4 Secrets Paul Teaches Us about Contentment

What is the secret of contentment? To answer this question, we can look at the life of Paul. Paul's life was not easy. By human logic, Paul had every reason to be discontented, yet, through the darkness of his pain, he joyfully exclaims, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am."

I want to know how!

Philippians 4: 9-13 "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need and 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 want. I can do everything through him, who gives me strength."

Let's identify four steps Paul gives us to help us discover the secret of a contented life.

Step one: Choose obedience.

Philippians 4:9 "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."

On a recent shopping trip, I passed by a store that has been in business for years. I was surprised to see that the owner had sold it, but the sign clearly said, "Under New Management." Hmm! Jesus does the same thing. When we surrender our lives to him, we are under new management – the management of Jesus Christ. As we begin choosing to follow God's plan, contentment will flood our lives. Obedience puts us in a place of peace because we turn over the responsibility of the plan's success to God.

A pilot was flying his private plane for the first time. It was a cloudy day, and he had little training in instrument landing. When he called the control tower, they said they would have to bring him in for a landing. The pilot began thinking about all of the mountains and tall buildings in the area. Panic set in. Sensing his terror, a very calm but commanding voice said, "Listen to me! You just obey my instructions. We'll take care of the obstructions."

I know. Obedience is hard. The best tool for obeying God is his Word. The more we know his Word, the easier it will be to choose obedience.

James 1:22 "And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you are only fooling yourself."

Obedience sets God free to work, encourages peace in our hearts, and brings contentment to our lives. But disobedience is the enemy of contentment. Choose to obey. Contentment will follow.         

Step two: Invest your life in others.

Philippians 4:10 also implies that we find contentment when we invest our lives in others. Paul was a servant. It was his greatest joy to serve Jesus. Paul was a man of great power and influence - and then he met Christ on the road to Damascus. Meeting Jesus Christ changed everything in Paul's life.

Paul reminds me so much of my husband. Dan has no clue what a great teacher and influential leader he is. It amazes me! If I had his gifts, I would be broadcasting the fact daily - which is probably why I don't have those gifts. Paul was a humble man. He just wanted to be a servant of God and considered that title the highest one he would ever achieve.

Romans 1:1 "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God!"

My mama used to say, "We were not saved to sit and sour. We were saved to serve." Service is a step of obedience for every believer. It is a calling that leads to joy; the most contented people I know are the ones who serve the most. They have found an outlet for giving, discovered their gifts, and are using them. Service is like a boomerang. It always returns to us.

Matthew 23:11 "Whoever is your servant is the greatest among you."

A few years ago, I took my first trip to the Holy Land. It was life-changing! There are no words to describe being baptized in the Jordan River. For the first time, I saw the beauty of the Sea of Galilee. It suddenly dawned on me that the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee are formed by the same water flowing from Mt. Hermon - and yet the Dead Sea is a lonely and desolate place.

The difference? The Sea of Galilee has an outlet. It gives, gathering its riches and pouring them out again to fertilize the Jordan plains. The Dead Sea has no outlet. It keeps. The highest purpose in life is to be used by God to impact the lives of others. If you want to be contented, look for opportunities to give yourself away.

Step three: Choose to be thankful.

Philippians 4:11 "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances."

I honestly think Paul was entitled to be angry with God. I mean, think about it. Paul had been faithful and had given up his power and wealth to follow Jesus. He had even endured great physical pain because of his faith. But Paul is not angry. No, Paul writes a book based entirely on joy. Paul's attitude of joy was a chosen attitude - a learned perspective. "Learned" means "educated by experience."

Wow! Paul is telling us that his life experiences, both good and bad, have become his tutor on the subject of contentment. There's more!

The word "content" means "contained." Now stay with me here. Paul taught himself to focus on inner resources rather than outward circumstances. And those internal resources, the ones his heart contained, came from the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul made the deliberate choice to praise God and be thankful - period. Bad situation? Paul chose joy. Good situation? Paul chose joy. I tend to trust people who have come through for me in the past. Paul did the same thing. He knew he could trust Jesus because Jesus had always come through for Paul.

I love money-back guarantees, don't you? Did you know that every promise from God has a money-back guarantee on it? Well, it's not really money. No, it's better than that.

Psalm 138:2 "I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name."

If I went to the bank to cash a check for one million dollars, the tellers would burst into laughter. But if Bill Gates tried to cash a check for one million dollars, he would receive one million dollars. So, it's a matter of whose name is on that check! The name of Jesus backs every one of his promises. Trust is at the heart of gratitude and contains an element of acceptance. Gratitude understands that God is sovereign and that His ways are not our ways. When our hearts are filled with gratitude, life is sweet, and we are contented.

Step four: Guard against greed.

Philippians 4:12 "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."

In this verse, the word "learned" means "initiated into the secret." In other words, the new circumstances in Paul's life had revealed the truth that real contentment and prosperity do not necessarily go hand in hand. Greed loves to wipe out contentment and is quite good at doing so. And greed does not apply to just material things. We can want the gifts and talents that other people have. We may covet life circumstances or someone's success and fame. Many of us have come to where it is impossible to relax and appreciate life - here and now.

Luke 12:15 "Then Jesus said to them, 'Be careful and guard against all kinds of greed. Life is not measured by how much one owns.'"

While going through my Christmas boxes, I found myself saying the same thing I say every year. "Why do I have all of this stuff - half of which I don't use? So last year, I decided to do something about it. I gave away half of the decorations and plan to repeat that exercise this year. Stuff! We are driven to accumulate it. And for many people, it does not matter how much stuff they have. It's not enough! We have bought into the lie that the more we possess, the more successful we are.

But Paul says that his contentment has nothing to do with how much he possesses - a powerful statement from a man who had once been very wealthy and now lived in poverty. Paul had learned that money and the things they buy could not bring contentment. Does Jesus Christ want us to be wealthy? Absolutely! Does he want us to settle for money? Absolutely not!

Hebrews 13:5 "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be satisfied with what you have. God has said, 'I will never leave you; I will never forget you.'"

Now that is a fortune! How important are your possessions? How do you view them?

Howard Hendricks is a great Bible teacher known for his solid teaching. He and his wife were having dinner with a very wealthy man who came from a prestigious family. Howard was so impressed with how down-to-earth the man was. He had to ask, "How did you grow up in such a wealthy family, achieve such success, and not be consumed by greed?" The man smiled and replied, "My parents taught us that everything we own is either an idol or a tool." Love. It.

The most excellent way to guard against greed is to see our possessions as resources, loaned to us by God for us to disperse. Hold them loosely! Invest them in eternal things like people and God's Word.

1 Timothy 6:18 "Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them."

It is simply impossible to out-give God. But I guarantee that if we try, there will be no room for greed. Why do we keep pursuing things that can never satisfy? We are trying to get life out of dead things, and that will only bring frustration. To find contentment, choose to be obedient, invest your life in others, choose to be thankful, and guard against greed.

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Olezzo

Mary Southerland is also the Co-founder of Girlfriends in God, a conference and devotion ministry for women. Mary’s books include, Hope in the Midst of Depression, Sandpaper People, Escaping the Stress Trap, Experiencing God’s Power in Your Ministry, 10-Day Trust Adventure, You Make Me So Angry, How to Study the Bible, Fit for Life, Joy for the Journey, and Life Is So Daily. Mary relishes her ministry as a wife, a mother to their two children, Jered and Danna, and Mimi to her six grandchildren – Jaydan, Lelia, Justus, Hudson, Mo, and Nori.