The Secret of Being Content
The truth is that if God wanted us to have more right now, we would hav it. If we needed different gifts to enable us to glorify him, he would provide them. If we were ready for the job or ministry we want, he would put us into it. If we were supposed to be in a different situation in life, we would be in it. Instead of always saying, "If only this" and "If only that," God calls us to glorify him right now, whatever the situation we are in.
The word for this is contentment. Contentment is the positive side of the last commandment; it is the remedy for covetous desire.
The Westminister Shorter Catechism says, "The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor and all that is his" (A.80). This emphasis on contentment is thoroughly Biblical. "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6). "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have" (Heb. 13:5a).
Contentment means wanting what God wants for us rather that what we want for us. The secret to enjoying this knid of contentment is to be so satisfied with God that we are able to accept whatever he has or has not provided. To put this another way, coveting is a theological issue: Ultimately, it concerns our relationship with God. Therefore, the way to get rid of any covetous desire is to be completely satisfied with God and what he provides. In a wonderful book called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughr explained what we ought to say to ourselves whenever we are tempted to be discontent: "I find a sufficiency of satisfaction in my own heart, through the grace of Christ that is in me. Though I have not outward conveniences to supply my necessities, yet I have a sufficient portion between Christ and my soul abundantly to satisfy me in every condition."
Godly people have always known this secret. Asaph knew it. True, there was a time in his life when Asaph was disappointed with God. He saw wicked men prosper, while he himself had nothing to show for his godliness. It made him angry with God and bitter about what life didn't seem to offer. But then Asaph learned the secret of being content, and he was able to say to the Lord, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" (Ps. 73:25).
The Apostle Paul knew the secret, too. He said, "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" (Phil. 4:11b, 12). In other words, Paul had learned contentment is not circumstantial; it does not depend on our situation in life. So what's the secret? Paul said, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:13).
God is all we need and therefore all we ought to desire. To be even more specific, all we need is Jesus. God does not offer us His son as a better way of getting what we want. No; God gives us Jesus and says, 'Even if you don't realize it, He is all you really need.' When we come to Jesus, we receive the promise of eternal life with God. We receive the promise that He will never leave us or forsake us, that He will help us through all the trials of life. What else do we need?
And as for everything else - all the things that we spend so much time coveting - God says, "Trust me. I will provide everything you truly need." Faith is always the answer to our discontent. Michael Horton writes: "It is not poverty or wealth that leads us to contentment and trust in the Lord, but the confidence that if God provided so richly for our salvation by choosing, redeeming, calling, adopting, and justifying us, and by sending His Spirit to cause us to grow up into Christ's likeness, then surely we can count on Him for the less essentian matters of daily existence." 1
Jesus said it even more plainly: "Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33). The first thing, the main thing, the only thing that really matters is to trust in Jesus. He is enough for us. Really, he is.
The word for this is contentment. Contentment is the positive side of the last commandment; it is the remedy for covetous desire.
The Westminister Shorter Catechism says, "The tenth commandment requireth full contentment with our own condition, with a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor and all that is his" (A.80). This emphasis on contentment is thoroughly Biblical. "Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6). "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have" (Heb. 13:5a).Contentment means wanting what God wants for us rather that what we want for us. The secret to enjoying this knid of contentment is to be so satisfied with God that we are able to accept whatever he has or has not provided. To put this another way, coveting is a theological issue: Ultimately, it concerns our relationship with God. Therefore, the way to get rid of any covetous desire is to be completely satisfied with God and what he provides. In a wonderful book called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughr explained what we ought to say to ourselves whenever we are tempted to be discontent: "I find a sufficiency of satisfaction in my own heart, through the grace of Christ that is in me. Though I have not outward conveniences to supply my necessities, yet I have a sufficient portion between Christ and my soul abundantly to satisfy me in every condition."
Godly people have always known this secret. Asaph knew it. True, there was a time in his life when Asaph was disappointed with God. He saw wicked men prosper, while he himself had nothing to show for his godliness. It made him angry with God and bitter about what life didn't seem to offer. But then Asaph learned the secret of being content, and he was able to say to the Lord, "Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you" (Ps. 73:25).
The Apostle Paul knew the secret, too. He said, "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" (Phil. 4:11b, 12). In other words, Paul had learned contentment is not circumstantial; it does not depend on our situation in life. So what's the secret? Paul said, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:13).
God is all we need and therefore all we ought to desire. To be even more specific, all we need is Jesus. God does not offer us His son as a better way of getting what we want. No; God gives us Jesus and says, 'Even if you don't realize it, He is all you really need.' When we come to Jesus, we receive the promise of eternal life with God. We receive the promise that He will never leave us or forsake us, that He will help us through all the trials of life. What else do we need?
And as for everything else - all the things that we spend so much time coveting - God says, "Trust me. I will provide everything you truly need." Faith is always the answer to our discontent. Michael Horton writes: "It is not poverty or wealth that leads us to contentment and trust in the Lord, but the confidence that if God provided so richly for our salvation by choosing, redeeming, calling, adopting, and justifying us, and by sending His Spirit to cause us to grow up into Christ's likeness, then surely we can count on Him for the less essentian matters of daily existence." 1
Jesus said it even more plainly: "Seek first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matt. 6:33). The first thing, the main thing, the only thing that really matters is to trust in Jesus. He is enough for us. Really, he is.
sung by Rick at 10:12 PM
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