Learning to Be Content

I have a friend who has served as a missionary in Africa for nearly 40 years. He and his wife have lived through civil war, family crises, and fluctuating financial support. A few years ago he remarked that if his ministry ended right then, he was content. I thought that was an amazing statement.

Are you content with your life? For me contentment has been elusive. I’m at an age when the road ahead is a lot shorter than the road behind. I see the wrong turns I’ve made, the missed opportunities, time I’ve wasted, with great clarity. Yet contentment doesn’t seem to come from relishing accomplishments or achieving goals. I think contentment is more about a certain inner peace, an attitude about life.

The greatest example of contentment I know is another missionary, the Apostle Paul. When he wrote to the Philippian church, he talked about being content.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:10-13

When he penned these words, he was chained to a Roman soldier and facing likely execution. Yet he was content.

I’m heartened by his comment that he learned to be content. That should be a priority lesson for all of us. So what is there to learn? What is contentment, anyway?

Well, here’s what contentment is NOT. It’s not fatalism. It’s not just accepting “what will be will be.” It’s not giving up.

Contentment is not laziness or complacency. It’s not being passive about your own sin. Contentment does not mean you don’t have goals or ambition.

Okay, so what IS contentment?

The Greek word Paul used for contentment literally means self-sufficient or independent. But of course Paul isn’t teaching self-sufficiency or independence in a prideful “I did it myyyyyy wayyyyyyy.” I think contentment is self-sufficient in that it doesn’t depend on circumstances or possessions or people. 

Jeremiah Burroughs, a 17^th century Puritan pastor, wrote a book about The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. He said “Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious, frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.” 

That’s a mouthful, I know. But it expresses the same truth exemplified by Paul as he sat, not knowing if his release would be by the executioner’s axe or an open jail cell. Either way, he had a “sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit” because he “freely submitted to and delighted in God’s wise and fatherly disposal.”

For next time: Contentment and God's Timing