Contentment

by Emily
​from Virtuous Daughters, February 2009~Volume 8, Number 11 

Have you ever wondered what true contentment is? According to the dictionary, it means having a mind at peace, being satisfied and undisturbed—quietness. What a wonderful state of mind that sounds like! As born-again Christians, we know that no one can truly be satisfied apart from Jesus Christ! Let us turn to the Bible, and see what that most important Book has to say about our subject. There are four verses, in particular, that stand out to me.

The first is Philippians 4:11. It says, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” In other words, Paul says to be satisfied with what you have. Notice that this is something that must be learned. Being content is not something that people can be by nature, for the Bible says that the eyes of man are never satisfied (Proverbs 27:20). So, contentment must be a result of the mind renewed by Jesus Christ, which Romans 12:2 talks about when it says, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” In a more practical side, what a good goal this would be for us! To be content in no matter what state we are in! This is certainly hard at times, I admit. :) I think that part of contentment may be just totally trusting God and believing what He says. A special peace and joy comes from being content and simply doing God’s will!
    
The next two verses deal very specifically with being content with what we have. 1 Timothy 6:8 says, “And having food and raiment let us therewith be content.” In Hebrews 13:5 we read, “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Does it seem that contentment and covetousness are opposites? I think so. As this verse in Hebrews reminds us, why should the Christian not be content? Jesus Christ said He would never leave us nor forsake us! What more could anyone want? Unfortunately, when we take our eyes off the Lord, it is easy to think about what we want . . . maybe not things, necessarily, but do we want recognition for the work we do . . . or are we content to quietly serve behind the scenes?
    
​Lastly, remember what 1 Timothy 6;6 says: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Think about that—in God’s view, contentment is an important lesson for the Christian to learn. May each one of us learn the secret to a contented heart, remembering that it comes from patiently trusting the Lord and being satisfied with what He has blessed us with!