“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.” - Philippians 4:11-12, NIV
It’s not easy to define the term ‘contentment.’ But one definition I found online gives it a try: “Contentment is an emotional state of satisfaction that can be seen as a mental state drawn from being at ease in one's situation, body and mind.”
Personally, I know that contentment is one of the virtues that God continues to struggle to inculcate in me. In our world that is obsessed with ‘success’ and the so-called ‘good life,’ there is simply too much pressure, which makes it very difficult to live a life of contentment.
We are left in shock when a ‘tycoon’ engages in ugly fights with a poor widow and orphans over a tiny plot of land. We get horrified when people who earn zillions of millions of shillings every month start jostling for a few iron sheets meant for the poorest of the poor. It all comes down to contentment or the lack of it.
In our meditation today, the apostle Paul declares, “I am not in need at all for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance.” But was Paul actually in need? Yes he was, definitely. He needed money to do his missionary work, sometimes lasting years at a time.
Of course he needed clothes; he needed money to pay the bills; he needed shelter and transport – all the things we are desperate to have. Indeed, he had to engage in tent-making sometimes in order to make ends meet.
However, he says; “[I am not desperate to get money from you] for I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.”
Mark the key words: “I have learned the secret of being content.” That shows that contentment is a life skill, a discipline, an attitude that anyone can learn. If you want the real secret to a godly life, there it is.
So you mean we shouldn’t have ambition, someone might ask? Of course sometimes it becomes tricky trying to balance ambition and contentment.
Paul attempted to answer that question in 1Timothy 6:6-8: Godliness with contentment is more profitable than ambition for we were born naked and we shall leave it empty handed.
Then in Hebrews 13:5, we are urged to “keep your life free from love of money, and to be content with what you have.” Mark the key words “free from,” which implies that lack of financial contentment could easily turn into a form of bondage.
To what extent is the virtue of contentment being instilled and inculcated in your life? We have an opportunity to choose to continue being anxious participants in the so-called ‘rat race’ or to espouse the secret of contentment and godliness.
Prayer:
Almighty God, thank you because you promised never to forsake me. Help me to learn the secret of contentment and to make it part of my daily life. For the glory of your Name, Amen.
