Learning To Be Content
by Chris Simmons
Though we’d like it to, agape love doesn’t come naturally or even easily and must be learned. Contentment, also commanded by God, is the same way. It’s a quality that must be worked at, developed, and learned. Contrary to human wisdom and pop-culture philosophy, we can learn to be content and satisfied with things as they are. Paul said in Philippians 4:11-13, “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” The fact that Paul “learned to be content” when he had more than he needed and when had less than what man would consider necessary indicates that it wasn’t always easy and that he faced the temptation to give way to greed and envy. Contentment in any and every circumstance of life is both a powerful tool for a happy life and an essential characteristic of those approved by God that must be learned day by day.
Contentment can be defined as being mentally or emotionally satisfied with things as they are; assenting to, or being willing to, accept circumstances or a proposed course of action. Paul “learned” to be content and so must we when we learn to focus on the spiritual rather than the physical. Paul also wrote in I Timothy 6:6-9, “But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” By focusing on our godliness rather than our physical blessings, we can learn to be content whether we have much or we have little. We need to realize that, regardless of our temporal circumstances, we are divinely blessed. This transcends each and every situation that we may find ourselves in. There is a link to be made between the idea of contentment and the spiritual definition of being “blessed.” The Greek word for “blessed” is makarios which is defined by Zodhiates in his Lexicon To The New Testament as “one whom God makes fully satisfied, not because of favorable circumstances” but because of the fellowship with God we are able to enjoy through, and in, Jesus Christ. Being content and blessed transcend human experiences and conditions because they are based on our spiritual fellowship with God and not on the physical possessions we have or on any other physical aspect of life.
How can we learn contentment? One particular American author is quoted as saying, “I try to teach my heart not to want things it can’t have.” There’s a lot of wisdom in that statement that we would be wise to practice and emulate. We can teach our heart not to want what we can’t, or simply don’t, have. We read in Hebrews 13:5, “Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have.” We can learn to be content because we know, trust, and believe that:
- God will never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) and has promised that He will provide that which we need if we seek Him first (Matthew 6:33).
- God knows our needs even better than ourselves. In Matthew 6:32, Jesus said that our “heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.”
- God has provided for something far greater to those who are faithfully obedient (John 14:3; I Peter 1:3-4).
Contentment begins in the heart and it begins with an attitude of thanksgiving. When we are no longer grateful to God for what He has blessed us with, we are bound to end up discontented. A lack of thankfulness is the first step towards all forms of apostasy (Romans 1:21). Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:16-18, “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” How can we possibly “rejoice always” if we’re not content and thankful?
Contentment is maintained by having a focus and a mindset on spiritual things. Paul wrote in Colossians 3:1-2 of the need to “set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.” Fleshly appetites will never remain perpetually satisfied and if that is our focus, we will find ourselves in “love with the world” (I John 2:15) and be consumed by a continual desire for more – the very antithesis of contentment. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 6:7, “All a man’s labor is for his mouth and yet the appetite is not satisfied.” Throughout the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon repeatedly referred to the effort to find contentment and satisfaction in the things of this world as a “striving after wind” – that is, something that is pointless and doomed to fail. Getting more is never a viable solution for a lack of contentment, and in fact simply fuels the fire. Rather, by converting our hunger and thirst from the fleshly to the spiritual, we’ll find the consistent contentment man desperately seeks as Jesus said in John 6:27, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man shall give to you.” Focus on making your heart and your life consistent with His will, His desires, and His plans for His children and learn to accept and appreciate the blessings of each day He gives us. Paul said in I Timothy 6:6, “godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.” We need to remember that contentment isn’t complacency or a lack of ambition but about a focus on what really matters in life.
In achieving contentment, there is a need to learn to separate and distinguish our needs from our wants. Our actual needs are quite few, our wants are all too often out of control. Paul notes in I Timothy 6:8 that with “food and covering, with these we shall be content.” We are tempted to allow many other things (other than food and covering) to creep over from the “wants” category to the “needs” category and we can’t let that happen. A life focused on our wants only leads to misery because there is no end and no point of satiation when it comes to human wants (cf. James 4:1-3).
It’s about focusing on what God has already blessed us with today rather than what additional blessings we want to have tomorrow. The rich man described in Luke 12:15-21 had blessings from God that he could enjoy and be thankful for today but instead put off his contentment to sometime later when he’d have even more and then (not now) that he’d be able to “eat, drink and be merry.” Contentment is about focusing on seeking God above all else, thanking God for the blessings of today, and not worrying about the future.
The process of learning to be content will be a long (life-long) and challenging lesson to learn but let us be thankful, focus on the spiritual, and trust God to meet our needs if we seek Him first.