Battling Discontent with God, Part 1

March, 2008

by: Shelbi Cullen

“Christian contentment is that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”

-Jeremiah Burroughs

Observe the world in which we live; it is a very discontented society. There is discontent with the president, one’s spouse, home, circumstance, and surely with any difficulty that comes along. The world’s enticements are like a steady murmur of vendor voices at a baseball game, selling to us and appealing to our discontent. Magazines show us what we do not have. Advertisements tell us what we must have. This is the world in which we live, and its mission is to convince us that we cannot be satisfied with what we receive.

What is true contentment? How can we experience true contentment in this life? How do we find satisfaction in the midst of any problem? We discover from God’s Word that contentment is not only a virtue; it is a command as well. For example, Paul says in I Timothy 6:6, “…godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.” He continues in 1 Timothy 6:8, stating, “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” The writer of Hebrews also commands all believers to “be content with what they have,” knowing that the Lord will never leave them nor forsake them (see Hebrews 13:5).

Perhaps the most striking passage in the Bible concerning contentment is found in Philippians 4:10-13. The Apostle Paul writes, “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me, indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am in. 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.” [emphasis added]

This is an amazing assertion! Paul wrote this epistle while under house arrest in Rome. He was isolated and had lost freedom to minister to his beloved churches. All the while he was chained to Roman soldiers, awaiting trial and possible execution. He had little or nothing of what we would consider necessities from a worldly standpoint. And yet we read in this passage that Paul was a contented man. He is an example of contentment to all believers. Just how could he experience contentment in such humiliating, unfair and deprived circumstances?

Paul points out in verse 11 that he had “learned to be content”.” The Greek term Paul uses for content is autarkes which means to be self-sufficient, to be satisfied, or to have enough. It indicates a certain independence, or lack of necessity for any assistance or help.

Interestingly, in Paul’s day there were many who confused contentment with total indifference toward life’s events. They were highly influenced by a Stoic philosophy which was very popular in Rome. In fact, autarkes was actually a favorite term of the Stoics. They essentially believed that a person had an inherent ability to eliminate all emotions, feelings, and desires by the strength of the will. If one succeeded, then he would truly be content. That’s essentially what we mean today when we refer to a person as being stoic—a seeming indifference to, or unaffected by pleasure or pain.

Although Paul uses the same word for contentment as the Stoics, his meaning is completely different. Paul’s satisfaction was not of the stoic kind. It was of the Christ-sufficiency kind. Paul’s independence was not stoic independence, but a dependence upon Christ. He had learned to be content in any circumstance. He confirms this when he writes in Gal. 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

Paul’s contentment came from Christ. Through the work of Christ, the seed of contentment was planted in his heart. Follow Paul’s life and you see the contentment continue to grow. Only through the Spirit of Christ can anyone experience true contentment.

• Battling Discontent with God, Part 1
• Battling Discontent with God, Part 2