Christian Contentment (Philippians 4:10-13)

I recall reading about an Irish Christian called Lord Congleton who lived in the nineteenth century. One day, he overheard one of his Christian servants say that she would be very content if she had £5, so he decided to give her the amount. When he left the room, he heard her say to another servant, ‘I should have said £10.’ Although she had received a large gift, she was not content. And is this matter of discontent not an obvious feature of our society?

In the section of which these verses are part, Paul gives thanks to the Philippians for the kind gift they had sent to him by the hands of Epaphroditus. At first glance, we may imagine that he is telling his readers that he did not really need their help because he had learned to be content in all circumstances. Yet to think in this way would be to make a wrong deduction. What Paul is saying is that their contribution helped him in one of his circumstances.

The kind action of the Philippians resulted in Paul having spiritual blessings. In particular, it stimulated him to rejoice in the Lord. For all we know, Epaphroditus could have arrived with the gift on a day when the Lord did not provide another reason for joy in Paul’s heart. Or he may have arrived just as Paul was witnessing to one of his guards, and his arrival resulted in increased joy in Paul. Whatever the scenario, Paul had been greatly encouraged by the gift. Obviously, it was evidence of the reality of their Christian commitment.

It is important to note what Paul says here. He does not say, ‘Some time ago I learned the secret of contentment and since then I have applied that principle to my life whenever I sense a spirit of discontent.’ Instead, he says, ‘Whenever I am in a difficult situation, I discover that the same heavenly source provides me with the grace to face whatever the situation is.’ In other words, he is informing his readers that fresh grace is available for every circumstance, which of course means that we need grace in every circumstance.

Paul here is distinguishing between a Christian and a non-Christian way of accepting one’s circumstances. The word translated ‘content’ was associated with Stoical response to troubles. They responded to them by inner control, which on the surface appeared as calmness, but was really a stifling of how they truly felt. If they let their grip go, the calm would disappear.  In contrast, Paul does not claim to be in control of his emotions; he does not want the Philippians to imagine that he has mastered himself. Instead he says that his contentment comes from the fact that he can do all things through the strength of Christ. Therefore, there is a choice here: self-control by one’s own ability or self-control by Jesus.

The classrooms Paul attends

Paul describes his life as an ongoing succession of different situations, each of which he regards as one of two classrooms in which he learns the way of contentment. One of the classrooms involved for him a sense of abasement, when he was humiliated before others. Perhaps some would have regarded his imprisonment in that regard, especially as it was likely he had gone hungry often (prisoners in those days had to provide their own food).

Believers often have to go into this classroom and many things within them will object to the treatment received. After all, abasement is a denial of human dignity, and a believer, of all people, knows that he or she is made in the image of God. Further, the imposing of abasement is sinful: such behaviour is an expression of rebellion against God, a denial of his command to love one’s neighbour as oneself. In such situations, believers sense strongly the injustice of it all. Yet they have to react to it in a Christlike way. When he was mistreated and abased, Jesus did not react with anger or fury. Instead he committed himself unto God. In the imitation of the behaviour of Jesus, Christians discover contentment in abasing circumstances.

Of course, Paul had discovered that abasing circumstances were often times of learning important realities. In these situations, he discovered afresh the sufficiency of God. To others, his situation gave the impression that he was in the grip of the iron hold of the Roman authorities; in reality, he was in the gentle grip of Jesus, the same hand that was on the tiller of the universe. In these antagonistic situations, Paul discovered that Jesus could strengthen him against all the attacks of the enemy. Jesus was in control and working all things for Paul’s benefit.

The second classroom in which Paul learned contentment was in the classroom of abundance. Perhaps he has in mind the consequences of the gift given to him by the Philippians. Sometimes believers find themselves in a situation of material plenty, and there are dangers in this classroom that don’t exist in the other. One obvious danger in such a situation is the desire to want more, to not be satisfied with what one has. No doubt, a balance has to be maintained because there is nothing intrinsically wrong with having more possessions. Yet often the existence of more possessions increases the amount of care and worry that a person has. For example, if a burglar is on the prowl, the person who worries the most is the one who has most to lose. Worry and contentment are opposites, therefore a believer in the classroom of abundance needs to listen well to his heavenly Teacher. In times of plenty, Paul learned that gratitude to God was the appropriate response.

What Paul does not mean by contentment

First of all, Paul does not mean that he had discovered that he had a natural tendency to be easy-going in life. There are many such individuals around who seem satisfied with what they have, even with a little of the things of life. Some people have no desire to leave where they are, have no interest in discovering what life is like elsewhere. There is nothing inherently sinful in this outlook. But it is not what Paul means by contentment.

Secondly, Paul does not mean the natural resolve some have to master their weak points or to control their sense of unease. Many people battle with wrong character traits and attempt to control fears that they may have of things going wrong or apprehensions about the future. Obviously, it is important that people should pull themselves together and take control of their emotions and thinking. Yet this is not what Paul means by contentment. This kind of contentedness can be achieved by any person with a strong resolve whereas the contentment Paul describes is found only in Christians.

Thirdly, Paul does not mean that people should not aspire to greater things. Some people are very driven and spend their lives fulfilling one achievement after another, whether it be their career, their hobbies, their possessions, their education – the list is endless. We cannot deny that it is good for a person to have great energy in order to accomplish great things. Many a person has a sense of satisfaction and contentedness from what they have achieved, but it is not the contentment Paul describes in this verse.

Fourthly, Paul does not suggest that a believer should be content with regard to his spiritual progress. Already in this letter, he has reminded his readers that he is pressing on to the end of his Christian race. Paul did not believe he had arrived at the highest rung in the ladder of Christian experience. While he had climbed many rungs, and indeed slipped off a few of them before recovering his balance, he knew that there were still many rungs to ascend in his heavenly ascent.

How can we tell if we have the right contentment? The answer to this question can be given in this way: a contented person, in Paul’s description, is satisfied if he can have fellowship with Christ in each particular situation, and if he can sense the power of Christ enabling him to benefit from and develop that fellowship. No matter how calm he may be by nature, a Christian will not be content with circumstances that prevent him having fellowship with Christ; no matter how resolute he may be as an individual, a Christian will not be content if he senses that he has overcome his character defect by himself and not by the indwelling renewal of the indwelling Christ; no matter how full his life may be with activities, projects and ambitions, a Christian will not be satisfied if these things prevent him having fellowship with Jesus.

Features of Christian contentment

It is evident from Paul’s use of the word ‘learned’ that the attaining of contentment is a process in which there is ongoing development throughout life. Various factors in the process can be identified, and what is surprising is that they are the same factors that produce all Christian characteristics and attitudes.

The first activity is developing contentment is earnest and specific prayer. All true prayer is earnest because the individual discovers that he is completely dependent on Jesus Christ for strength. The strength is available, but it is not automatic. Instead we have to ask for it continually. Such a request is expressed in the simple prayer, ‘Help me, Lord.’ In addition to being earnest in intensity, prayer concerning contentment will be specific in description. Every Christian will identify attitudes and situations in which he is not content, and it is a sign of a true desire when he mentions these defects specifically to the Lord.

The second activity is observation of the providence of God. As he makes his way through life, the believer discovers that the Lord is working through daily circumstances for his benefit. Initially, the new believer is often disappointed, even frustrated, when aims he had fail to materialise. Nevertheless, he develops in spiritual understanding and gradually he senses the hand of God working in the affairs of life. Often he can look back and thank God that many of his most intense longings were refused. He begins to see his life as under the control of a kind and caring God and therefore he develops contentment. Closely linked to this observation of providence is the exercise of patience. Patience in a Christian is the acknowledgement that God knows the best time to answer a prayer or bestow a blessing.

The third activity is focus on the prospect of heaven. A discontented Christian is a person who does not think much about the perfect world of glory to which he is heading. A teenager who has a large inheritance coming should be able to wait until he is twenty-one. Similarly a believer, with glory ahead of him, is content with the provision of God in the meantime. He knows that all he needs for life in this world will be provided for him, and he is able to focus his attention on preparation for the world to come. His priority is not concerned with attaining earthly riches (indeed the longer he lives the more he realises the poverty of earthly riches); instead he focuses on laying up treasures in heaven.

A fourth activity of a contented Christian is feeding his soul on the promises of God. A great remedy to discontent is to reflect on a promise of God. There are hundreds of them in the Bible, and they have been written there for our spiritual benefit, to function as the food for our souls, the revivers of our spirits. It is difficult for the devil to make discontent a believer who is enjoying the rich promises of God.

A fifth activity of a contented Christian is penitence for his sins. It is impossible for a believer who refuses to deal with his sins in a biblical way to have contentment. Since his sin and his subsequent refusal to confess it results in the grieving of the Spirit, how can such a person be content? It is possible that he may be half-asleep or in a state of spiritual hardness. Yet he cannot be content, and he will not experience contentedness until he confesses his sins and receives once again the forgiveness of God.

Benefits of Christian contentment

One benefit that Paul mentions in the passage is that a contented Christian will experience the power of Christ. Paul, when he received the thorn in the flesh, was not content. But he learned to be content with regard to it because he discovered that through grace he received strength from Christ. Paul had experienced Christ’s power many times and in various ways, and therefore he was content.

Obviously, if Paul experienced the power of Christ, it also meant that he enjoyed the presence of Christ. The power of Jesus is not kept in a box separate from his person. Whenever his power is exercised, his presence is there. The experience of divine power came from a present Saviour. Being with Jesus made Paul content.

The other benefit to note is that contentment is an antidote to particular sins. For example, a contented person is not prone to covetousness (he does not desire what he does not have), he is not prone to complaining (he accepts providence from God’s hands), and he is not prone to care (he commits himself into the care of God). Nor is he marked by jealousy. The grace of contentment slays these ugly characteristics of the flesh.