The Solution of Contentment
Today is our second sermon in our quest for contentment. Contentment seems to be a very elusive Christian myth—like Bigfoot that many people claim to have seen evidence of, but nobody has ever actually found it. Hopefully this morning we will actually be able to find contentment.
Last week we introduced the problem of discontentment: a dissatisfaction with God and His provision, resulting in a craving for anything outside of God and His provision. Jeremiah Burroughs, who practically wrote the book on discontentment, said, “What a foolish thing it is that because I have not got what I want, I will not enjoy the comfort of what I have.” There is a great deal of foolishness in a discontented heart.
One of the greatest problems of our lives is discontentment, and the solution to discontentment is contentment. Indeed, there is much to be gained by contentment. As our text says in 1 Timothy 6:6:
But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment.
Paul says that godliness that goes along with contentment is a means not just of gain but of great gain—porismos megas, mega gain. He had just talked about false teachers who are trying to use godliness as a means of gain, even to earn much more than a decent living. But Paul tells them that true gain comes with contentment. It’s a huge blessing, a huge benefit.
This seems like the exact opposite of what we expect. Contentment means being happy with what you have—you don’t need to gain anything else. The world sees contentment as restricting and limiting. How is contentment a means of gain? Discontentment seems like the way to go. To understand how contentment can be a means of great gain, we must first ask:
1. What Is Contentment?
It might be surprising, because contentment doesn’t seem like a path to gain—it seems like the opposite. The world says discontentment is better because it tells you that you don’t have to be limited by what you currently have. Discontentment promises other things that can provide happiness and satisfaction. Contentment just means being happy with what you have, which the world calls boring. Discontentment says, “Don’t be bound by what you have—seek more, seek better.”
The biblical concept is fundamentally the opposite. The Greek word for contentment, autarkeia, literally means independence or self-sufficiency. A self-sufficient person is not dependent on anything else for their living; they live within their own means. Contentment is actually freedom and independence. Discontentment is restrictive and limiting because a discontented person is a slave to their desires, consumed with wanting more or better.
The New Bible Dictionary defines it as “not a passive acceptance of the status quo, but the positive assurance that God has supplied one’s needs and the consequent release from unnecessary desires.” You don’t just accept where you’re at; you recognize God has supplied your needs and are freed from unnecessary desires. Another definition: contentment is internal satisfaction which does not demand changes in external circumstances.
Contentment replaces bad desires with appreciation for what you have. It’s wanting what you already have. In a difficult marriage, contentment doesn’t say, “That’s fine, this is my lot.” It says, “These are my things, and in fact, these are the things that I want.” Make a willful effort to enjoy what you have.
2. What Should We Be Content With?
The Bible gives specific examples, starting right in our context, 1 Timothy 6:7-8:
For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
You came into the world destitute and leave destitute—no U-Haul to the cemetery. You brought nothing in and take nothing out. The fact that you have food and clothing is a plus—better than what you had at birth. These are significant blessings. Pray before each meal to give God thanks for this incredible provision. Thank God that He clothes you, as He clothes the fields, and loves you more.
Recognize your helpless state at birth, and see how significant the next meal is—by the hand of God. This is why godliness with contentment is great gain: you have the correct perspective on what’s significant. Robinson Crusoe, finding a Bible after his shipwreck, said:
I learned to look more upon the bright side of my condition and less upon the dark side, and to consider what I enjoyed rather than what I wanted. All our discontents about what we want appeared to me to spring from the lack of thankfulness for what we do have.
God promises these necessities. Beyond salvation, He gives food, clothing, shelter—mind-blowing goodness.
The Bible also speaks of immaterial things. In 1 Corinthians 7:25, Paul says: Are you bound to a wife? Don’t seek to be released. Are you released from a wife? Don’t seek a wife. Be content in singleness or marriage. Proverbs 5:18: Rejoice in the wife of your youth. Don’t pressure singles to marry for happiness—teach them contentment in singleness, and they become content spouses and parents. Be content with your church, friendships, ministry.
But what about bad things? In 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Paul describes his thorn in the flesh:
Concerning this, I begged the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
Paul begged three times to remove it, but God’s grace was sufficient. Paul didn’t just accept it—he was well content, even boasting in weaknesses. God’s grace makes you independent and competent; it brings satisfaction and the power of Christ. We don’t desire pain, but we desire the effects God produces through it: “I must decrease, and He must increase.”
Paul learned this secret in Philippians 4:10-13:
I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Paul learned contentment in prosperity and poverty, abundance and hunger—not automatically, but through Christ’s strength. If upheld by Christ, you can endure and be satisfied in any situation.
3. Who Should We Be Content With?
Hebrews 13:5 says:
Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”
Be content with what you have because you have God’s promised presence. Compare the value of your things to God—everything pales in comparison. When you see God’s value, you’re freed to enjoy things, knowing they come from His hand.
The secret to contentment is constantly reminding yourself of God’s presence and power. Psalm 23 is the contentment psalm: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Even in the valley of the shadow of death, “I fear no evil, for You are with me.” In Psalm 42, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
The contented Christian is enthralled with God. Unnecessary desires fade easily when you grasp God firmly—2 Corinthians 9:8 promises God makes all grace abound so you have all contentment in everything. Augustine said, “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find rest in You.”
God is the ultimate, all-satisfying reality. Contentment is yours—by His power and grace, take it up and be content.
