Contentment

Have you ever been taken out of context? Someone takes a snip-it of a conversation with you, lays it out isolated, and now you are misrepresented. Is that not frustrating? Then you have to clarify and explain yourself hoping that they grasp what you truly meant.

Have you ever heard a verse of scripture taken out of context? I think we all have. Some scriptures that have been taken out of context would include Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” Sounds good and all, right? But remember that Jesus going to the cross was prosperous. Now does that sound like something you would think would come out of Jeremiah 29:11?

How about “Judge not, least you be judged.” This is usually is accompanied by “Only God can judge me.” Well, news flash, God will judge us and His opinion is the one that matters the most.

But one of the verses of the Bible that is most frequently taken out of context is Philippians 4:13

Philippians 4:10-13 “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.”

This is perhaps the most misquoted scripture in the Bible. From baseball bats, hats, and athletic tape to gloves, jerseys, and even robes. Evander Holyfield famously dawned the scripture on his robes as he marched into the ring against Mike Tyson, “I can do all things who strengthen me” which translated, “I’m going to beat up Mike Tyson”… and he did. How nice was that for him? Then he wore it again for Lennox Lewis and he famously lost. Now who is at fault there?

It use of this scripture is commonly mocked in circles by rephrasing it as “I can do all things through a verse taken out of context.” and that is what we often want to do. We set OUR minds to something, then we send the check to God to fulfill rather than seeking what God would have us to do, and completing it in His strength as the verse actually implies.

You will not be rich because God gives you the strength to be rich, nor can you classify yourself as poor because God is unable to make you rich. You did not fail to reach you wildest dreams because Christ’s strength was not with you, nor will you be able to fulfill your grandest desire just because you believe that God will not let you fail.

This passage of scripture is about being content. Something completely far from the minds of those who are quoting verse 13 in it’s isolated state.

>Paul tells the Philippians “...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.”

To be low you must have been high at one point, to be hungry you must know what is feels like to be full, to a need is to once have what you

Paul had seen it all. He was a Pharisee. Had everything he would ever need. Money, clothes, houses, popularity, authority. Anything that he needed he could have. Anything he wanted he could get. Paul was the envy of most men for his time, but he let it all go for the sake of following Christ. At one moment he was at the top of the world of flesh, then the next he was bankrupt yet spiritually full. That is a trade worth making by the way. He had lost is all, while simultaneously becoming the happiest man on earth.

A man who can make statements such as

2 Corinthians 11:21–30 (ESV)

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Paul found strength in his weaknesses. How often can you say that you get strength from what makes you weak? Paul was content. In all that he was, whether high or low, in want or satisfied, hungry or full, he was content.

According to Google, the definition of content is a state of peaceful happiness. I might be peacefully happy too if I had everything I wanted in life, but that could also end up ruining many things so I’m not sure Google and I see eye to eye. Being content is finding happiness in what God has given you in life. Just as the apostle said, whether high or low, in abundance or need, in hunger or in plenty you are happy; content.

:Are you content where you are in your job? Are you happy with what God has given you? You may be happy now, but can you say that you have always been happy in every circumstance?

The story is told about a pilot who always looked down intently on a certain valley in the Appalachians when the plane passed overhead. One day his co-pilot asked, “What’s so interesting about that spot?” The pilot replied, “See that stream? Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish. Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying... Now I look down and wish I were fishing.”

It is always tempting to think that others have it better than we do, and that if we just had “a little more” everything would be fine. But contentment cannot be achieved by increasing possessions. Nothing will ever be enough.

Also, Colossians 3:23-24 tells us “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” We cannot be discontent AND work as if we are working for the Lord

:Are you content with your possessions? We always want more, don’t we? Or want something different. We want the newest model. Want want a different color. It did not satisfy us like we thought it would so we need something else. A bigger house, a faster car, a bigger garage on that house to fit a new car and a new boat.

What about money? Now we all need money, and having a little extra floating around is always good right? Just remember the local church when you receive that blessing :) But are we content with what we have? Ever known someone who just never seemed to have enough? I have know people with millions that wore the biggest frown, and those who had holes in their shoes that thought they were the happiest people in the world. It is your perspective on life. Are you content?

Russell Conwell told of an ancient Persian, Ali Hafed, who owned a very large farm that had orchards, grain fields, and gardens. Ali was a wealthy and content man. One day Ali entertained a guest who told him all about diamonds and how wealthy he would be if he owned a diamond mine. Ali Hafed went to bed that night a poor man—poor because he was discontented. Craving a mine of diamonds, he sold his farm to search for the rare stones. He traveled the world over, finally becoming so poor, broken, and defeated that he committed suicide. One day, the man who purchased Ali Hafed’s farm led his camel into the garden to drink. As his camel put its nose into the brook, the man saw a flash of light from the sands of the stream. He pulled out a stone that reflected all the hues of the rainbow. The man had discovered the mine of Golconda, the most magnificent diamond mine in all history. Had Ali Hafed remained at home and dug in his own garden, he would have had acres of diamonds instead of experiencing death in a strange land. The more we want from a human perspective, the less we have.

:Are you content when God blesses your neighbor? When your friends prosper, do you grin with happiness, or are you green with envy? Do you thank God for what you have been given, or do you sit and fantasize about what life would be like if God had given you what He had given others.

A man once saw a bald eagle soaring in circles. The circles began to tighten and the man looked over to see a weasel. Suddenly the eagle dropped out of the sky like a jet and caught the weasel in its talons. Amazingly, as the eagle began to fly away the weasel began to eat away at the breast of that eagle. The man watched as the weasel tore away at that eagle, snapping bones, and chewing flesh. He watched the eagle fold up and crash and the weasel went on with his day. Getting what you want does not always work out the way you think it will. Sometimes the things we want will ruin us.

Remember this, God causes it to rain on the just, and the unjust. Just because God blesses someone in life does not mean that you are any less important to Him. It does not mean that the other person even deserves what they have been given. That is called grace. We are given what we do not deserve in spite of what we do. If we want to break it down, every breath we breathe, every heartbeat that is felt is a gift from God that we do not deserve. We forget about the seemingly small things in life even though they are quiet detrimental to our lives. We are blessed beyond measure if we would only take a moment to stop and take inventory of our lives.

Are you content when you do not receive? If God gave you everything that you ever asked for, where would you be? I certainly would not be here. Not as likely anyways. What about the things that we desperately want? Is God a cold hearted ruler for not giving His children what they want, even when He has the power? Of course not. He gives us what He knows that we need in spite of our requests. He knows our wants, but He gives us what we need.

Luke 11:11-13 “What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Jesus prayed in the garden for the cup of wrath to pass from Him, but He closed His prayer with this “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” What if the outcome of that prayer would have been different? Where would we be? When we are not given something that we asks for specifically, or we loss something that we have, it is not because God does not love us. It is because He loves us that we are not allowed all that we ask for when we do not fully understand. We must be content with God’s decisions.

:Are we content with Loss? What if you lose a job over unwillingness to compromise morals? What if your peers at school or college begin to talk about you behind your back because you will not lower yourself to their standards and behaviors? What if your friends turn their backs because you stand with God? What if your family does it?

Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:35-36 “I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.”

I will tell you this. God does not care that you lose friends, or family members, or jobs. God has called us to follow Him whatever the cost. But He also gave us this promise “Everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my names sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.” We will stand to lose a few things when we do it right. Be content with letting it go. Will it hurt? Yes, at times. But is it worth it? It certainly is.

Job 2:9 “Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.””

And what did Job do? He told her that she lacked wisdom of the Lord, and he persevered. Maybe not wholly without some complaint, but he pushed through and never lost faith. Then he received all that he had lost and so much more

This is the age old cliche, but there is always someone somewhere who is worse off than you are. There will always be someone less fortunate. There will always be someone who is envious of the life that you have. Others would kill for the things that you wish you could change. We have to look at the positive things in life.

This verse is not about our potential. It is about our contentment. Which is completely opposite from what society tells us to believe.

Now, Philippians 4:13 is a wonderful verse of scripture, and we do not want to act like it does not exist here today, but it is tied in to the idea of contentment. You can have contentment, but only through Christ. You can be happy when the chips are stacked against you, but only when you are focused on Christ. You can be happy when everything is going your way, but only through Christ. Whether difficult, easy, high or low, we can be content but we will only be content through the power of Jesus Christ.

Christ has what it takes to sustain us. So lets break this down really quickly, “I can do all things through Christ who strengths me.” YOU can do all things, but only through Christ who is the one that makes it possible for you to do whatever it is you are doing.

How do we tap into the strength of Christ?

Pray: Pray that God will open our eyes to ways that we may be tempted to be discontent, and pray that He would remind us of the blessings that we have, and how fortunate we truly are.

Trust: Trust that God has everything under control, and that He knows what is best for His children. If we doubt God’s goodness we will only land ourselves in misery.

Thank Him: God has sorted your entire life out from the very first breath you breathe, to the last beat of your heart. If we follow His will, our lives will be well lived. Thank God for His blessings. Thank Him for His love, and guidance. Most of all, thank Him for His salvation for we are nothing without it.

Discontentment is a longing for something better than a present situation. It is essentially saying “God, this is not good enough for me.” Where contentment is saying whatever comes my way, whatever you give me, I will be happy and praise your name. There is a noticeable contrast of peace in a person who is never happy, and those who have found contentment in the Lord.

I want to close with this. If you have it all yet still feel empty, if you have nothing yet there is not a thing that can make you happy, you are missing something. If you are not saved, if your eternal destination is not secure in Christ, then you will always be empty, and you will always be searching. Whether rich, or poor, full or empty, you will always be missing the essential piece in life that only Christ can fulfill. If you want the strength to face anything, and the peace that surpasses all understanding, it starts by giving your life to Christ. You have an opportunity now, but please do not think that this altar is the only place to be saved. You can be saved there in your pew, you can be saved in a classroom, you can be saved at our lunch that we are about to have, you can be saved at home this afternoon or anywhere in between, but what is important is that you are saved. You never know what tomorrow holds.