Wisdom5

WISDOM Part 5

"The Wisdom of Contentment"

Phil 4:9-13

Continuing our series on wisdom, I want to talk with you today about the wisdom of contentment.

We’re going to see that CONTENTMENT is a great protection against the enemy’s temptations.

And contentment precedes happiness.

And we will see that the opposite—DISCONTENT—opens the door to unnecessary temptations and guarantees an unhappy life.

Matthew Henry: “Discontent is a sin that is its own punishment and makes men torment themselves; it makes the spirit sad, the body sick, and all the enjoyments of life sour; it is the heaviness of the heart and the rottenness of the bones.”

The contented person can be satisfied with a shack, while the discontented is miserable in a palace.

WHAT IS CONTENTMENT MADE UP OF?

Contentment is:

Being grateful for what we have

Being faithful with what we have

And being fruitful out of what we have, be it little or much.

Contentment takes the cup of Providence (what God has given us), and makes the most of it.

To make the most of what is in the cup is the act and art of contentment.

Not to drink because there is only half a cup, or because we don’t like the flavor, or because somebody else has silver and we only have glass, is to lose the half that IS there; and that is the penalty of discontent.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT CONTENTMENT:

Some believe contentment comes from having plenty of money.

John D. Rockefeller, one of the richest men of his day, who had a net worth of $100 million, was once asked, “How much wealth does it take to be happy?” He answered, “Another million dollars.”

And others think that contentment comes from achievement.

If we earn one more degree, get one more promotion, then we’ll be content.

And still others think contentment can be found in acquisitions – from getting things on our “wish list.”

A new house, a new car, a new boat, a vacation home.

But contentment doesn’t come from affluence, achievement, or acquisitions.

The Bible says, “[the lust of] the eyes of man is never satisfied” (Prov.27:20).

Or on the flip side, we might assume that we will experience contentment when our trials and hardships end.

But Paul learned that we can experience contentment in any situation at all—good or bad!

“I've learned by now to be content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty.”

Paul had suffered vicious beatings, shipwrecks, and being thrown in prison.

But from a jail cell, incarcerated for doing nothing wrong, he could still write the words: “I have learned to be content.”

Paul had discovered a “secret recipe”—the secret of contentment.

The SECRET was not found in some external experience.

He learned that contentment is an inside job.

Paul learned that Contentment is primarily a MATTER OF ATTITUDE.

We might call it THE MAGNITUDE OF ATTITUDE

Paul gives us 3 KEY ATTITUDES that produce contentment:

First:

Contentment comes from trusting God when life is UNFAIR.

Not a single one of us left the hospital after we were born with the guarantee that only good things would happen to us.

TRUTH: Life is a mixture of joy and sorrow, blessings and burdens, triumphs and tragedies.

And if we let it, Unfairness can rob us of our contentment unless we choose to place our trust in God, even when we can’t make sense of what’s happening.

CONTENTMENT comes from trusting God to take care of us when life treats us unfairly.

Think for a moment about Paul’s circumstances when he was writing his letter to the Philippian church.

He was in jail.

He had no freedom and no idea what would happen to him in the future.

He was in prison simply for preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ.

He would eventually be put to death for doing so.

If anyone could complain that life was unfair, it was Paul.

But he said, “I have learned to be content.”

Unfairness is a part of living in a fallen, corrupt world.

And it’s okay to admit you’ve experienced something unfair!

We may have received a diagnosis with the dreaded “C” word – cancer.

Or, what we thought was going to be the business deal of a lifetime has turned out to be the worst deal you ever made.

Or, Our children may have disappointed us.

Friends may have turned out to be enemies.

Our spouse might have walked away.

When life treats us unfairly, we can choose to become BITTER, ANGRY, AND DEPRESSED.

Or we can PLACE OUR TRUST IN THE PROVIDENCE OF GOD.

God can take our worst difficulties and work them out for our good and for the good of others.

Romans 8:28 promises: “We know all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

Since none of us can escape from an unfair world, we’re all left with the choice of how we’re going to respond to the unfairnesses that come.

Will we trust God? Or will we become embittered?

Second:

Contentment comes from being certain OF God when life is uncertain.

Paul had an even bigger problem than being in jail.

Even more threatening was the uncertainty from not knowing what would the Romans do with him.

You can hear that uncertainty in the verse that reads:“It is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in any way, but that by my speaking with all boldness, Christ will be exalted now as always in my body, whether by life or by death.”He hopes he will not be put to shame, but he doesn’t know whether he will glorify God by living or by dying.

His life hung in the balance on a daily basis!

Sometimes not knowing is worse than knowing.

We might be in that in-between time between taking a medical test and waiting for the results.

Or, you’ve heard of possible layoffs where you work, but no one knows who or when.

UNCERTAINTY calls us to trust in the CERTAINTY of a CERTAIN God!

We can let this uncertainty paralyze us, or we can use uncertain times to help us experience the certainty of the Lord Who promised, “I will never fail you, nor forsake you.”

BUT IT GETS BETTER!

God will not only meet all of our needs, but will HELP US DISCOVER A HIGHER PURPOSE IN THE MIDST OF TRAGIC EVENTS.I read recently of a mother who had lost her child in a shark attack on a California beach.

She grieved for a year.

But now more than 15 years later, she directs a nationwide program that helps parents of more than 10,000 children who died violent deaths.

God redeemed her tragedy!Finally…

Contentment is grown in the seedbed of a THANKFUL HEART

1 Thes. 5:18 “Give thanks no matter what happens. God wants you to thank him because you believe in Christ Jesus.”

A football coach was asked, “How do you keep your spirits up when your team is losing?”

He shrugged his shoulders and replied, “I’m the kind of guy who, if I fell into a mud puddle, would feel in my pockets for fish!”

LISTEN: Searching for the good AND thanking God when times look dark will help you find a fish in the mud puddle!

Matthew Henry, the famous commentator, was once attacked by thieves and robbed of his money. He wrote these words in his diary:

“Let me be thankful first, because I was never robbed before;

Second, because, although they took my money, they did not take my life;

Third, because, although they took my all, it was not much;

And fourth, because it was I who was robbed, not I who robbed."

SUMMARY:

Trust God when life is unfair

Be certain of God in uncertain times

Practice being thankful