The State of Contentment

In Philippians 4, Paul talks discusses contentment: what is contentment; how do we view contentment; why contentment is necessary. The more I consider Paul's words, the more I am inclined to think of him as super-human. Was he really content in every situation or was he just talking for the sake of encouragement?? Knowing Paul, as the rhetorician that he was, he probably wasn't talking to just fill space. So, if that is the case, how did he do it?

Thinking back on Paul's past, he was ship-wrecked, beaten and left for dead, imprisoned, and ultimately sent to face Caesar. Not that I'm equating myself with such a great man, but I see myself as very similar to Paul. I am starting to think that God had to continually break down Paul's pride. Growing up, I always thought of Paul as the "example" - that the stories in the Bible, while true, were given to use for encouragement. But, the older I get, the more I realize that Paul had some personal issues that had to be addressed. Maybe he could only learn contentment after God had allowed him to face so many terrible situations.

Therefore, I'm inclined to think that Paul could only find contentment after allowing himself to be made free in Christ. For Paul, that journey took him through trial after trial. Could he have learned after one major catastrophe? Sure! But do you? Do I? But please do not confuse contentment with complacency. Those are two very different words, but are often equated to mean the same thing. God could only speak to Paul, after he had been emptied of Paul.

So what does this mean in terms of life today? Well, the most immediate answer that comes to mind is that I have to understand that, despite my circumstances, I am going to face trials. Each of those hardships is going to give me an option or a choice: do I allow God to change my life or do I continue to resist His perfect and pleasing will? Often, I have the audacity to tell God that my way is better. Once I finish stating my case, He says, "OK, let's try this again." After about the fourth or fifth attempt, God finally gets my attention and I start to learn contentment for that particular situation.

For me, the process of learning contentment goes in stages. While I am a very quick learner at work or with other skills, I can't seem to master the idea that God's plan is ALWAYS better than mine. So the tango that He and I dance, seems to be a long one. My encouragement to you is this: when you hear God saying, "Go," "Stop," "Wait," listen to Him. He really does have a good inkling for what should happen to keep the world spinning.