I HAVE LEARNED TO BE CONTENT
Greetings church family!
After having attended public school from kindergarten through 8th grade, my parents decided to enroll me in Las Vegas Junior Academy (an Adventist school) for 9th grade. I was so excited. In public school, I couldn’t participate in various clubs (marching band, math club) because their big events took place on Sabbath. However, I could participate in any club or activity at LVJA that I wanted to, since there would be no Sabbath conflict.
At lunch time on my first day at LVJA, I realized quickly that the popular activity among the guys was basketball. I hadn’t played one minute of basketball in my life up to this point. Being African American, at a height of 6 ft tall as an academy freshman, my new friends assumed I played basketball. However, it didn’t take them long to realize that I was totally new to the sport. I had no jump shot, I didn’t dribble well, and to be quite honest, I was very awkward and uncoordinated athletically. I knew the rules of the game because I watched it on TV all the time. But I couldn’t actually play with any real level of skill and ability. Over the rest of my time in academy, I had to learn how to play basketball. I had to learn how to develop the coordination and hone the skills necessary to be at least competent at the sport.
In Philippians 4:11b-12, the apostle Paul writes, “... for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need.” The definition of “content” is to be pleased and satisfied with what one has. When Paul says he learned to be content, the implication is that it was not always natural for him to be pleased and satisfied with what he had. To go one step further, Solomon, in Proverbs 27:20, says, “Sheol and Abaddon (names referring to death and the grave) are never satisfied, and people’s eyes are never satisfied.” Contentment is unnatural among all of humanity!
No matter how much we have, we always seem to want more. One of the ironic cultural manifestations of this truth is the 48-hr period known as Thanksgiving and Black Friday. One day we’re focusing on reflective gratitude, while the very next day we participate in frenzied consumption. One day you count your blessings, the next day you count your discounts!
The good news is that contentment is something that can be learned. Paul gives us the key. Philippians 4:13 says, “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Taking the context of this passage in account, Paul is saying his ability to make do with little or make do with a lot comes from Jesus Christ, who is the source of his strength. The power to endure hardship, resist despair, and maintain peace is not self-generated; it comes from Christ.
Church family, life has a way of being quite unpredictable. Seasons of plenty and seasons of want come and go, often without warning. It is easy to struggle to maintain one’s faith during difficult times, while it is also easy to become complacent in periods of abundance. My first prayer for all of us is that, in Jesus, we discover that the contentment He provides is circumstance-independent. It’s not rooted in what we possess, but in Whom we trust!
My second prayer is for us to realize that there may be no more effective evangelistic effort than living with contentment. Contentment testifies to the world that there is a Source of transcendent peace and joy, a Refuge that does not falter when external realities shift.
Be blessed, have a very content Thanksgiving holiday, and rest assured that God is for you, God is with you, and God loves you!
Pastor Chris
