Joy and Contentment

Another of the secrets to Paul’s joy and rejoicing in the worst of circumstances.

We are talking about how Paul can have joy in adversity, how he can tell the Philippians he is rejoicing as he sits under house arrest, chained to a member of Caesar’s palace guard (probably), awaiting his day to stand before Nero, not knowing whether he will live or die. Joy? Rejoicing? It seems counterintuitive.

And we have found clues, or explanations of how this can be, within this very letter. Yesterday we looked in chapter 3 and found that Christ was Paul’s most valuable possession. They can take away everything from Paul, but they can never take away Christ, and as long as Paul has Christ he has everything. In fact, he has already gladly given away everything in order to gain Christ. So that was one reason.

Another reason why Paul can have joy in the worst of circumstances is because he has learned the secret of contentment. We find that in chapter 4. Listen to him. He says,

Philippians 4:11-13 ESV - Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

The contentment he speaks of in verse 11 is key to all of this. Paul has learned, as Puritan Thomas Watson phrased it, the art of divine contentment. He is fully trusting in the goodness and providence of God. He believes that every promise made in Scripture has and will come true in Christ, and he is satisfied with whatever state in which he finds himself. He is content. He has joy. So, right now, under house arrest, enduring afflictions for the sake of the gospel, he is content, because this is what God has chosen for him. He rejoices that he is counted worthy to suffer for Christ. He rejoices that the gospel is being preached. And he rejoices that this will all turn out for his final salvation.

Contentment is an underrated, almost forgotten virtue in our twenty-first century American culture. Everything around us tries to convince us we don’t have enough, that there’s something else we need in order to find contentment. That’s because we live in such a consumer-oriented culture. But here in Philippians is not the only place Paul teaches contentment. He does so in 1 Timothy 6, in a passage that begins with his warning about false teachers. These false teachers, he says, are motivated by greed. And so he takes a moment in this warning to transition to the concept of contentment. These false teachers, he says, are…

1 Timothy 6:5-8 ESV - people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Paul obviously practices what he preaches and he knows from experience that with this kind of contentment he can have joy in any and all circumstances. You and I will experience the very best that God has to offer, and we will experience it, enjoy it, for all of eternity. Knowing that, if we can learn to be okay with whatever we have here for a short time, even if that is very little, then we have learned the secret to joy in adversity.