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In Shakespeare’s “Richard III,” Richard utters these famous words before putting his wicked plans into action: “Now is the winter of our discontent.”
Whether or not we have someone planning seasons of discontent for us, we enter such seasons, or such seasons are thrust upon us. We find ourselves in circumstances that war against contentment. Yet in Philippians 4:10-13, we find that the Apostle Paul is content in every season. He is a man for all seasons. The source of his contentment is Christ. Because he is content in Christ, he is able to have the kind of relationships most of us would crave. If we are content in Christ, we will be free to enjoy such relationships as well. Today we arrive at the classic biblical passage on contentment and one of Paul’s best-known sentences: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
In Philippians 4:10-20, Paul finishes with the topic he began the letter with: the Philippians participation in the gospel with him (Philippians 1:3-7). In Philippians 4:6 he told them not to be anxious about anything. Now, as is typical in Philippians, he provides a model for what he’s talking about. In this case, as in Philippians 1 and 3, the model is himself.
Philippians 4:10-13:
[10] I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. [11] I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. [12] I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is 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 in want. [13] I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The cause for Paul’s rejoicing is the renewal of the Philippians’ concern for him as expressed in their recent gift in support of his efforts to advance the gospel. As verse 11 makes clear, Paul’s joy is not connected with the meeting of his needs. He does not rejoice so much in the gift as in what it represents: the friendship he shares with these people and the partnership he has with them in the gospel mission. Giving and receiving was a mark of friendship in the Greco-Roman world.
In speaking of his affection for, and confidence in, these people, Paul earlier said, “It is right for me to feel [literally, ‘think’] this way about all of you … ” (Philippians 1:7). Now he says that they have, literally, revived their “thinking” for him. They think about him and the gospel the way he thinks about them and the gospel, and this brings him joy. This word, translated “concern” or “feel” (phroneo), is a key word throughout Philippians and is used to convey an other-centered and gospel-centered mindset (Philippians 2:2, 5; 3:15; 4:2). Their recent gift speaks of their concern for the gospel, and this brings Paul joy. Paul will say in verse 17, “Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.”
The words “at last” imply some sort of unexpected delay in the giving of the gift. The first part of verse 10 could be open to misunderstanding, so Paul adds a word of clarification. He says he knows they were concerned for him and for the gospel but simply lacked the opportunity to contribute. They lacked the opportunity to express their thinking.
This text instructs us in how to receive a gift. When someone gives you a gift, receive it as a sign of friendship. Don’t focus on the gift. It’s not about the stuff; it’s about the person who gave the gift. When someone supports you in your efforts to serve God, it’s cause for double rejoicing. You rejoice not only in the friendship but you rejoice in the partnership. You’re doing something great together. For me, it’s still almost unbelievable that you give money to the church so that the church can pay me to be your pastor and that we can advance the gospel together. I treasure your friendship and your partnership.
The text also warns against drawing conclusions about someone’s behavior before all the facts are in. The Philippians wanted to contribute, but they lacked opportunity. When you expect someone to do something and he or she doesn’t do it, you may not have all the facts. There could be a very simple explanation for that person’s lack of response. That person may not know what you know, or he may just lack opportunity.
Paul adds a further word of clarification in verse 11. He is not rejoicing because his needs have been met. As it concerns his “need,” Paul says he has “learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” He could just as easily be found rejoicing in the Lord if he hadn’t received a gift. He is not dependent on the Philippians’ gift. His friendship and partnership with them is not based on their usefulness to him. Paul values the Philippians for who they are, not what they can do for him. Theirs is a relationship in which freedom reigns. Paul is not dependent on the Philippians to meet his needs, so he is free. The Philippians know that Paul is not dependent on them to meet his needs, so they are free. They are free to love each other and partner together because they choose to do so and with the knowledge that they have chosen to do so. Guilt, which is used as a motivator in so many relationships, plays no part in this one. The key to this whole arrangement is that Paul is content whether or not the Philippians support him financially.
Many relationships are based on guilt. Person 1 expects another person to meet her needs. Person 2 feels burdened to meet those needs. Person 1 does not feel that Person 2 is meeting her needs. Person 2 herself feels a “need” to meet needs, so she keeps trying and keeps hoping that she will find the right approach. Still, Person 1 is unsatisfied. In today’s language, Person 2 has become “co-dependent.” Soon, Person 2 feels that no matter what she tries, Person 1 will not be satisfied. The reality is that no one can meet Person 1’s need, but it takes Person 2 a long time to figure this out. Too often we link our contentment with the expectations we have for someone else instead of with our relationship with Christ. Because we do, we become emotionally entangled in relational knots.
Paul appreciates the friendship and partnership he has with the Philippians. He refuses to make a premature evaluation of their behavior. He appreciates who they are, not what they can do for him. The key to this outlook is the contentment he has in his relationship with Christ.
The word translated “content” was a favorite of Stoic philosophers. They wanted to be “content” regardless of circumstances. They attempted to do so by killing their desires. Epictetus, a Greek philosopher, said this: “Begin with a cup or a household utensil; if it breaks, say, ‘I don’t care.’ Go on to a horse or pet dog; if it breaks, say, ‘I don’t care.’ Go on to a horse or pet dog; if anything happens to it, say, ‘I don’t care.’ Go on to yourself, and if you are hurt or injured in any way, say, ‘I don’t care.’ If you go on long enough and if you try hard enough, you will come to a stage when you can watch your nearest and dearest suffer and die, and say, ‘I don’t care.’”1 As we shall see, Paul’s concept of contentment is entirely different.
Literally, Paul says that he has learned “in the circumstances” to be content. Yes, he has learned to be content whatever the circumstances. But he learned this by being in the circumstances.
In verse 12, Paul explains the circumstances in which he has found himself. He has been in “any and every situation,” from having much to having little. As in verse 11, he has learned from being in the circumstances. He did not learn to be content in any and every situation apart from being in those situations. He has “learned the secret” of being in those situations.
The word translated “learned the secret,” which is different from the word translated “learned” in verse 11, was used of initiation into pagan mystery religions. Once someone endured the painful initiation process, he learned the secrets of the religion. Paul takes words such as “content” and “learned the secret” from the pagan world in which the Philippians lived and invests them with a different meaning. The biblical faith that Paul espouses is the reality after which the pagan parodies are striving.
So, what’s the secret? This: “I can do everything through him who gives me strength.” The pronoun “him” is a reference to Christ (Ephesians 6:10; 1 Timothy 1:12; 2 Timothy 2:1, 4:17).
Here Paul parts company with the pagan worshipers and philosophers. Paul was initiated, or baptized, into Christ, not some pagan mystery religion. Whatever contentment the Stoics were able to achieve came from whatever strength they could muster. They would be proud of their inner strength and contentment. Paul’s source of contentment is someone other than himself: Christ. As for pride, how could Paul be proud of something he attributed to another?
When Paul says he can “do everything,” he doesn’t mean, of course, that he can literally do everything. We wouldn’t read this and suppose that Paul meant he could jump to the moon. To do everything, or to be able for everything, has to do with being content in all circumstances. The word translated “everything” was also used twice in verse 12 in the phrase translated “any and every situation.” Paul is saying that he is able to be content in all situations. And remember where he is writing this letter from: prison.
Literally, Paul is able to be content “in” Christ. As noted earlier, the word “in” was also used in verse 11, where Paul said he had learned “in” his circumstances to be content. At the same time that he is “in” conditions that would seem unfavorable to contentment, he is also “in” Christ. Christ is with him in the situations. This makes all the difference. If he’s alone, all he has is what one of the Stoics have: the self. The self isn’t sufficient for contentment, at least the way the scriptures define it, in any and every situation. Christ is sufficient.
What does Christ do for Paul? He gives him strength. Strength for what? Strength to be content. How does Christ do this?
In the previous chapter, Paul said he relinquished power, status and privileges, which would normally be considered as contributing to one’s contentment, for the sake of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:4-11). More than anything else, Paul’s contentment comes from knowing Christ.
Christ himself gives Paul strength to know him. Christ does this through his Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 3:14-19, Paul writes this: “For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
These verses tell us that God gives strength by means of the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Father and the Spirit of Christ (Matthew 10:20, Romans 8:9). These verses also tell us that the Spirit gives strength to grasp the enormity of Christ’s love.
Your ability to be content in any and every situation is connected with your relationship with Christ, which Christ himself fosters through his Holy Spirit. Whatever circumstances you are “in,” you are also “in” Christ. Christ is with you in it. When you walk with Christ in any and every situation, an intimacy with him develops that touches the deepest longings of your heart. Also, as you and Christ emerge from each situation, you begin to believe that he is trustworthy.
If we believed that God is who he says he is, will do what he says he will do and loves us as much as he says he loves us, it’s debatable whether we’d ever have even one moment of discontent. Ah, but there’s the rub. We don’t believe it. The Spirit of Christ therefore strengthens us to believe the truth about God. It behooves us, then, to soak our minds in the truth, as revealed in the scriptures, to pray that God would activate his Spirit to strengthen our faith and to mentally cling to what the scriptures tell us is true.
I’m sure many of you can look back at past seasons of discontent with the knowledge that you emerged from them in better shape than when you entered them. With the perspective gained from hindsight, you smile at what once seemed so troublesome. This perspective should offer encouragement for whatever circumstances are currently causing discontent. Is there any reason to think that you won’t be able to someday look back on this current season and smile at what once caused you to be discontent? Probably not.
Although the biblical secret of contentment is quite different from the pagan one, the latter masquerades as the former. Sometimes, we think we’re pursuing biblical contentment when in fact we’re pursuing a pagan imitation of it.
First of all, there is no painful initiation process. You start following Jesus. You get baptized. There’s nothing hidden; it’s all out in the open. When Christ enters your life, you have what you need for contentment: Christ.
Second, you don’t seek contentment by becoming self-sufficient; you seek contentment by becoming Christ-sufficient. Most philosophies and self-help books offer you the same thing the Stoics did: the self. It isn’t enough.
Third, you don’t seek contentment by killing your desires; you seek contentment though your desires. The basic human desires for food, water, clothing, shelter and intimacy are used in the scriptures as symbols of desire for God and Christ. We don’t find Christ by killing our desires; we find Christ in our desires. People kill their desires because they’re afraid of pain. If you don’t want anything, you won’t be disappointed – or so the thinking goes. The people of the scriptures, are men and women of strong passions, who feel things deeply, who weep openly and who pour out their hearts to God. But in their passions and through their passions, and in and through their pain, they find God. Do you know what you miss out on if you kill your desires? You miss out on love. Love desires. Love feels. Love can get hurt. A Stoic doesn’t love, because he doesn’t think love is worth the risk of being hurt.
I was greatly encouraged Monday night at the elders’ meeting when one of the elders was being reviewed. He talked about how he felt secure in God’s love for him, though he acknowledged that he hasn’t always felt that way. He learned. Today, he’s mostly content. It gave me hope. I too can learn. So can you.
So, the secret is out. The secret to contentment is knowing Christ. Now we know it. But we still must learn it. Contentment is learned by being in situations that would normally make us discontent. But if we learn it, we’ll find new joy and freedom in relationships.
SCG / 6-23-02
1 Quoted by William Barclay, “The Letters to the Philippians, Colossians and Thessalonians.” The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, Penn. P. 104.
Scripture is taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
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