Today we want to talk about contentment. The lack of contentment is one of the reasons why many people, including Christians, do not have joy in life. We feel that we do not have enough. Something is always lacking. And we have to get it in order to feel fulfilled and happy.
A few years ago, Jack Neo made this movie "Money No Enough" 钱不够用 to highlight the typical Singaporean’s lifestyle. We need more - more of everything.
If we keep telling ourselves that we do not have enough, we will eventually develop a craving, a strong desire to get more and more. We want it quick and we want it the easy way. That’s why people gamble. They want to get rich the quick and easy way.
There is another word for this in the Scriptures - it’s GREED. Greed is just the opposite of contentment. The Bible warns us:
1 Tim 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
TV advertisers try to convince us that contentment is not possible without their particular brand of something. Without it, life would not be as good. Suddenly, we feel deprived if we do not have it, so we go out and buy it – even when we do not really need it. We plunge into debt, sometimes into excessive loans and put our selves and our family under unnecessary pressure.
We are living in one of the most prosperous nation in this region, yet we feel that we do not have enough. Will the world ever satisfies us? No. We need to learn from Paul, and understand that only God can fill the longings in our hearts. Things cannot give us fulfilment in life. Jesus told us plainly, abundant life can only be found in Him.
Paul says in 4:11 "...for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."
4:12 "...I have learnt the secret of being content in any and every situation."
(1) CONTENTMENT HAS TO BE LEARNT
We’ve got to make an effort to learn. In life, almost everything comes through learning.
Contentment is not something that comes to us naturally. It has to be learnt. It was not instantaneous for Paul. Over the years of serving the Lord, he experienced God’s help whenever he has a need. Very often, God provided for him through Christian friends and churches, like the Philippians’ church he mentioned here.
4:16 "for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need."
4:18 "I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God."
Paul has learnt, over the years, to trust God for his daily needs. That is why he was able to tell them in 4:19 "And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus." He said this out of his own experience. God did provide for him.
Someone once said, in life you can either be a thermometer or a thermostat. A thermometer cannot influence the surroundings. It is affected by the environment to register its temperature. It’s always going up and down. But a thermostat regulates the surroundings and changes them when they need to be changed.
Paul is more like a thermostat. The circumstances do change him - "in any and every situation" 随 事 随 在 (v.12) - he is content and happy. He has learnt it, and so can we.
Let us learn to be content. Do not allow things to dictate how we feel and how we live. Instead of allowing the circumstances to influence us up and down, we must make a stand for what we’ve come to know as true from the Scriptures. We are not to be victims of the circumstances. It’s a choice we have to make. We can decide how we want to live.
If contentment is something we learn, then we have to work at it every day.
(2) CONTENTMENT IS NOT FOUND IN THINGS
4:12 “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.”
Paul says he can be contented, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
That means it really doesn’t matter whether you have more or less, you can be contented and happy.
Contentment has nothing to do with things. It has nothing to do with what you have or what you do not have. It is the condition of the heart!
Paul was a man fully dedicated to serving God. He could see life from God’s point of view. He was always thinking about what he should DO for God, and not what he felt he should HAVE in life. Paul had his priorities set right. How do we know?
Let’s read what Paul says to Timothy - 1 Tim 7-10:
"7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap, and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness."
Paul says that we start with nothing, and we end with nothing. It is wise therefore to be detached from the things of life. And focus on qualities that are significant and eternal - righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
Paul says, it is because of our greed that we bring upon ourselves many griefs. We live a miserable life because we often feel we do not have enough. We fail to get what we want and we feel very deprived. This is what the world will tell us, that’s how the market economy works.
Let us not fall into the trap. There is a saying in Greek: "To whom little is not enough, nothing is ever enough." If you do not choose your lifestyle the world will choose it for you, and it will probably be one beyond your means. Let your lifestyle be biblically based; make it eternally focused, the Bible says.
Consider this: if all the grains of sand on all the beaches of the world represented eternity, then you could say that one grain of sand represents your lifespan. Now think: you are over here grinding your one grain day and night to get everything you can out of it, while ignoring all the beaches of eternity that God has in store for you. Not too bright, right?
You’ll never find contentment in things.
(3) CONTENTMENT IS FOUND IN CHRIST
From his own personal experience, after about 25 years of serving the Lord, Paul was able to say:
Phil 4:13 “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” And then in 4:18 "I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied..."
4:19 “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
We need to come to the point of understanding that Christ is all we need. Unless we truly believe this, we can never be content. We will always be comparing ourselves with others. My neighbour has this or that. My classmate has this and that. All my friends have this.
In life, you will surely find someone who…
• has a better income than you do; gets better grades at school, get promoted faster than you do...
• is better looking, better dressed, or with better things...
And then we’ll feel sorry for ourselves. We feel sad. We feel poor.
We are not told to follow the world. We must have this conviction in our hearts – that Jesus is all we need. Earlier on in this letter, Paul says this in Phil 3:8 “What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
Can we say that? Do we feel that way today?
NO TIME TO MAKE MONEY
Charles Spurgeon shared this story of a friend - Professor Agassiz was a very talented who took on a simply job and spent most of his time serving the Lord. One close friend expressed his wonder that a man of such abilities as Agassiz should remain contented with such a moderate income.
"I have enough," was Agassiz’s reply. "I have no time to make money. Life is not sufficiently long to enable a man to get rich and do his duty to his fellow men at the same time."
Do we Christians have time to serve our God and yet at the same time, giving our whole souls towards gaining wealth?
- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
If our pursuit of things leaves us no time for God, then we’re heading in the wrong direction. We are holding on to what is temporary and letting go of what is eternal. We need to re-examine your priorities and change them.
Then we’ll be able to say like Paul, "We’ve learnt."
Conclusion:
Bros/sis, are you often unhappy and not satisfied? "If only I had a better job, or more money, or a better something, then I would be happy."
If you’re still thinking that happiness comes from having more... then we need to listen again to what God has to say in this passage. Paul can be content and happy in any and every circumstances. Why? Because our ability to cope with life come from Christ, who give us the strength and resources we need.
FINDING HAPPINESS
There is a fairy tale story about a rich merchant, loaded with riches but unhappy. He asked around, "How can I find happiness?" A wise man tells him, "Look for a happy man, and ask him to sell you his shirt."
The merchant searched for a long time until at last he found a happy man. "I want to be as happy as you. Sell me your shirt. I can pay for it."
The happy man started to laugh. He hadn’t got a shirt! He is so poor he goes around without a shirt.
Then the merchant understood. Happiness cannot be found in possessions.
No wonder Jesus says,
"Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God." (Matt 4:4)
What we really need is Jesus Christ. Real contentment doesn’t come from things. It comes from knowing Jesus and walking with Him everyday.
Dear friends, you need to accept Jesus Christ as your Saviour today. He died on the cross on your behalf, because of our sins. Whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. Only in Christ, can we experience the full blessings of life. Fulfilment in life comes only in knowing Jesus as our Lord and Saviour.
Let us learn to be content in life. Commit our time and efforts in chasing after the souls of men, not things. God will meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Trust Him.
