Content in Christ, Pt. 4

Paul learned how to be content with little. If not content, then we will be greedy, angry with what little we have, or jealous of those who have more.

Content in Christ, Pt. 4

"I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little."

(Philippians 4:12)

Here are some examples of Paul's hardships that he endured in ministry:

1 Corinthians 4:11–12: "Up to the present hour we are both hungry and thirsty; we are poorly clothed, roughly treated, homeless; we labor, working with our own hands."

2 Corinthians 6:4–5: "By great endurance, by afflictions, by hardship, by difficulties, by beatings, by imprisonments, by riots, by labors, by sleepless nights, by times of hunger."

2 Corinthians 11:25–27: "Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. On frequent journeys, I faced . . . hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and lacking clothing."

Paul learned how to be content with plenty or with little. If not content, then we will be greedy for more, angry with what little we have, or jealous of those who have more.

"Paul learned contentment as he followed Jesus; he learned what mattered. We might wish that a certain crisis would break us from our love affair with this world, but contentment isn't learned in a single crisis. It's learned through exposure to times of need and times of plenty. It involves a regular struggle to believe that Christ is enough. It involves us going through the school of need and the school of plenty. Both schools offer various tests that we must take."

(Tony Merida & Francis Chan (2016). Exalting Jesus in Philippians (D. Platt, D. L. Akin, & T. Merida, Eds.; p. 186). Holman Reference.)

When we have plenty, we must be on guard that we do not want even more and become greedy or become hoarders and stingy, but instead, we must be generous and full of joy to give. Note Paul's warning in 1 Timothy 6:9-10, 17-19:

"But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains...

"Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real."

There are many layers to this rare Christian jewel called contentment. I hope you are growing in both your understanding and practice of what it means to be content.