Living Understanding Pt 16: Content

Philippians 4:12-13               12I 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. 13I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Need and plenty

At first glance, a person can look at this passage and think it refers to the absence or presence of money.  True, to abound is to have easy access to money, but it also includes things like friendships, moral values, education, spiritual insights and experiences.  To have money without the other things is to create the illusion of importance without the reality of it. 

But this passage is not really about financial support for Paul’s ministry.  The Philippian Church had a long history of supporting Paul, but it had recently been curtailed for a period of time.  This passage is showing Paul’s gratitude for their gift, but oddly, he never really says ‘thank you’, and doesn’t use the word ‘gift’ until v17-18.  So just what is Paul’s intent in writing these words?  Paul was in a Roman prison when he wrote this letter to the Philippians; he had just received the gifts Epaphroditus had brought from them.  But more important than the money was the welcome reconnection and reestablishment of relationship between Paul and the Philippians.

The secret of being content

As we read of Paul’s missionary journeys in Acts, we can see that he had been in times of ease and times of burden; he had been in prison; he’d been free.  But whatever the circumstance, Paul has found contentment.  This is not easy to do though as there is danger in both surplus and poverty.  In the one case, a person tends to get prideful, thinking life is easy because he is all that and a bag of chips.  In the other, one can tend to blame God for his circumstances and take on an attitude of offense.  Paul did neither.

5For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ.  7But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. (2Corinthians 4:5-10)

Paul’s secret was his attitude.  There is a Greek philosophy called Stoicism which says all problems can be worked out through personal will.  It was common in Paul’s day and common in ours.  We often hear today that one can succeed if one “Toughs it out”.  This was definitely not Paul’s philosophy.  He trusted in Jesus.  He knew that God would provide everything he would need and that in the midst of struggle he could find strength in his relationship with both Father and Son.

6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  (1Timothy 6:6)

 The ultimate source of strength

Content to the Stoic was self-sufficiency, but content to Paul was dependency.  “I,” Paul says, “can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.”  Not just survive excess and poverty, but all things.  Paul has a living union with Christ, and the thing to understand here is so do each of us.  But the thing is, that Stoic philosophy has so infected our modern culture that we have a hard time embracing this concept.  We think if we just try hard enough whatever we want will come to pass.  But there are just some things which are beyond our control.  We live in a fallen world and stuff happens.  Sometimes that is the result of our own actions and mistakes so it is easy to think that with enough effort change can be made.  But each of us has a physical and emotional limit beyond which we cannot go.  That limit might simply be our sin nature, in which we do the same idiotic thing over and over again, but it might also be that God has a specific direction for our life.  In that case, refusal to cooperate is akin to idolatry and that never works out well for the idolater.

So it is best to consider just where our ultimate strength comes from.

20I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

12I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. (1Timothy 1:12)

Everyone of us has times of success and times of failure in our lives and it is important to respond to them in a Godly way.  If things have been particularly good it is mostly because God has given us skills and strengths to do things well.  If things aren’t going so well, then it is time to consider whether or not our pride, arrogance, or sin nature have gotten in the way. In either case, communication with our Maker is called for.  “God thank you for blessing me and showing such grace and mercy”, or “God, I have messed up.  I need your help in unraveling this mess.”

What about me?

The bottom line here is to be content in all things.  To be upset and anxious in difficult times is not healthy either physically, emotionally, or spiritually.  Nor is it a good idea to be prideful or arrogant when things are going well.  My far away, believing friend, God loves you no matter what.  But like any loving father, sometimes he brings discipline also.  Maybe the hard times are the consequence of poor decisions or they are discipline from a loving Father.  The Word says times are going to get hard indeed, so it is important to learn proper response to both good and difficult times now.  So I encourage you to draw near to Him in every instance, and every day.