C is for Contentment

PHILIPPIANS


My life has been and is a very happy one. I have experienced little loss. Three out of four of my grandparents are still alive. I have seen little conflict between my parents. I love and esteem my brother and sister. I go to an acclaimed university and am part of an amazing honors program – yet I am in no way burdened financially. I am surrounded by lively, loveable friends who walk alongside me offering prayer, wisdom, compassion, amusement and endless hours of their time. I have good health – I do not get chronic headaches, I have no food allergies, no serious injuries. I have everything to be grateful for, and nothing legitimate to complain of.

Yet most of my days are not characterized by thankfulness. Rather deep in my soul there is a constant murmuring that says, “I want more.”

I don’t think I am alone in this experience. Especially in Southern California, where an abundance of singles under the age of twenty-five own BMW’s, wear hundred dollar jeans, and think nothing of dropping four dollars for a latte at Starbucks. Though we live in a wealthy city in a wealthy country, we do not count this as gain but continue to search for more.

Recently, I have been contemplating what it means to live rightly in the context of day-to-day life. In other words, what would be the best way for me to participate in class, talk to my friends, do data basing at work, eat my meals, read my assignments, etc. I want each day to be vivacious, not just filled with menial and meaningless tasks. Most of the time I go through my day bored, wishing that class was more interesting and applicable, wishing my friends and I were having more provoking or hilarious conversation, wishing the Café wasn’t serving Spaghetti for dinner (sorry, not a huge pasta fan). Yet, these things rarely change or meet my wishes. I am beginning to wonder if “living life to the fullest” does not lie in life meeting my standards. If I want to enjoy life, then maybe I should lower my expectations so that I can greet each moment with wonder instead of disappointment.

I am alluding to the virtue of contentment, and the role it plays in everyday happenings. In Philippians, Paul describes this virtue in relation to his experience – he was imprisoned, poor and hungry. He was entirely dependent on the churches for provision. Still he says, “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” (4:11-12).

Notice that Paul says that he has learned contentment not only in “hunger” and “need”, but in “plenty” and “abundance”. Why would a man in physical pain say that he has learned to be content when he is comfortable? Isn’t that what he was longing for? Isn’t it natural to be content when a need is met?

Here Paul’s description of contentment reveals the nature of the virtue. By saying that he is content in hunger and in plenty, he is claiming that his happiness is independent of his surroundings. He has moved above his circumstances, so that they are no longer determining how he feels. Rather, his inward disposition is the lens through which he views the external world. He is not constantly experiencing ups and downs, taking his emotional temperature to see where he stands – he is steady.

I don’t want to end this blog assuming that this is easy. Actually, I realize that rising above circumstances or ideals is humanly impossible. Yet again, the benefits of this virtue are worth struggling for. With contentment, we have the ability to enjoy life when it is less than perfect. So, how is this internal strength possible? Paul reveals the secret to his contentment in the next verse: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (4:13).