A Cause for Contentment
by Scott Lake

"I'm sorry, we must turn down your request for a mortgage."

"I think it would be best if we stopped seeing each other. Let's just be friends."

"It sure would be nice to get that promotion, our furniture is getting so dingy."

What is it in your life that seems just a little out of reach? A new home? A lasting dating relationship? The ultimate job?

These just-out-of-reach things are often the factors that drive our current American society. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. But what really constitutes happiness? Unfortunately, we seem to look around us — instead of inside of us — for the elusive answer.

The apostle Paul had something to say about happiness in his letter to the Philippians. I wonder what the palace guard who was chained to him was thinking as Paul wrote these verses?

"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. 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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:11-13).

What do you suppose this "secret" of Paul's was? One thing you can be sure the secret wasn't: comparing his current situation to that of other Christians of the day. After all, Paul had been through — among other things — shipwrecks, imprisonments and the questioning of his integrity as a believer.

One surefire way to achieve discontentment is to start comparing yourself to others. No matter the category, comparing will eventually bring discontentment — even when the subject for comparison might be deemed "noble" on the surface: Why can't I preach as well as so-and-so?

Part of the Paul's secret was perhaps avoiding the temptation to succumb to comparison, but what might the rest of the secret be? Just a few verses earlier in the same chapter, Paul writes:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things" (Philippians 4:8).

When was the last time you meditated on the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable and praiseworthy aspects of life? Going for extended periods without this practice can also lead to discontentment. On the other hand, just a few minutes pondering even one of these topics can pull you right out of the doldrums of discontent. Take a few more minutes and you will be hard-pressed not to be thankful for the beauty and blessings of life! We really don't deserve the blessings God bestows upon us — particularly eternal life. A thankful heart is God's antidote for the disease of discontentment.

Take half an hour and read through Philippians. Then take the next several days and read through it again — a few verses at a time — seeking to comprehend Paul's absolute assurance that his imprisonment was a good thing, a cause for contentment.