Contentment
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What do mobile phones, computers, game consoles, televisions, headphones and even coffee machines, all have in common? Answer: ‘upgrade’. I’m sure you could add more to the list.
Adverts and sellers tell us that our lives will be so much better with the new ‘upgraded’ gear. The devices and gadgets we use every day are constantly being updated. If you have had your phone for over two years, then it’s really old!
A few months ago, our street was dug up and a new fibre cable was installed. Since then, I have received several messages from our broadband provider, telling me that we can now upgrade!
They state that we could do so much more downloading and gaming with this new ‘super-fast’ fibre broadband.
Of course, there are advantages in replacing old for new. But I sometimes feel that the way they are being marketed suggests that life is unbearable with what I currently have, and that upgrading will somehow improve my quality of life!
So, what are the important things in life and what is the secret to true contentment? In his letter to the church in Philippi, in the Bible, Paul wrote…
“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Paul was someone who had been hunted, beaten up, tortured and imprisoned for his faith! When he wrote the letter to the Christians in Philippi he was in prison.
He stated that he had learnt the secret of being content in any and every situation. So, what was this amazing secret? It was not a method or lifestyle but a person… Jesus.
His relationship with Jesus gave him contentment. This relationship was internal, and personal, and was unaffected by external circumstances.
I have not been through the same things that Paul did, but I have the same personal relationship with Jesus which gives me a sense of contentment in my life.
It is both secure and liberating. It’s secure, because my trust and hope are in someone who is steadfast. It’s liberating, because it means I don’t have to live life according to what the world around me, says I need to have.
If you feel a pressure that you must have the latest products or feel like you are trying to keep up with those around you, there is another way. True contentment can be found in Jesus.
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader