Pastoral Perspective: Contentment is the duty, glory and excellence of a Christian

Do you like ice cream? Yeah, so do I.

Do you like ice cream a lot? Yeah, so do I.

Do you like a lot of ice cream? Yeah, so do I.

Do you like to eat a lot of ice cream all at once? You know my answer.

I do not know if I crave the sugar or the ice cream or both, but my goodness there is deep satisfaction in a big bowl of ice cream. My only qualm is when you put fruit in the ice cream or even anywhere near the bowl of ice cream. Now I have offended someone. My sincerest apologies.

Moving on, rarely do I find my contentment in a small bowl of ice cream. My craving for ice cream is always pretty significant. Maybe you can relate with me. If so, let’s have a bowl of ice cream together sometime. Here comes the awkward segue into the rest of the article.

Contentment is such an elusive, slippery personal character trait. Contentment can be tricky because once you think you have “arrived” or “figured it out,” there seems to be a slight-of-hand trick that you did not see coming and you find yourself wrestling with worry and fear, or even an insatiable diet for something that God is not giving to you. It seems like anything can derail contentment. That is, unless you are prepared.

Contentment is not laziness or complacency or apathy. Too many times we use the phrase “it is what it is” to escape doing hard things or to accept the responsibility of high expectations being placed on us. Contentment is not satisfaction with the status quo. That kind of satisfaction steals dreams and adventure and wonder.

Jeremiah Burroughs describes CONTENTMENT as “that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition. … It is a work of the Spirit ‘indoors.’ It is a box of precious ointment, very comforting and useful for troubled hearts in times of troubled conditions. … Certainly our CONTENTMENT does not consist in getting the thing we desire, but in God’s fashioning our spirits to our conditions. … To be well-skilled in the mystery of Christian CONTENTMENT is the duty, glory and excellence of a Christian.”

No one knew this better than the Apostle Paul. Imprisoned (probably in Ephesus or Rome) for preaching the Gospel, Paul penned these words to be an encouragement to the church at Philippi and to remind them of their joy that can only be found in the contentment of the sovereignty of God.

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

How could he possibly be content? The circumstances around his life were swirling and caving in. He cannot possibly be content with prison! Or can he? Back up just a few verses in the very same letter and we have the answer to his contentment.

“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The peace of God. There is your secret to contentment. It is not something that can be conjured up from within. It is so much more than behavioral modification or squeezing out from underneath difficult circumstances. The peace of God “surpasses” our understanding and it does two things: it guards our hearts and it guards our minds in Christ Jesus.

That phrase “in Christ Jesus” is so important. Your relationship with Jesus affects your contentment. Do you remember those quirky bumper stickers “No Jesus. No Peace. Know Jesus. Know Peace”? Well, as quirky as those bumper stickers were, it does not change the truth of them. You will never know real contentment outside of a relationship with Jesus.

Let me end with these two quotes:

“When you wish to be somewhere God hasn’t put you — you miss where He has you. And wouldn’t that be a good way for the enemy to derail all of the good to be done? Head down. Do what’s right in front of you. Love the people God’s given you. Don’t compare. Don’t worry it isn’t enough. Trust where He has you right now. Today. If he needs you somewhere else, doing something else, tell Him you are willing and trust Him to let you know.” — Jennie Allen.

“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were not made for this world.” — C.S. Lewis.

Rev. Jarrod Bartholomew is lead pastor at Pontiac Bible Church

This article originally appeared on Pontiac Daily Leader: Jarrod Bartholomew Pastoral Perspective: Contentment Christian