One of the main things that makes life so difficult is a lack of contentedness. When we aren't content, we do foolish things that harm ourselves and others. For example, if a husband isn't content with his wife, he may commit adultery. If a woman isn't content with being a wife and mother, she may forsake her family in an attempt to gain "something that's missing". If a person isn't content with their house, car, or other material items, they might work themselves to death trying to get more money so they can have bigger and better things. Or, if people aren't content with the amount of honor and recognition they have in life, they might compete with everyone around them for greater honor, thereby sowing seeds of discord, rivalry, and bitterness. A lack of contentedness has caused mankind to consume, devour, and act like animals instead of human beings created in God's image.
So what's the key to being content? The answer to that question can be discovered in Paul's letter to the Philippians. In the fourth chapter he says, "I have learned in whatever situation to be content" (v.11). And then he says, "In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty, hunger, abundance, and need" (v.12). In other words, it doesn't matter if I have a lot or a little, I have learned to be content in life. That statement alone is amazing, but when we realize that he was currently in jail (1:7, 13) for his service to the Lord when he made that statement, it becomes utterly mind boggling.
So what did Paul learn? How did he become content in life? How did he become content to the point that he was overflowing with joy even in the worst circumstance? It's not like he was disappointed that he couldn't afford an HD television or a better education for his children. He was in jail. Wrongly imprisoned for doing the Lord's work! What was his secret?
Well, we get a clue back in the third chapter. He says, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead" (3:13). In context, he was recounting his former life. If you read chapter three, you'll realize that Paul used to be an extremely self-righteous individual. And if you read the rest of the New Testament, you'll realize that he spearheaded the persecution of the church. Recounting his former life caused him immense pain. He did awful things. I'm sure at times he had flashes of crying children being ripped away from their Christian parents - parents who were being imprisoned or stoned to death. Paul was sick to his stomach when he thought of his former life and what he used to be. That's why he said to the Corinthians, "I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (15:9), and that's why he said to Timothy, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost" (1 Timothy 1:15).
Modern psychology would tell Paul that he needs to think more positively about himself. But the truth is, it was that sort of thinking that lied at the root of his contentedness. How? Because when you realize that you don't deserve anything at all, you are content with whatever you have. You see, that's the secret. That's the key. The key is realizing we don't deserve anything at all from God. We have lived self-righteous, hostile lives toward God and others. We are responsible for mutilating the precious body of God's beloved Son. It was our sin that led to his death. It was our sin that has caused great harm to others throughout our life. And like the apostle Paul, we should look back at our former lives with disgust and stand amazed that God not only forgave us, but "gave us all things" (Romans 8:32).
The problem is, even though we Christians know this intellectually, we often don't believe it in our hearts. We can quote all the Bible verses: "The wages of sin is death", etc., but do we really believe we deserve to die? Do we really believe that not only do we not deserve a bigger TV or a better education for our children or a second child or a fulfilling sex life, we actually deserve death? Friends, we need to pray and ask God to help us to believe we deserve death for our sin. Once you believe that in your heart, everything else is just icing on the cake.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" - Psalm 23:1
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