Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Philippians 2:14
Discontentedness
The Apostle Paul had more reason than anyone, next to Jesus Christ of course, to complain or grumble about his less-than-perfect conditions. He had been beaten, flogged, whipped, imprisoned, shipwrecked, and went hungry, thirsty, in cold and heat, but how did Paul respond? “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content” (Phil 4:11). How did Paul learn contentment? He had lots of practice under those harsh conditions. That’s how you learn contentment.
Un-Thankfulness
Un-thankfulness or ingratitude is one of the worst mindsets we can have. Ancient Israel grumbled and God was not pleased, and many of them died. Today we are under grace, otherwise the churches might be empty because many of us (including me!) are not thankful enough for all God has done, and what more could He do (John 3:16)!? When I read the Old Testament, I’ve learned not to think, “How could they be that way!?” but rather, “How am I like they are?” God forgive me when I am.
No Recognition
To be grumbling or disputing is to be grieving the Holy Spirit. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are all in perfect unity and harmony with one another, and yet some churches divide over the color of the carpet! Think about the church as the Bride of Christ, which she is, and Jesus is the Bridegroom, so here comes the bride of Christ, coming down the isle of time, but she’s got a bruised forearm, a black eye, hair a mess, a tooth’s missing, and her wedding gown is torn. One outside said, “Well, it looks like the church has been fighting with itself again.” We should strive to be in unity as the Bride of Christ, and all be in agreement in the essentials (John 3:16; Acts 4:12), and be charitable about those things that are not.
Lack of Humility
Paul heavily emphasizes the humility of Christ in Philippians 2, and with good reason. He wrote, Jesus “emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:7-8), so if we’re grumbling and/or disputing (usually both!), we are ignoring God’s imperative command; “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves” (Phil 2:3). Deeply humble people generally are not discontent, disputing with others, or grumbling about things.
Conclusion
Since Paul learned to be content, we can too. It just takes practice. If you learn a sport, you do it over and over again, and you learn it and get good at it (sometimes, not me!), but contentment is also a choice. We choose contentment, and we learn it by practicing in some very harsh conditions that most of us experience in life. We can choose to grumble or we can choose to be thankful, recognizing what He has done; that should lead to humility, which makes it even easier to be content.
