Retooning After-Christmas: Contentment after Christmas

There are three different type of people after Christmas.

Relieved (new name):

Christmas is tiring/stressful or the holidays are a reminder of bad times, you’re kind of glad it’s over

Unfulfilled

Christmas didn’t work out the way you planned for, and those unmet expectations have affected your Christmas experience

Hyped

Everything went great, and now you’re waiting for next year

All of these people, however, run the risk of not being content after Christmas for a variety of reasons. So, here’s how we can find contentment after Christmas.

Define Contentment

Contentment is an attitude of self-sufficiency, or not needing anything found from outside sources.

The Letter to the Philippians VIII. Thanks for Gifts from Partners (4:10–20)

To be content was a central concept in ethical discussion from the time of Socrates, especially among Cynic and Stoic philosophers. In Stoic philosophy it denotes the one who “becomes an independent man sufficient to himself and in need of none else.”

Trust in God.

Paul says that he has found “the secret of contentment,” and that secret is trusting in God.

Phil. 4:12-13

For Paul, this is not learning something based off of a specific set of circumstances (i.e. having enough food to eat, so you’re content about food), rather, he is talking about a contentment that comes from outside of this world, whether he’s eating steak for dinner or he’s sharing a hot dog.

“I have learned the secret” is actually a word that is not used in the entire Bible. It means that he has learned insider knowledge.

This isn’t a trust that says that you can dunk if you “believe” hard enough, it’s saying that you can trust in God no matter the circumstances.

So how do we do that?

Give up control and give space for God to work

Don’t need control so much that you aren’t willing to let God be in control. Take a step back from your own life and let God work

Pray

God, I’m going to place my trust in You to figure out the situation.

You will never be able to be content if you don’t trust in God.

Rest in God

The way that Paul can trust God is only because he can rest in God’s grace

He’s so content in Phil. 4:11 is because he’s able to rest in God’s grace to know that He can provide.

A great example of this is found in 1 Kings 19

Elijah was discouraged because he expected God to do something different.

God made Elijah rest and relax in God’s power so that he could actually be content,

It was only then that the presence of God could really influence him.

The holidays are a busy/stressful time, and if we’re not careful, we can find ourselves burnt out on a day that we are supposed to celebrate the birth of Christ.

Practice Contentment

Paul says in V. 11 that he had to learn to be content. It was a process that took time, but the reward of contentment is incredible.

The Letter to the Philippians VIII. Thanks for Gifts from Partners (4:10–20)

Paul’s contentment in all circumstances was not a passive acceptance—a whatever-will-be-will-be attitude—but an active pursuit of the goal to know Christ and to preach Christ.

So, we have to practice being content, much like we have to practice weightlifting to get stronger, or practice our jobs to get better at it. But how can we do that?

Reflect on the gifts that you’ve received from God.

Make the decision to rest and focus on the good things of God.

Help other people.

Instead of focusing on yourself, help others so that you can take your eyes off of you.

Application:

Set a reminder for yourself that you will see (such as a phone alarm or writing on your hand) to sit down, relax, and reflect on Christ’s love for you.

Help other people, and use that opportunity to glorify God in your ability to help those because of the grace of God.