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	{{Info}}Tucked away towards the end of Paul's letter to the Philippians is a half-verse that is often quoted, but sometimes quoted out of context: 'I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation' (Phil 4: 12). In an age of restlessness and rootless malaise, we do well to reflect on what the Puritans used to call 'the rare jewel of Christian contentment' (which expression, of course, was the title of a book by Jeremiah Burroughs). One could not responsibly treat the entire topic from this passage, but this is an excellent place to begin. Five observations will help us focus on what we ought to learn, with our heads and in our experience, from this part of Scripture.		{{Info}}Tucked away towards the end of Paul's letter to the Philippians is a half-verse that is often quoted, but sometimes quoted out of context: 'I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation' (Phil 4: 12). In an age of restlessness and rootless malaise, we do well to reflect on what the Puritans used to call 'the rare jewel of Christian contentment' (which expression, of course, was the title of a book by Jeremiah Burroughs). One could not responsibly treat the entire topic from this passage, but this is an excellent place to begin. Five observations will help us focus on what we ought to learn, with our heads and in our experience, from this part of Scripture.

-	'''1. We must not infer that there is some esoteric 'secret' to Christian contentment.''' The NIV might leave you with that impression: 'I have learned ''the secret'' of being content' -as if it is a matter of uncovering something mysterious or secret that the general run of Christians could not possibly discover. I have learned the 'secret' by which illusionists apparently 'levitate' their helpers, and pass a hoop over them to 'prove' there is no suspension device; most people do not know what the 'secret' is. But one could not responsibly speak of the 'secret' of contentment in the same sense. There is not a trace of that notion in the original. The idea, rather, is that Paul has learned how to be content under all circumstances. The NIV has paraphrased the passage to include the word 'secret', but although this rendering makes for easy reading, the word 'secret' should be given no weight at all. What this passage emphasizes is not the special preserve of Christians on the inside track, Christians who are one or two steps ahead of the common herd by virtue of their specialist knowledge, but something that is in ~~prin- ciple~~ open to all believers.	+	'''1. We must not infer that there is some esoteric 'secret' to Christian contentment.''' The NIV might leave you with that impression: 'I have learned ''the secret'' of being content' -as if it is a matter of uncovering something mysterious or secret that the general run of Christians could not possibly discover. I have learned the 'secret' by which illusionists apparently 'levitate' their helpers, and pass a hoop over them to 'prove' there is no suspension device; most people do not know what the 'secret' is. But one could not responsibly speak of the 'secret' of contentment in the same sense. There is not a trace of that notion in the original. The idea, rather, is that Paul has learned how to be content under all circumstances. The NIV has paraphrased the passage to include the word 'secret', but although this rendering makes for easy reading, the word 'secret' should be given no weight at all. What this passage emphasizes is not the special preserve of Christians on the inside track, Christians who are one or two steps ahead of the common herd by virtue of their specialist knowledge, but something that is in principle open to all believers.

	'''2. Nevertheless, not all Christians breathe contentment.''' Paul himself has ''learned'' to be content, over the course of very diverse ministry. The operative word is 'learned': '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' (4: 12). In the flow of his argument, Paul surely gives us to understand that he has 'learned' contentment by living through periods of prosperity and periods of want. He is not suggesting, of course, that everyone who lives through such circumstances will learn to be content. But he is suggesting that he himself has learned contentment, in God's providence, through the diverse circumstances he has experienced. It is not hard to understand why. The rich pagan or the rich secularist is unlikely to be content; the rich Christian may achieve a certain sort of contentment, honestly grateful to God for all the good gifts he or she enjoys. But it will be very hard for such Christians to be instantly content if they are suddenly stripped of their material possessions. Even if they are mature enough to avoid wondering if they are being punished, and to avoid pining for the past, they have some enonnous adjustments to make.		'''2. Nevertheless, not all Christians breathe contentment.''' Paul himself has ''learned'' to be content, over the course of very diverse ministry. The operative word is 'learned': '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' (4: 12). In the flow of his argument, Paul surely gives us to understand that he has 'learned' contentment by living through periods of prosperity and periods of want. He is not suggesting, of course, that everyone who lives through such circumstances will learn to be content. But he is suggesting that he himself has learned contentment, in God's providence, through the diverse circumstances he has experienced. It is not hard to understand why. The rich pagan or the rich secularist is unlikely to be content; the rich Christian may achieve a certain sort of contentment, honestly grateful to God for all the good gifts he or she enjoys. But it will be very hard for such Christians to be instantly content if they are suddenly stripped of their material possessions. Even if they are mature enough to avoid wondering if they are being punished, and to avoid pining for the past, they have some enonnous adjustments to make.

Kathyyee at 05:11, 5 August 2009

Kathyyee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:11:11 GMT

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	It is this latter clause that is most important. Paul does not claim that he can live contentedly because he is now experienced enough, or because he is disciplined enough, or because he is now spiritual enough. He recognizes that his resolution and maturity in this matter of contentment are utterly dependent on Christ. Without Christ's strength, Paul's diverse life-experiences would be inadequate to make him a content person. This is nothing but a particular outworking of what the apostle has taught earlier in his letter: where Christian virtues abound, where Christian resolution prevails, there we find evidence that God is working in his people so that they will and act according to his good purpose (2: 12-13).		It is this latter clause that is most important. Paul does not claim that he can live contentedly because he is now experienced enough, or because he is disciplined enough, or because he is now spiritual enough. He recognizes that his resolution and maturity in this matter of contentment are utterly dependent on Christ. Without Christ's strength, Paul's diverse life-experiences would be inadequate to make him a content person. This is nothing but a particular outworking of what the apostle has taught earlier in his letter: where Christian virtues abound, where Christian resolution prevails, there we find evidence that God is working in his people so that they will and act according to his good purpose (2: 12-13).

-	'''5) Paul's attitude must not be confused with stoic independence of circumstances.''' Paul is engaged emotionally as well as intellectually: read, for instances, the emotional pathos that characterizes his relations with the Philippian believers, even his prayers for them (eg 1 :3-8). Even in this context in Philippians 4, Paul is thanking the Philippians for their recent gift (4: 10), and insisting that when he expresses his thanks he is not surreptitiously hinting that they should send more (4: 11). Far from it: he could not be asking for more, when he is content as he is (4: 12-13). In any case, he is more interested in the blessing of God that will fall on them because of their generosity than he is in the gift itself (4: 17).	+	'''5. Paul's attitude must not be confused with stoic independence of circumstances.''' Paul is engaged emotionally as well as intellectually: read, for instances, the emotional pathos that characterizes his relations with the Philippian believers, even his prayers for them (eg 1 :3-8). Even in this context in Philippians 4, Paul is thanking the Philippians for their recent gift (4: 10), and insisting that when he expresses his thanks he is not surreptitiously hinting that they should send more (4: 11). Far from it: he could not be asking for more, when he is content as he is (4: 12-13). In any case, he is more interested in the blessing of God that will fall on them because of their generosity than he is in the gift itself (4: 17).

	What this suggests is that Paul's Christian contentment must never be confused with a grim, stiff-upper-lip kind of resolution, or with a dispassionate, disengaged aloofness, that some mistake for the genuine article. It is passionately Christ-centred; it diligently seeks the good of other believers; it is displayed in the context of the tenderest love for other believers.		What this suggests is that Paul's Christian contentment must never be confused with a grim, stiff-upper-lip kind of resolution, or with a dispassionate, disengaged aloofness, that some mistake for the genuine article. It is passionately Christ-centred; it diligently seeks the good of other believers; it is displayed in the context of the tenderest love for other believers.

	Pray God that the rare jewel of Christian contentment will become a little less rare.		Pray God that the rare jewel of Christian contentment will become a little less rare.

Kathyyee: Protected "The Rare Jewel of Contentment" [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

Kathyyee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 05:10:19 GMT

Protected "The Rare Jewel of Contentment" [edit=sysop:move=sysop]

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Kathyyee at 04:54, 5 August 2009

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Kathyyee: New page: {{Info}} Tucked away towards the end of Paul's letter to the Philippians is a half-verse that is often quoted, but sometimes quoted out of context: 'I have learned the secret of being...

Kathyyee — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:33:21 GMT

New page: {{Info}} Tucked away towards the end of Paul's letter to the Philippians is a half-verse that is often quoted, but sometimes quoted out of context: 'I have learned the secret of being...

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{{Info}}

Tucked away towards the end of Paul's
letter to the Philippians is a half-verse that
is often quoted, but sometimes quoted out
of context: 'I have learned the secret of
being content in any and every situation'
(Phil 4: 12). In an age of restlessness and
rootless malaise, we do well to reflect on
what the Puritans used to call 'the rare
jewel of Christian contentment' (which
expression, of course, was the title of a
book by Jeremiah Burroughs). One could
not responsibly treat the entire topic from
this passage, but this is an excellent place
to begin. Five observations will help us
focus on what we ought to learn, with our
heads and in our experience, from this part
of Scripture.
1. We must not infer that there is some
esoteric 'secret' to Christian content-
ment. The NIV might leave you with that
impression: 'I have learned the secret of
being content' -as if it is a matter of un-
covering something mysterious or secret
that the general run of Christians could not
possibly discover. I have learned the 'se-
cret' by which illusionists apparently 'levi-
tate' their helpers, and pass a hoop over
them to 'prove' there is no suspension de-
vice; most people do not know what the
'secret' is. But one could not responsibly
speak of the 'secret' of contentment in the
same sense. There is not a trace of that
notion in the original. The idea, rather, is
that Paul has learned how to be content
under all circumstances. The NIV has para-
phrased the passage to include the word
'secret', but although this rendering makes
for easy reading, the word 'secret' should
be given no weight at all. What this pas-
sage emphasizes is not the special preserve
of Christians on the inside track, Christians
who are one or two steps ahead of the com-
mon herd by virtue of their specialist
knowledge, but something that is in prin-
ciple open to all believers.
2. Nevertheless, not all Christians
breathe contentment. Paul himself has
learned to be content, over the course of
very diverse ministry. The operative word
is 'learned': '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' (4: 12). In the flow of his argument,
Paul surely gives us to understand that he
has 'learned' contentment by living
through periods of prosperity and periods
of want. He is not suggesting, of course,
that everyone who lives through such cir-
cumstances will learn to be content. But
he is suggesting that he himselfhas learned
contentment, in God's providence, through
the diverse circumstances he has experi-
enced.
'I have learned the secret of
being content in any and
every situation'
It is not hard to understand why. The rich
pagan or the rich secularist is unlikely to
be content; the rich Christian may achieve
a certain sort of contentment, honestly
grateful to God for all the good gifts he or
she enjoys. But it will be very hard for such
Christians to be instantly content if they
are suddenly stripped of their material
possessions. Even if they are mature
enough to avoid wondering if they are
being punished, and to avoid pining for
the past, they have some enonnous adjust-
ments to make.
On the other hand, really poor believers,
even if they have by God's grace avoided
jealousy, and have learned to delight in
God's provision of their necessities, and
to think all the more fondly of the glories
to come in the new heaven and the earth
precisely because their attention has not
been diverted by all that glitters here, may
feel very troubled if they suddenly come
into wealth. They may be embarrassed by
it; they may feel guilty about it. Oddly
enough, they were content when they were
poor; now they are content no longer.
I recall a missionary who returned to
Canada about 1950. He had been in China
for a couple of decades. He and his large
family were interned by the Japanese, and
suffered greatly. Released at the end of
WWII, they continued on in ministry in
extraordinarily difficult circumstances
until they were expelled by the Chinese
communists -one of the last Western mis-
sionaries to be given the boot. But when
he returned to Canada, instead of assum-
ing the pastorate of one of the many
churches that pursued him, he took a job,
for two years, as a manual worker for one
of the railroads. He told me, years later,
that he felt he needed that period of re-
adjustment so that he would not be too
critical of Canadian Christians who had
never faced the sort of privation he and
his family had endured, but who certainly
faced a range of other challenges and temp-
tations about which he knew little. Subse-
quently he served very fruitfully as a pas-
tor for almost three decades. He was a wise
man: he knew that Christian contentment
often has to be learned from both ends,
from both plenty and want.
3. Clearly, the least that Paul is saying
is that his Christian contentment is in-
dependent of physical circumstances.
His contentment does not depend on how
well off he is, or even, by a kind of in-
verted spirituality, on how deprived he is.
His point is that his contentment is inde-
pendent of his physical circumstances.
The Philippians had witnessed something
of Paul's remarkable maturity in this re-
gard when he first visited their city. Ar-
rested and beaten up, he and Silas, their
legs in stocks, sang praises to God at mid-
night, in defiance of all customary expec-
tation. Doubtless in this case they viewed
their sufferings as a badge of honour, as
did the original apostles who rejoiced
when they were counted worthy of suffer-
ing disgrace for the Name (Acts 5 :41). But
Paul's contentment does not abandon him
even when what he is going through is sim-
ply a time of relative plenty or relative
want.
In this passage, Paul does not explicitly
spell out what it is that keeps him going.

But casting an eye over the entire epistle,
we discover plenty of clues. His passion
is to know Christ, and the power of his
resurrection and the fellowship of sharing
in his sufferings (3: 10). He fully recog-
nizes that he serves as a model for believ-
ers in all the churches (3: 17). Having re-
ceived so much benefit from the gospel
(2: 1-4), he recognizes his obligation to
follow Christ wholeheartedly, and in par-
ticular to follow him in a fundamental at-
titude that does not stand on rights and
privilege but that awaits God's final vin-
dication (2:5-11). In fact,
what Paul eagerly looks for-
ward to is not another round
of material plenty, but the re-
turn of Christ, who will one
day transform our lowly bod-
ies so that they will be like his
glorious body (3 :20-21).
With perspectives like these,
it is entirely understandable
that Paul is content in every
circumstance. His content-
ment cannot be purchased by
transient external circum-
stances, for all his hopes and
all his heart are fastened on re-
alities at this point unseen.
Doubtless we could fmd other
reasons in his letters as to why
Paul gives voice to this stance. For exam-
ple, he clearly believes that God is
sovereignly in control, and can be trusted
to act not only for his own glory but also
for the good of his own people, regardless
of how bleak their present circumstances
appear to be (Romans 8:28).
From this we may infer that passing
through diverse circumstances in life will
not be used by God to make us thoroughly
content followers of Jesus Christ, regard-
less of our physical circumstances, unless
at the same time our hopes and aspirations
are gospel hopes, Christ-centred aspira-
tions.
4. Paul's resolution turns on the God
who strengthens him (4: 13). After insist-
ing that he knows how to be content in
any and every circumstances, Paul writes,
'I can do everything through him who
gives me strength' (4: 13).
It is important to recognize what this verse
does not say.
Paul is not claiming that he can understand
everything about nuclear physics or the life
cycles of sea turtles, that he can walk on
water or build a cold fusion reactor,
through Christ who gives him strength.
Nor does he give any warrant here for
manipulating people into doing things they
probably should not be doing. You know
the kind ofthing I have in mind: the Chris-
tian leader who badgers Ms Brown into
teaching a class of grade four boys (even
though she feels she has neither the gifts
nor the calling) on the ground that she can
do all things through Christ who gives her
strength. Doubtless the 'everything' is as
wide as what God really does want us to
do. But Paul's 'everything' is constrained
by the context: he can live life with con-
tentment regardless of his creature com-
forts, in every circumstance, through Christ
who gives him strength.
It is this latter clause that is most impor-
tant. Paul does not claim that he can live
contentedly because he is now experienced
enough, or because he is disciplined
enough, or because he is now spiritual
enough. He recognizes that his resolution
and maturity in this matter of contentment
are utterly dependent on Christ. Without
Christ's strength, Paul's diverse life-expe-
riences would be inadequate to make him
a content person. This is nothing but a par-
ticular outworking of what the apostle has
taught earlier in his letter: where Christian
virtues abound, where Christian resolution
prevails, there we find evidence that God
is working in his people so that they will
and act according to his good purpose
(2: 12-13).
:5) Paul's attitude must not
be confused with stoic inde-
pendence of circumstances.
Paul is engaged emotionally as
well as intellectually: read, for
instances, the emotional pathos
that characterizes his relations
with the Philippian believers,
even his prayers for them (eg
1 :3-8). Even in this context in
Philippians 4, Paul is thanking
the Philippians for their recent
gift (4: 10), and insisting that
when he expresses his thanks
he is not surreptitiously hint-
ing that they should send more
(4: 11). Far from it: he could not
be asking for more, when he is
content as he is (4: 12-13). In any case, he
is more interested in the blessing of God
that will fall on them because of their gen-
erosity than he is in the gift itself (4: 17).
What this suggests is that Paul's Christian
contentment must never be confused with
a grim, stiff-upper-lip kind of resolution,
or with a dispassionate, disengaged aloof-
ness, that some mistake for the genuine
article. It is passionately Christ-centred; it
diligently seeks the good of other believ-
ers; it is displayed in the context of the
tenderest love for other believers.
Pray God that the rare jewel of Christian
contentment will become a little less rare.
• Don Carson is Professor of New
Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity
College, Deerfield, Illinois.