It has been a few years since I first read Jeremiah Burroughs’s classic The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, but now is the perfect time for a refresher, with Thanksgiving coming soon and my amnesia about God’s goodness at its usual ridiculous level. Philippians 4:11 served as the basis for his argument: “I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content.” Paul’s “situation” at the moment was a Roman prison.
He would have been in full agreement with Jeremiah Burroughs’s thesis statement:
The mystery of Christian contentment is the duty, glory, and excellence of a Christian.”1
A Secret to Be Learned
Christian contentment is a secret to be learned. When Paul wrote about contentment, he used a Greek word whose simplest translation is “self-sufficient.” He wanted to communicate his freedom from dependence on any created thing, and this is crucial because, while believers are not invited to share God’s incommunicable attribute of self-existence, there is a sense in which, at least spiritually, our contentment in Christ is a dim shadow of God’s self-existence (or “aseity”).
As usual, C.S. Lewis says it succinctly and distinctly:
He who has God and everything else has no more than he who has God alone.”
Contentment Defined
If contentment is a secret to be learned, we must define what Paul meant. Burroughs offers a very thorough description:
Christian contentment is the inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, freely submitting to and taking pleasure in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.”2
Contentment does NOT excuse complacency, nor does it mean putting up with injustice or passively accepting circumstances that should be changed and set right. Paul set the example by speaking out against injustice and held the magistrate’s officers’ feet to the fire when he and Silas were mistreated in Philippi.
What is the Secret?
Fortunately, Paul was not stingy with his secret, for he was quick to reveal his Source of contentment:
I know both how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:12-13)
Contentment comes from valuing Christ above all other possessions and relationships, above all other sources of strength and encouragement. It is a supernatural weapon in the trusting believer’s arsenal. Since God has commanded us to be content, he has also provided the means.
Contentment comes from valuing Christ above all other possessions and relationships, above all other sources of strength and encouragement. It is a supernatural weapon in the trusting believer’s arsenal.
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The Miracle of Subtraction
When I read Burroughs’s work several years ago, this wisdom stuck like a burr:
Contentment comes, not so much by way of addition, as by way of subtraction.”3
Rather than adding to our possessions in hope that the pile will one day satisfy, biblical contentment carves down our desires until they equal what our loving heavenly Father chooses to provide. This, to me, seems to be the most difficult and yet most indispensable understanding of what it means to delight in the Lord without making an idol of his gifts.
Finding contentment in prosperity can be as challenging as finding contentment in suffering, and there is never a season of life in which we’re not tempted to complain—and then to make excuses for it.
Discontentment is an insidious evil, easy to overlook and hard to uproot. A mindset that views every single circumstance as a gift from God’s good hand is a frame of mind and heart that requires supernatural help and continual vigilance. By grace, growth in Christian contentment will lead to a deeper fulfillment in the following life and a richer experience of gospel truth.
What advice can you offer for combating a spirit of entitlement and growing in contentment? Here are a few thoughts I’ve collected:
- study the lives of biblical and historical figures who persevered with a spirit of contentment;
- learn about the persecuted church;
- become sacrificially involved in missions;
- fast periodically from comforts that have become idols;
- get involved in volunteer activities that are hidden and thankless;
- give freely and extravagantly from your wealth;
- pray fervently for growth in contentment and setting the example for your family;
- read deeply and widely from resources about seeking pleasure in God alone;
- practice vigilance in your entertainment and social media exposure.
Finding contentment in prosperity can be as challenging as finding contentment in suffering, and there is never a season of life in which we’re not tempted to complain.
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Holding You in the Light,
A Bible App Devotional Plan for the Season of Gratitude
For those of us in the United States, Thanksgiving falls in November. However, gratitude is not circumscribed by geographic boundaries. Nor do we need a calendar’s permission to leave room for gratitude, so whether you think of this series of devotionals as heart preparation for the coming season or simply want to retune your heart to the key of thanks, this is your invitation to pay attention to the steady stream of blessing that comes to us through God’s love. May we enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise, no matter what the season of the year.
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