Contentment in a world of discontent
“Prisoner 83839 says he doesn’t need anything and is completely content!” You can just imagine the incredulity of a Prison Governor hearing this from his staff!
If ever anyone had cause to complain about how life was treating them, then Paul of Tarsus would be a candidate. His life was far from easy – and all because he knew his God-given purpose, the ministry that Jesus had called him into. He willingly experienced what Jesus had already taught His disciples as He warned them that persecution would be the inevitable consequence of living a godly life:
“….. they will seize you and persecute you. They will hand you over to synagogues and put you in prison, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name. And so you will bear testimony to me.” Luke 21:12–13 (NIV)
I was re-reading how Paul both expected and experienced persecution and other “difficulties” too – and yet he was a contented man. That turned my thoughts to reflecting on how discontented people are in today’s society. We live in a world where there is stress and strain, unhappiness, anger, and jealousy for what others have, all around us.
I know that if I’m not careful, such discontentment can be contagious and deflect me from the purposes my heavenly Father has called me to.
So what does it mean to be discontented? Google tells me that discontentment is a state of dissatisfaction, unrest, or a restless longing for something different from my current circumstances.
Holy discontent
For us as Christians, discontentment may show itself as false expectations, unfulfilled desires, or misplaced priorities. While it might be due to misplaced pride or unbelief, it can also be a “holy discontent”. God may be using our holy discontent to encourage us into spiritual growth, to change how we see people and situations through His eyes or to bring a deeper reliance on Him. Or all of the above!
Holy contentment
Paul did not seem to have this problem! In his letter to the Philippians he wrote:
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 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. For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:11-13, New Living Translation).
Paul wrote these words while in Rome around AD 61–62. During this time he was under house arrest, chained to a guard, and awaiting a ruling from Caesar.
Am I out of step with God?
Paul says he was never in need, but always content. Wow! I wish I could say that! I need to reassess whether there are “needs” within me that are out of step with my life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. The thing is, neediness breeds discontent. The truth is that neither of these are values I should pursue as His disciple. Maybe I need to do a regular self analysis to help me not to lose my focus on God and resist wallowing in unfruitful worldliness.
So here I am reflecting on what it was that Paul had, that allowed him to say that his needs were met and his life filled with contentment.
Paul learned to be content
Paul focussed his life on spiritual truths that undergirded his total reliance on and unwavering faith in Jesus Christ . He was sure of who he was. He was convinced of his relationship with his Lord and Saviour Jesus and, through Him, his restored relationship with his heavenly Father. That was the result of Christ’s work at Calvary, brought to his attention in that life-changing experience of meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus.
As Paul pursued his God-given mission, he experienced both times of great abundance and severe hardship. Through it all, he found a profound peace. A peace that could only come through the divine strength of his unwavering trust in God.
Three things to reflect upon
I take away three things from this reflection, to help me make Paul’s claims true for me too.
First, Paul had to learn to be content in any situation. This contentment is not a default state of mind in each of us. It is a practiced discipline we each need to develop for ourselves as we encounter the various trials that life brings.
Second, the peace that comes from “holy contentment” can only be found as we depend on God’s eternal promises found in His Word. Promises demonstrated to be true through our own experience, rather than the world’s untrustworthy claims.
Finally, we must not interpret Paul’s “I can do anything” claim to mean that as Christians we can accomplish any and every physical goal. But we have been given, through God’s Holy Spirit indwelling us, the spiritual endurance to face any difficulty – but only when we depend upon Jesus alone to provide the strength to persevere.
Completely convinced, completely content
I leave you with a few more words from Paul, some of my favourite verses in the Bible. They are why he could be as he was and say as he did:
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:38-39)
All references are from the NKJV unless specified otherwise.
John Partis
bearing-kingdom-fruit.com
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