Contentment (Part 1 of 2)

Welcome to Truth for Life, where today we begin a series called Thankful Living. We'll explore God's goodness and learn what it means to be truly grateful. Alistair Begg kicks off today's study by considering the key to genuine contentment.

How can we be content, even in a materialistic, pleasure-seeking culture that is pointing us to what is bigger and better and faster? I'd like to turn you to two further passages of Scripture, one in the book of Psalms and the other in Philippians chapter 4, in Psalm 131, and then in Philippians and the fourth chapter. Psalm 131 is one of the songs of ascent. It only has three verses.

I'll read it for you. My heart is not proud, O Lord, my eyes are not haughty. I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have stilled and quietened my soul like a weaned child with its mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me. O Israel, put your hope in the Lord both now and forevermore.

You may want to put a marker in there. And then in Philippians 4, verse 12, Paul writes, I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.

I can do everything through him who gives me strength. In Henry VI, part 2, there's a very brief but telling dialogue which ensues as a result of two gamekeepers meeting the king in a country setting. The king is dressed down, we might say, and as a result of that, this brief dialogue ensues. The gentlemen say to him upon his introduction of himself, But if thou be a king, where is thy crown? To which the king replies, My crown is in my heart, not on my head, not decked with diamonds and Indian stones nor to be seen. My crown is called content. A crown it is that seldom kings enjoy.

Now he might equally have said, A crown it is that seldom anyone enjoys. And our study this morning, a topical study, largely follows from where some of us were last Sunday evening when we thought about the nature of a thankful heart. A thankful heart will help to rid us of covetousness, and covetousness will inevitably spoil any experience we may have of contentment. And yes, on a day that follows, arguably one of the greatest shopping extravaganzas of the year, you have arrived, and I am bold enough to suggest that we do well to give ourselves to this matter of contentment. To address the issue of contentment, on the first day of the week which follows the week, which will be a famous week for a little while until the event is superseded, I refer to the sale on eBay of a grilled cheese sandwich for twenty-eight thousand dollars. Our world, our culture is materialistic to the hilt. Standing in staples yesterday morning, waiting for my son-in-law, casting my gaze around the small display of books which was there, I fastened on these titles, Think and Grow Rich, Ten Keys to Prosperity, The Instant Millionaire, The Millionaire Next Door—all of them addressing the foolish fantasy that a person's life consists in the abundance of his possessions, a folly which Jesus addressed when in Matthew 6 he pointed out that God cares for his creatures and therefore there is no need for such preoccupation, and a folly which he addressed in the story that he told of the man who had had a tremendously successful year in business, had decided to make use of his profits in the expansion of his barns, but was actually a fool because the decisions that he had made, he made on a purely horizontal plane, and he had forgotten all about eternity, and indeed, that night his soul was required of him. Contentment in the twenty-first century is a rarity. A rarity. We ought not to be surprised, because we have in common with previous centuries that fact. In the seventeenth century in England, Jeremiah Burrows, one of the Puritans, wrote a book which he called The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment.

And rare it is, indeed, and a jewel it most certainly is. And each of us this morning, if we're honest, is too easily swept along in the tides of covetousness, is too easily bombarded by a spirit of discontentedness that is directly related to our lot in life, to our circumstances, perhaps financial, perhaps social, perhaps physical. But in some way or another, we find ourselves much like tiny children, displeased with what they were given, frustrated about the fact that their friends have more, and determined to do whatever they can in order to rectify their circumstances. And while no one was seen at the mall in the last few days wearing a crown, I'm sure, a number were seen wearing baseball hats, some of them bearing testimony to places they had been, golf courses we had played, sports teams with which we were familiar, sports brands that we were happy to endorse, despite the fact that we paid money to endorse them, rather than being paid money to endorse them.

An interesting strategy, spectacular in its impact. But I bet that any one of you saw anyone wearing a baseball cap, and on the front it said, contentment. Or on the front it said, I am contented. And one of the reasons for that is that contentment cannot be gained in the way in which so many things in life are achieved. There does not exist a program entitled Five Steps to Contentment, or The Ten Keys to Contentment. Indeed, if you think about it, you will immediately recognize that you probably have never read a book on the subject of contentment, and that you will have difficulty, even in our own excellent bookstore, in finding material on this subject.

It is a rare subject. And we do not do well in our pragmatic culture with things that aren't programs or packages. There are all kinds of programs and packages which, once we put them in motion, then we can benefit from them. But contentment isn't like that. It's not a package.

It's not a program. It's actually part of a process. It is part of the process of sanctification. It is part of the process of becoming like the Lord Jesus Christ. And the reason that it is daunting for us is because so much of our approach to Christian living is focused on our doing and on our achieving. But this is all about being. This is not about doing. This is not about achieving. And so the pragmatists among us are at sea immediately, because we are used to somebody saying, Now, if you'll do A, B, C, D, and E, then here are the five steps to this. When we consider the matter of contentment, we realize that it is not about what we can do, but rather it is about what we need done to us and what we need done in us. Now, what I want to do is think with you generally for a moment or two about this issue, sketch it on the perimeter, and then say three things, and we'll be through. First of all, when we come to the issue of contentment, and not least of all as it relates to money and wealth—and we could have read in 1 Timothy 6, or in Hebrews chapter 5, where there are very striking statements made concerning how we should handle the issue of wealth—extremism is an easy option.

Extremism is an easy option. The revulsion in the sixties on the part of a generation to the materialism of the previous generation produced sandals and togas and joss sticks and all kinds of jazz, which was apparently to do with the fact that we had all rejected this crass materialism of the generation that went before, despite the fact that we spent significant amounts of money making sure that the things that expressed our vow of poverty came from the right kind of closet, were expressed in the right kind of way, and that the sandals just were the right kind of sandals. Now, materialism is a hard habit to kick. And the idea that you can reject hedonism, the pursuit of pleasure, by endorsing asceticism or monasticism or saying, I have got no interest in cashmere sweaters, I only like horribly hairy, scratchy sweaters that make you break out in a rash, and you will know the Christian by his horrible, hairy, nasty, scratchy sweater. And the person who is wearing the nice cashmere sweater clearly cannot be a maturing Christian.

That kind of false antithesis is alive and well, and it's wrong. Calvin, in his Institutes, in a classic chapter entitled How We Should Use This Present Life and Its Helps, warns against what he refers to as an overdone austerity and, on the other hand, an overdone indulgence. And in warning against an overdone austerity, he points out that that which God has given us to use for pleasure, if we do not use it for pleasure, is an expression of our ingratitude to God. In the same way that if our Father were to give us a gift of a bicycle or a gift of a kite, and we took the kite and we wrapped it up and we stashed it or we took the bicycle and we propped it against a wall and we said, now I'm going to show how grateful I am to my Father for what he's given me by never using it at all.

The Father would say, well, if I gave this to you for your pleasure, why don't you ride your bicycle and just have a fantastic time? Turn to 1 Timothy chapter 6 and look at how Paul expresses it there. Command those, verse 17, who are rich in this present world to give away all their riches.

No, you know it doesn't say that, but you're going to turn it up even faster now to make sure. Command all those who have investment portfolios to give away their investment portfolios. Command all those who have savings accounts to turn them out and give them away. No, command those who are rich in the present world, number one, not to be arrogant. Not to be arrogant. Because after all, how did anybody get money? How did anybody get rich? Whatever the level of richness.

As a result of the providence of God. Therefore, don't be arrogant, and don't see your wealth as security. Don't put your hope in wealth.

They don't lie in your bed at night and say, Well, I'm okay, because I've got six months income behind me, and therefore, there is my confidence. Don't do that, he says. Command them not to, but instead, command them, notice, to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Do you see that? See how the phrase builds? Who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Now, you see how Christianity has ebbed and flowed throughout the years and continues to. The reaction to an overindulgent environment produces an austerity that is long-faced and grim, and you could tell, presumably, who was having the most Christian Thanksgiving dinner by the frugality of it, the austerity of it, and the almost palpable lack of enjoyment in it. So that over here, we had some of the gigantic turkey, and they were having a wonderful time and singing and rejoicing, and then we went over to Mr. and Mrs. Christian, who were having two small pieces of toast, three green beans, and a big bucket of water. And we realized, here are some people now who understand the nature of contentment. No, absolutely not. Command those who are rich, who are wealthy in the present age, not to be arrogant, not to find their security in it, but to put their hope in God.

He is the God who has given them all things richly to enjoy. So the idea of an extreme reaction to materialism that produces asceticism or whatever else might be is an easy journey. That's why I know I get in trouble for saying this, but when Sue and I went to see the cave in which St. Francis of Assisi lived, I said to myself, well, this is easy. I figure this out.

I can do that if this is where I live. You know, you live in here with a couple of sparrows looking out the window at nothing, and you just trap yourself in there. But let them try and do it in Cleveland, in suburban Cleveland.

Let them do it in an environment like this, where all of these pressures are on them, and all the challenges are on them, and all the advertisements are on them, and all the bright lights are shining on them, and everybody's saying, you've got to have one of these and two of those and two of the next thing. No, going in a cave would be an easy enough journey. A bowl of porridge, the same view out the window every day, kind of cuts your options down, you know. But we don't live there. The last thing I want to say generally of this is that when we look at what the Bible says concerning contentment, it is not talking about contentment in terms of temperament. It's talking about spiritual contentment. Some of us are more even-keeled. Some of us have tolerance levels that are better than others. Some of us can cope with order better. Some of us can cope with disorder better, and so on. Some of our children seem to be cantankerous. Some of them seem more contented. Some of them slept easily.

Some of them were biddable. Others were like… And you say, well, she just seems to be a more contented child. That natural temperamental bent is not what Paul is addressing here. What Paul is addressing is not a contentment that is related to our upbringing or our background or our personality or our temperament, but this is, I got contentment the old-fashioned way. I learned it. Now, I know Smith Barney is, I earned it. But it is, I learned it.

And what Paul says in Philippians 4, as you notice, was, my circumstances have ebbed and flowed. I've been in coach, I've flown in coach in the back of a DC-9 right by the jolly engine with no window, and I've flown in first, and I've learned whether I'm in first or I'm in the back row of the DC-9 to be content. That's a pretty significant statement. That is. I haven't learned that. I want to.

But I haven't. He says, if I have a really nice donkey or a lousy donkey, I have learned contentment. If I stay in a really nice big house like Lydia's, or if I stay in some little tiny place where there's not much by way of resource, I have learned in whatsoever state I am therein to be content. Okay. So now, this is school. This is school. This is something that is learned.

And when we think about it, it would appear that we know very few graduates from this particular course. Right? Set aside natural propensity for a contented spirit now, and think in terms of people whose lives are marked by contentment—a contentment which has to do with their character, not to do with their doing but with their being. I came across this poem—some of you will perhaps have seen it, a simple little poem—but it expresses the discontentedness that is prevalent in our culture. It was spring, but it was summer I wanted—the warm days and the great outdoors. It was summer, but it was fall I wanted—the colorful leaves and the cool, dry air. It was fall, but it was winter I wanted—the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter, but it was spring I wanted—the warmth and the blossoming of nature. I was a child, but it was adulthood I wanted—the freedom and the respect. I was twenty, but it was thirty I wanted—to be mature and sophisticated. I was middle-aged, but it was twenty I wanted—the youth and the free spirit.

I was retired, but it was middle-age I wanted—the presence of mind without limitations. And finally, my life was over, and I never got what I wanted. Finally, my life was over, and I never got what I wanted. Do you know how many people's lives are hastening to a conclusion, and that is an apt epitaph?

My life is almost over, and I have never got what I wanted, or I've never got what I deserved, or I never have got what is my right, or I've never got what, you know… You can finish it any way you choose. And all it is expressive of is an endemic spirit of discontent. Now, I have three words for you, and they're these—perspective, preoccupation, and peace. The key, I think—I hope, I'm learning—is in distinguishing between external circumstances which come and go and an internal relationship with the living God that is unchanging in its stabilizing import. There will always be circumstances that are less than perfect. But what is the point?

It is this. The circumstances of each of our lives are always changing. And so, if we seek to find contentment in changing circumstances, then it will constantly be a rollercoaster ride. Instead, we learn from Paul that he finds contentment not in the external circumstances which ebb and flow but in an internal relationship with the living God who himself does not change.

See? So that at the core of his being, he is constantly, as it were, recalibrating his thinking. He's saying things to himself. He's schooling himself. He's reminding himself.

He's teaching himself. He's presumably taking the psalmist's words, and he's saying, Now let me just remind myself of what is true here. Whatever those circumstances may be—and we could go through a whole variety of them now—those circumstances which are inevitably changing are to be viewed in light of what is true of God. What is true of God? He made me.

Psalm 139. He knows me. He hems me in behind and before. My times are in his hands. He is always with me. And he is favorably disposed to those who are his children. You're listening to Truth for Life. That is Alistair Begg reminding us that God can always be trusted.

We'll hear more about contentment tomorrow. In a world that is constantly changing, it's reassuring to know we are secure in our loving, sovereign, never-changing God. That's why our passion here at Truth for Life is to teach the Bible with clarity and relevance.

We believe God's Spirit works through the faithful teaching of God's Word to transform us as the Scriptures take hold of us and to enable us to resist temptation and to live godly lives. That's the mission you support every time you donate to the ministry of Truth for Life. By God's grace and your faithful partnership, the Gospel message is proclaimed every day of the year through Truth for Life. And when you make a donation today, we want to say thank you by inviting you to request Alistair's Advent devotional titled, Let Earth Receive Her King. You can prepare your heart for Christmas by reflecting each day on the Messiah who was predicted in the Old Testament, revealed in the Gospels, and whose victorious return is anticipated in the book of Revelation. This devotional is yours when you donate to Truth for Life.

You can use the mobile app or go online at truthforlife.org slash donate. Thanks for joining us today. As we've seen, contentment isn't just a matter of trying to put on a happy face in the midst of suffering. Tomorrow we'll learn how we train our minds to be truly content in every circumstance. The Bible teaching of Alistair Begg is furnished by Truth for Life, where the Learning is for Living.