The preachers quoted here say contentment is not resignation, weariness or standing still, and does not depend on having little or much. They describe it as the opposite of avarice, a trait of character that has to be cultivated, and something easier to define than to live.
Paul states the principle: "godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6). The word means sufficiency, having enough.1 He gives the reason at once: "we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (6:7-8).
It is learned, not natural. Paul wrote from prison, "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound" (Philippians 4:11-12). The Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs stressed that it is a settled frame and not a passing mood: "Contentment is not merely one act, just a flash in a good mood."2 Thomas Watson called it rare: "Contentment is a flower that doth not grow in every garden; it teacheth a man how in the midst of want to abound."3
Its secret is Christ's sufficiency. Paul continues, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:13). Hebrews grounds it in a promise: "be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5). The psalmist says the same from the other side: "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee" (Psalm 73:25).
Its opposite is covetousness, which the tenth commandment forbids (Exodus 20:17). Jesus warned, "a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth" (Luke 12:15). Paul adds that "the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10).
Contentment is not indifference or lack of effort. The wise man prays, "give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me" (Proverbs 30:8), and Scripture commends honest work. It is the refusal to make one's peace depend on what one has.
It rests finally on trust in God's care. "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you" (Matthew 6:33).
- Strong's Greek 841, autárkeia: "self-satisfaction, i.e. (abstractly) contentedness, or (concretely) a competence".
- Jeremiah Burroughs, The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment, "Christian Contentment Described".
- Thomas Watson, The Art of Divine Contentment: An Exposition of Philippians 4:11, "CHAPTER XI: Divine Motives to Contentment".
In their own words
Each line below is quoted exactly from a sermon on this site. Follow the link to hear or read it where it was said.
Contentment is not discontent worn-out and exhausted; fretfulness tired into quiet sleep.
J.R. Miller
in Learning Contentment
Read in context
Christian contentment is not a resting on the status quo.
J. Glyn Owen
in The Open Secret of Christian Contentment
Listen at 6:12
Now, contentment is one of the flowers of heaven, and if we would have it, it must be cultivated.
C.H. Spurgeon
in Contentment
Read in context
Contentment is opposite to avarice, and avarice to that; and therefore the one must be quitted in order to possess the other.
John Gill
in Of Contentment of Mind.
Read in context
Contentment is not something that God drops to you in your sleep.
David Wilkerson
in How to Be Content in Every Situation
Listen at 6:43
Contentment is not, you should have nothing and be happy, or you should have lots and be happy.
Cornelius Loewen
in Contentment
Listen at 9:41
Contentment is one of those concepts that is easier to define than to experience.
Theodore Epp
in Contentment, Not Complacency
Read in context
And contentment is one of those things that is a character trait.
Carl Swartzentruber
in The Secret to Christian Contentment
Listen at 1:27
So contentment is the secret of many, many things.
Zac Poonen
in (The Works of Faith) Learning to Be Content
Listen at 10:42
What Scripture says
- Philippians 4:11-13 I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content
- 1 Timothy 6:6-8 godliness with contentment is great gain
- Hebrews 13:5 be content with such things as you have
- Luke 12:15 a man's life consists not in the abundance of things
- Psalm 23:1 the LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want
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