Free to Be Content

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Alright…we’ve been taking this spring to walk through Paul’s letter to the Philippians, which was written from a Roman prison cell. And so every week we’ve been reflecting on how Paul’s status as a prisoner really speaks to our lives. Because if we’re honest, most of us will admit that there are things in our lives that feel like prisons. Right? Six hours of school a day. Prison! Eight hours of that job you can’t stand. Jail! Getting hooked up to dialysis or chemo treatments 3 times per week. Chains! A marriage that’s ice cold. Solitary confinement! And the list could go on. We all have things that make us feel trapped and confined, that we wish weren’t there, right? So on some level, we can relate to the position that Paul was in. And here’s why that matters: despite his imprisonment, Paul was a free man. There was a core to who he was that no chains or prison walls could touch. So if that was possible for Paul, in his prison, it’s possible for us, in ours. So this whole series has been about learning to rise above the prison walls in our lives, and discovering what true, inner freedom is all about. It’s been a fun series, hasn’t it? I have so enjoyed this. I have personally grown a lot through this.

So today we reach the end of the letter. And Paul closes by showing us that we are Free to Be Content. Think with me for a minute about what your life could look like if you were content.

You’re at a backyard barbecue, and you’ve already eaten a plate of food. And the host comes up to you and says, “How about one more cheeseburger?” And you say, “No—thanks—I’m good.” “Another beer? A piece of cake?” And you say, “No, I’m really good.” That’s contentment.

You drive by a beautiful house with a “For Sale” sign on it, and you look it up online. It’s way bigger than your current house. And you could afford it—it would be a stretch, but you could afford it. But after thinking about it, you say, “You know what? We’re good where we are.” That’s contentment.

Contentment sounds pretty good, right? But let me stretch you a little bit.

You’re a lifelong runner—you just love to run and compete. But as you get older, you keep getting injured. Your knee. Your hip. Your feet. Every time you recover from one injury, within a few months you get another one. So when you’re about 50 years old, you finally admit the obvious. And you switch from the pounding of running to hiking and cycling. And you’re able to embrace it and actually love it. In case you’re wondering, that is my story. Sometimes contentment means giving up something you love, and being okay with that.

Let me make it even harder. All your life, you’ve wanted to be married, but you’re still single. Or maybe you were married once, but it ended and you’ve been single for a while. And you used to feel very incomplete and empty, like, “I have to find someone.” But something’s been happening in you. And you come to the realization that even if you never get married, you will be a whole and joyful person. That’s contentment.

Let me be clear: contentment doesn’t mean we’re complacent, or that we don’t have any ambition. Paul very much wanted to get out of prison, but even if he didn’t, he was truly okay with that. That’s what I mean by contentment, and it’s a powerful thing to have. But it’s also easier said than done. So if we’re going to get there, it’s going to take some supernatural help.

So before we read today’s Scripture, just a little context: in ancient times, prisoners were not always provided with their basic needs. So they were dependent on friends and family to bring them food

and other essentials. So at the time Paul wrote this, he had just received a care package from his friends in Philippi, probably with food and blankets and clothing and things like that, delivered personally by a guy named Epaphroditus. So at the very end of the letter, he acknowledges their gift, and the way he does that shows us what true contentment looks like.

So, here we go: Philippians 4, verses 10 through 19. I invite you now to hear the Word of God…

10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. 17 Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. This is the Word of the Lord.

So let’s talk about three things today: The Need for Contentment, The Beauty of Contentment, and The Secret of Contentment. The need for it, the beauty of it, and the secret to getting it.

So, first: The Need for Contentment. The reason we need contentment is that we are naturally discontent people. There’s something in us that always wants more or different than what we have.

There’s a passage in Ecclesiastes where Solomon talks about this—look at Ecclesiastes 5:10… Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. Did you ever get a raise? You were making x amount, and now you’re making 5% more. How does that feel? It feels great! “Finally, I’m not going to be tight anymore. I’m going to have a little breathing room.” Now, fast forward six months. How does the raise feel now? What raise? Right? Your new level of income has become the new normal…and you wish you had just a little more.

There was a landmark study conducted out of Princeton in 2010, where they tried to correlate household income with happiness. You know what they found? After your basic needs are met—food, clothing, housing—after those are met, it doesn’t matter how much more you make, there’s no increase of day-to-day well-being and happiness. Isn’t that interesting? So there seems to be a definite ceiling to what money can do for you. And yet…we don’t want to believe that.

And that’s exactly what Solomon was observing: when we “love money”—in other words, when we assume that the more you make, the happier you are—we wind up dissatisfied. Even if we continue to make more income all through our lives, we will always feel this lack and this desire for more.

There’s something in our Philippians passage that’s so easy to miss. Look at verse 12: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. So Paul sets up these two contrasting conditions that he’s experienced. He says, “I know what it feels like to be in need, and be hungry, and be in want. I’ve been there. But I’ve also had times when I’ve had plenty and been well fed. So I know how both of those feel. And I’ve learned the secret of being content in

either position.” But wait a minute. I could understand why you’d need to learn contentment when you’re poor right? But why would you need to learn contentment when you’re rich?” Hmm. Well, let me ask you: Does having a lot of possessions make you automatically content? Not at all. In fact, aren’t some of the richest people you know some of the most miserable people you know? So Paul says, “I learned how to be content when I was struggling, but I also had to learn it when I had plenty.”

If we don’t learn this secret of contentment that Paul is talking about, there will be a sickness in our soul. In one of Paul’s other letters, he warns Timothy about this—look at 1 Timothy 6, verse 6: 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. (Here’s the warning…) 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. So here’s the dark side of discontentment: it’s a trap. It ruins people. And think about this more broadly than just money and physical possessions. If you’re discontent with being single, you’re likely to make a really bad relationship decision. If you’re discontent with your home, you might take on a ridiculous mortgage. If you’re discontent with your body, you might become obsessed with diet and exercise, and sacrifice everything else. Foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

So why do we need contentment? Because whether we’re rich or poor, discontentment makes us unhappy, ungrateful, self-absorbed, never-satisfied, empty people. It’s a miserable way to live! And it’s always been a problem for humans, but the advertising industry and social media have taken discontentment to a whole new level. And Paul gives us a vision for something so much better.

Point number 2: The Beauty of Contentment. As I studied this passage, I noticed two beautiful life qualities that flow out of contentment. The first one is something you see in Paul, and the second one you see in the Philippian people, who were receiving this letter.

So the quality we see in Paul I’ll call Others-focus. It would have been so easy to have a little pity party. To talk about how hard it is, and how lonely it is, and how cold it is, and how mean the guards are. But you don’t see any of that. Instead, you see this surprising focus on others. Let me give you a 30-second overview of the letter.

In chapter one, Paul talks about how the Roman guards know that he’s in prison because of his faith in Christ, and he’s excited about the effect that’s having on them. On the guards! Then he says, “Also, other Christians are hearing about my chains, and it’s making them more bold in their faith.” In chapter two he talks about how much he appreciates Timothy. He gives them an update on the health of Epaphroditus—the guy who had just delivered the care package. In chapter four, he mentions two women in the Philippian church who haven’t been getting along—Euodia and Syntyche—and he says, “Tell them how important it is to reconcile with each other.” This is while Paul is in a prison cell—he’s concerned about these two women who aren’t getting along! And then in our passage today, he says, “You guys are amazing! You’re so thoughtful; you’ve supplied all of my needs. You guys have always been generous with me. And my God is going to meet all of your needs.”

Here’s the point: because Paul was content—because he wasn’t distracted by coveting or complaining—listen: it freed him up to focus on other people. Isn’t that beautiful? See, we only have so much bandwidth. We only have so much energy. And when we stop obsessing on all the things we don’t have, and all the things we want, and researching our next upgrade, we find ourselves with all kinds of energy to pour into other people. Think about that: the more content you are, the better you will be able to love the people around you. Because you’ll have the emotional energy and the time to

listen to them; to care about them; to serve them. Contentment makes us more focused on others. That’s a beautiful thing!

And then the other life quality we see in the people of Philippi. I’m talking about Generosity. This was really a special church that Paul was writing to. Look at verses 15 and 16: 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. There’s another place, in 2 Corinthians, where Paul is talking about a special relief offering that was being collected for a famine in Jerusalem. And he says the Philippian church “gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.” He says, “their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.” So these people in Philippi weren’t well-off, but they seemed to love giving. For them it wasn’t a duty; it was a joy.

If you are not a content person, you will not enjoy giving, and you will not give much. Right? Because you’ll never feel like you have enough, so why would you give it away to God or anyone else? And the people of Philippi had learned this level of contentment—not because they were rich, but because of God’s grace—and that freed them to give and bless others in awesome ways.

So contentment made Paul very others-focused; it made the Philippians richly generous. I would sum it up like this: when we are content, it frees us from the prison of ourselves, so we can turn outward toward others. I feel like I’ve been quoting Dietrich Bonhoeffer every week, so I’m going to keep the streak going. Bonhoeffer called Jesus “the man for others.” In other words, his entire life was devoted to the good of others. And isn’t that the kind of people we want to be? When I get to the end of my life, God forbid that people remember me as a person who’s all wrapped up in my money and my hobbies and my toys. How pathetic! I would so much rather be remembered as someone who gave generously of myself and my time and my attention and my possessions for the good of others. Don’t you agree? And the only we become those kinds of people is to fill that discontentment hole inside of us.

Which leads to the last point: The Secret of Contentment. Paul says “I have learned the secret of being content.” It’s ironic that he uses that word, because 15 years ago, an Australian author named Rhonda Byrne wrote a book called…anyone remember? The Secret. It was all about something called “The Law of Attraction,” which says this: if I want something—cars, houses, relationships, whatever—I just have to think about it and believe it’s going to happen, and if I do that consistently enough, it will actually mobilize the energy of the universe to bring those things to me. People loved it. Oprah loved it. Millions of people bought the book. But here’s why it’s ironic: the book says that if I focus my thoughts and my energies, I can change reality to fit my will. Paul says no, no: “the secret” is actually changing my will to fit reality. Does that make sense? Rhonda Byrnes’ Secret basically says we get to play God; Paul’s “secret” says let God be God, and align yourself with his will. Huge difference.

And as Paul describes what this means, we learn three things about this secret.

First, The Process. He says, “I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances.” Which means contentment is a skill that takes some time to develop. It doesn’t just happen overnight. I was really encouraged by this quote. Martin Luther said, “Next to faith this is the highest art—to be content with the calling in which God has placed you. I have not learned it yet.” Don’t you loved that honesty? Even Martin Luther realized he had learning to do! So there’s a process. And that process happens through those times in life when we naturally feel discontent.

Your boyfriend says, “I think I need to move on from this relationship.” And your first response is, “I can’t live without him!” And God says, “Yes you can—you just haven’t learned it. It’s time to learn it.” Your boss calls you into his office and says, “I’m really sorry, but your job’s been eliminated.” And you think, “I can’t survive without this job.” And God says, “Actually you can. You just haven’t learned it yet. It’s time to learn it.” And you say, “Lord, couldn’t I just read a book about it?” No—you won’t really learn it that way. “Can’t I just listen to Pastor Dave preach about it?” Nope—you need more than that. You need to walk through it, and feel the pain of it, and actually experience God’s faithfulness in the midst of it.

Paul says, “I have learned to be content. This was a process.” And I’m pretty sure all of us are in the midst of a learning process right now, aren’t we? So instead of panicking, let’s try to embrace the learning. Let’s into it. Let’s allow God to train us through it.

Secondly, let’s talk about The Perspective. All through this letter, Paul reveals a certain perspective that he has. Paul viewed this life as a preview to the main event. Does that make sense? All through the letter, he talks about the coming day when Jesus will return and put an end to history as we know it, and make all things right, and eternity will begin. And he invites us to view this life in light of that reality—which changes everything.

Let me show you just one of those places—this is chapter 3, verses 20 and 21: 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. We eagerly wait for the return of Jesus! Because we know that’s when this broken world will be fixed and all our suffering will be over. So think about it: if we don’t have that perspective—if we think this world is all there is—it’s going to be really hard to be content with what we have. Right? Because this is our only chance! But if the real thing is yet to come, we develop patience. We learn to play the long game. And that leads to contentment.

Joni Eareckson Tada lost the use of her arms and legs when she dove into shallow water as a teenager. She’s been in a wheelchair ever since—which sounds like a prison, doesn’t it? But her life emanates contentment. And here’s what she said: “We ask less of this life because we know full well that more is coming in the next. The art of living with suffering is just the art of readjusting our expectations in the here and the now.” If you feel angry and restless that life is not the way you want it right now, ask God for a new perspective. Learn to play the long game. Remember where your true citizenship is.

And then here’s the most important thing. Learning the secret of contentment involves a process and a new perspective, but mostly it’s about a Person. And that brings us to the famous Philippians 4:13: I can do all things through him who gives me strength. I’ve heard that quoted by athletes a lot: How did you have that amazing fourth-quarter comeback to win the game? “Because I can do all things through him who gives me strength.” Okay. I mean, I’m glad they’re talking about Jesus. But in the context, what’s the “all things” that Paul is talking about? Winning great victories? Not really. It’s about learning to find contentment and joy in hard places. Like prison. And Paul says, “The only way to do that is through Christ.”

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. So the strength he’s talking about is a derived strength. It doesn’t originate with me. Christ has the strength, and he gives it to me.

We still have several people in our house who are working from home and doing school from home. So there’s a lot of internet use happening. And I would say every week or two, someone yells out, “Is the internet down?” Sometimes we text the person in the next room: “Is WiFi down? I’m not getting any WiFi.” Does that ever happen in your house, or is it just mine? So the other day, our internet went

down, and we were trying to troubleshoot it. The lights were on on the modem. We re-started it. Still nothing. And then I looked at the router, and the little Ethernet cable that connects the modem to the router was just slightly pulled out. So I plugged it back in, and we were back in business. You see what I mean? I can do all things on my laptop, but only through the WiFi signal, which gives me strength.

This is exactly the same concept Jesus talks about in John 15:5. Listen to this. Jesus said: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me (plugged in!) and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me (if you pull the cord out) you can do nothing.”

Listen: if you want to live this beautiful life that’s others-focused and generous…in other words, if you want to be content, stay plugged in to the power source. Choose to remain in Christ. Here’s how…

Spend the first 15 minutes of your day listening for his voice in Scripture. Meditate on what you hear—talk it through with God. Otherwise you’ll forget it. And then take what you hear from him that morning with you throughout your day.

When you feel the discontentment coming on, and you’re tempted to fill the emptiness with a sleeve of Oreos or a couple of shots of bourbon, or both, take a deep breath and say, “Lord, fill me with your presence.” Allow him to fill you and energize you. You say, “Well, that’s not really the same as Oreos and bourbon.” No, it’s not. It’s actually better. He’s actually better.

When you’re tempted to skip your small group, and you’d rather just watch TV, choose to show up. Because those are the people who are going to remind you and call you back to where the power is. Those are the people who are going to help you take your plug, and plug it back into Christ.

See, the power we need is found in Christ. He is the secret of contentment. Paul learned that secret sitting in a Roman cell. And you and I have the opportunity to learn that secret now—this week—in the prisons we face. What an awesome opportunity.

Remember: being content doesn’t mean complacency. It doesn’t mean we don’t want some things to be different in our life or in the world. Again—Paul wanted to get out of prison—and we all have things like that. But it means that when certain things don’t change, we are truly okay with that. We don’t obsess. We’re at peace.

Not too long ago I was in a nursing home, visiting someone. And right next door—actually, just separated by a curtain—there was an elderly African-American woman. And the family of the woman that I was visiting had gotten to know this roommate, so they introduced me to her. They called her Miss Daisy. So I went over and sat down with Miss Daisy, and I said, “Tell me about yourself—are you from around here? Do you have family?” And she said, “Well, most of my family is gone; my kids don’t live around here.” I said, “Are they treating you well around here?” She said, “Oh, yeah—they’re good to me here.”

And I was really trying to be a pastor to her, but to be honest, she started pastoring me. She said, “You know, one day the Lord is going to take me home, and I don’t know when that is, but that’s up to Him.” And then she smiled this really wise smile. And she said, “But this is where He has me right now, and I’m okay with that.” And I looked around the room, and I noticed she had very few possessions—a couple of books; some framed pictures. And I honestly wondered how I would respond if I were in a place like that. And I felt like God was saying to me, “Pay attention to this woman. Because this is contentment. To be so filled with Me that no matter where you are and no matter what you have, you are free to be content.” I want to be more like Miss Daisy.