The Secret to Being Content

The following video transcript has been lightly edited

  As we wrap up our walk through Philippians today we're gonna talk about the secret of contentment. Paul, as he is closing his letter, is saying thank you to the Philippians for remembering him, for giving him a gift, presenting him, his friend, and the gifts that went along with it. But in the midst of that, Paul says he's grateful, but he also says that he's learned the secret to contentment.

He's learned the secret to being content when he has a lot, and he's learned the secret of being content when he has a little, I don't know about you, but I could always use a little bit more contentment in my life. When my wife and I discuss what our ideal state is, I often talk about contentment. She talks about peace.

I think I choose contentment because as a striver I'm always striving for just a little bit more, for things to be a little bit better. And so for me, contentment is something that I desire. My guess is you do as well.

And Paul offers us three things in Philippians four, and he says, Hey, here's the secret to contentment. One, it's something that you have to learn and it's not something that you can either achieve or receive. Two, he's able to have that mentality because he taps into the strength of God. And three, Paul knows what it is to receive and give. And so he is a person that says thank you. He has a sense of gratitude, and that develops contentment as well.

So if you want more contentment in your life, you want to focus on those three things. Learning to be content because it can't be achieved or received. Focusing in on the strength of God and being a person who gives thanks. Let's dig into those a little bit more.

So Paul says that he has learned to be content, whether he has a lot or a little. Now, I think for us in general, we often think that contentment will come based on our circumstances. Those circumstances could be a variety of things, but we think just a little bit more money, just a little bit more power, just a little bit more fame, just a little bit more prestige. Once these things come together, then I will be content.

What we find is as we chase that, we never achieve contentment. Meanwhile, on the other side, when we have everything, one of the things we learn is that contentment is still not quite there, and that's one of the things that we watch the powerful in the wealthy in the world, struggle with their lives are often a mess because they too haven't learned contentment.

And so Paul says, Hey, it is something that you have to intentionally cultivate and it can be something that is real and true in all the places. So when Paul's thinking about contentment, he's thinking, Hey, this is not about ruminating in the past. It's not about trying to control the future. It's not about escaping the present either.

Contentment is about having confidence in God's love that God has been revealed in the person of Christ. Contentment comes because we have hope. Hope that the future of the world is restoration. Contentment comes because we have an honesty to us, so we can be mad and sad and glad no matter what the circumstances, and know that that's just part of the human struggle.

Contentment knows lets us know that we can never be separated from God's love and therefore in the way that he loves us and loves others. We can be curious and engage the world. We can grab a hold of the joy and the goodness and the wonder. And so if you want to be content, it's something that you have to learn.

You have to disconnect this idea that contentment is going to come once you get whatever it is you're trying to get. And instead, you want to practice. You wanna practice learning and reminding yourself of the hope, faith, and love that is revealed in Christ who you are, that you're fully known and fully loved, and that nothing can take that away and allows you to operate with this perspective of whatever you're going through.

It's just another opportunity to grow in love. The formula is pretty simple. Know who God is, know who you are in Christ, and then act in love. And whatever you're going through, you can apply that. In your home, your family, your workplace, and that'll help you develop contentment.

The second thing Paul says is he says, I can do all things through him who strengthens me. You know, we see that in a lot of t-shirts and bumper stickers, and in that way it can sometimes lose its power and its meaning. Paul believes that in Christ, God has been revealed and that God still engages us today. So the strength that Paul is trying to harness is the strength of God's spirit that shows up though mysterious, encourages us, offers us peace that is beyond what we could understand, why we feel peace about something.

Paul has strength, because he has a sense of hope. He believes that in the resurrection, that is a sign and symbol for the future of the world. That resurrection and restoration is the end of the story for all of us.

And ultimately Paul has a perspective. That all of history is a moving towards this final outcome in which everything is set right, in which God obliterates evil, sin and death. He condemns it and banishes it forever, and he makes all things new. That's what Paul's perspective is. And so he believes that no matter what is going on, that God can somehow twist and turn and bend these things back to his ultimate reality.

And so the question for us is, Hey, how are we harnessing this strength? And I think this is the importance of spiritual practices. One of the things that our church is really about is helping to cultivate those. The spiritual practices of prayer and hospitality and care for the poor, needy, corporate worship and, and honoring others and seeking reconciliation. These are Christian practices that have been embraced by the church for thousands of years because what they believe is their concrete actions that when taken up in faith, will give us the experience of God's love, will give us an experience of that strength that we are seeking.

So if we want to be content, we wanna learn contentment. It's a skill, it's a practice. Two, we wanna harness God's strength. And three, we want to give ourselves to a sense of gratitude and thankfulness.

In order to be thankful. We need to be a people who understand that it is about giving and receiving. A lot of times we think that contentment comes if we can be self-sufficient.

Self-sufficiency actually doesn't get us anything. We, you and I, were made to be in relationship to God and relationship to others. And so our contentment will come when we accept need, the need of others, the need of connection. And that's exactly what Paul's doing. He's saying, Hey, thanks so much Philippians for walking alongside me, for caring for me, for loving me. And so I'm just grateful. I want to say thank you.

You know, here's the thing that I think happens to us as we practice gratitude, as we say thank you to others. It's really hard to not be content in those moments. That's actually what it opens us up to. As we say thanks we feel ourselves have an experience of contentment because we're grateful for the people we're with.

We're grateful for the way that God has provided for us in those moments. And so contentment sets in as we choose to be thankful.

So the final challenge that I wanna offer you as you seek more contentment in your life is do an experiment. Do a thank you experiment. Be intentional this week about thanking those around you saying, Hey, thank you for your thoughtfulness. Thank you for your work. Thank you for noticing me. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you for the way you took care of that, because as we do that, what you'll find as you do that little experiment, you will find that you experience contentment more than you would've otherwise.