Being Content

Philippians 4:11

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

The lack of contentment in life is the root of many of the modern day ills of our society. You can see it in the slums of the inner cities and in the rich and plush areas of the finest neighborhoods. These same maladies are common in the small towns of the Midwest as well as under the shadows of the church steeples in the Bible Belt.

The effects of this lack of satisfaction and contentment can also be seen in the abundance of illegal drug use, the propagation of gangs, the rise in crime and the general unrest and violence that is so prevalent in our society today.

As obvious as the aforementioned problems are, these are not the only places that this is a problem. There is another area that this is doing tremendous damage. Even in the church, in dedicated men, women and young people this lack of commitment and satisfaction with life is a growing problem.

The fact that we live in a society that demands and receives instant gratification does not help the problem any. We expect everything to be drive through and instant. We don’t want to have to wait for things to happen, we want them immediately if not sooner.

The fact is that God does want to bless us and to grow us into the things that He has for us. Things so great and wonderful that we have a hard time even imagining them. The problem is that God is not on the same schedule that we are on. He does not get in a hurry. He takes time to build up and develop us so that when we do enter into His blessing, we will be mature enough to handle it all. He knows that contentment is a quality of the inner man. Things do not produce real contentment. If we are not content without things, we will not be content with things. Contentment comes from a heart that has found its place in Christ. This is the secret of contentment.