs of contentment.
Four marks of contentment:
• Gratitude replaces grumbling
Discontent people complain. Content people give thanks.
And here’s why… contentment changes how you see what you already have.
Here’s an illustration of how that works… Two golfers played the same miserable round of golf together.
One guy complained on every hole:
“The sun’s too hot… the greens are too slow… my clubs are trash… and I think I just hit my last good ball into someone’s backyard.”
The other guy grinned the whole time:
“Fresh air… no emails… nobody from work can find me… and I paid good money to legally hit things and walk after them.”
Same course. Same scorecard. Same triple bogeys. One man had a terrible day of golf. The other had a great day hitting bad shots.
And here’s the deal… Contentment isn’t always going fix your swing… It changes how you laugh at your swing.
Another marker of contentment is…
• Generosity flows naturally
Discontentment says: “I need to hold onto everything.”
Contentment says: “I already have enough.” Which frees your heart to give.
This is actually the context of Philippians 4. Paul is thanking the Philippian church for their generosity. Content people are giving people.
Another maker of contentment is..
• Peace steadies your emotions
When your peace depends on circumstances… Your emotions ride a roller coaster. If it’s a good day… you feel great. If it’s a bad day… everything falls apart.
But when your contentment comes from Christ… Your peace becomes anchored. Not always perfect… but steady.
Think of it like this… It’s a thermostat versus a thermometer.
A thermometer only reflects whatever’s happening around it… when things heat up, it rises; when things cool down, it drops. That’s how our emotions behave when our peace depends on circumstances.
But a thermostat sets the temperature. It doesn’t react… it regulates.
When your contentment comes from Christ, He becomes the “thermostat” of your heart. The circumstances may change, but your peace remains anchored in Him.
And then the fourth marker of contentment is this…
• Joy becomes internal
External happiness depends on what happens around you.
Internal joy comes from what God has done within you.
And Paul demonstrates this better than almost anyone.
He writes about joy… From prison. Which proves something powerful. Joy doesn’t come from your environment.
It comes from your relationship with Jesus.
Paul says: “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.”
And that kind of contentment changes a person.
Gratitude replaces complaining.
Generosity replaces hoarding.
Peace steadies your emotions.
Joy rises from inside.
And the world may say: “You need more.”
But the believer can say: “I already have what matters most.”
Because when you have Jesus… You already have enough.
And as we close this morning, I want you to think about something.
Paul said, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.”
But the truth is… a lot of us are still in the learning process.
Some of us walked into this room today carrying a lot of restlessness in our hearts.
Maybe it’s the constant pressure to keep up with everyone else.
Maybe it’s the frustration of circumstances that didn’t turn out the way you hoped.
Maybe it’s the quiet feeling that no matter what you achieve… no matter what you accumulate… something inside still feels unsettled.
And if we’re honest… we live in a world that constantly tells us:
“You need more.”
“You deserve better.”
“You’re missing out.”
But the Gospel tells us something completely different.
It tells us that the peace we’re looking for… The contentment we’re longing for… The joy we’re chasing…
Is not found in getting everything we want… It’s found in Jesus Christ.
Paul didn’t say, “I finally became content when everything in my life worked out.”
He said:
For I can do everything through Christ,[d] who gives me strength.
His contentment came Jesus, not from his possessions.
And the same thing is true for us today. If you don’t know what that is like… we would invite you to try Jesus today.
During this song, would surrender your life to Him? Come and confess Him as the Christ, repent of your sins, and be baptized.
