One of the powerful witness
and faith Statements is found in the words, "I am not saying this because I am
in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances".
(Philippians
4:11)
So many of us are not
contented. We look longingly to the past. We look yearningly toward the
future. We are unhappy in the now. In the process, we miss out on life's great
possibilities of the present; we become dissatisfied.
Walter Kerr, in his book,
"The Decline of Pleasure", analyzed the discontentment of our age. He
pierced through the superficiality of much we do. He noted that the very things
that we do that should be pleasurable for us are void of joy because they are
being used as a means to an end. We do not treat them as enjoyable in and of
themselves. He wrote, "We are all of us compelled to read for profit, party for
contacts, lunch for contracts, bowl for unity, drive for mileage, gamble for
charity, go out for the evening for the greater glory of municipality, and stay
home for the weekend to rebuild the house."
What a rat race life can become!
Sadly enough, many of us Christians are caught up in this same restlessness.
We, too, become discontented. Contentment, however, is not
based on the outward circumstances of life. The Apostle Paul, for instance, He
is a good example of contentment despite adversity. He was financially
insolvent, so when he received a gift from the church at Philippi he wrote back
expressing his appreciation for their money. He said, "I rejoice greatly in the
Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been
concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it" (Phil. 4:10). Then he
paused,and shared words of caution, "I am not saying this because I am in need,
for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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" (Philippians
4:11-12). Paul did not reach this
contentment overnight that caused him to say, "...for I have learned to be
content whatever the circumstances" (Philippians
4:11
Contentment is not
fatalism! True contentment is
founded on a relationship with God in the person of Jesus
Christ. In the words of Lloyd Ogilvie,
former US Senate Chaplain and one of my favorite preachers, "Paul's biography
could be entitled 'Risky Christianity.' Paul was willing to risk his safety,
sacrifice his comfort, for the sake of Jesus Christ. No cost was too great to
hold him back from following Christ to the end. He was a man in Christ. Paul
saw the risk of Christian living as being one he could not afford not to take.
He had to do it!"
In Christ,
Brown
