The Road to Recovery
Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstance I am. Philippians 4:11 NASB
To be content – Are you self-sufficient? Before your spiritual radar goes crazy and you immediately deny any such terrible thoughts, take a deep breath. We have been trained to think of self-sufficiency as something nearly as evil as apostasy. We recall those passages about self-denial and cross-bearing, and we instantly think that self-sufficiency must be sin. But maybe we need to take another look at Paul’s statement – emathon autarkes einai (learned to be self-sufficient). The key word here is autarkes, perhaps best understood through its antonyms. This kind of self-sufficiency is the opposite of need, scarcity, hunger, distress and deficiency. It is the positive sense of being satisfied in mind and disposition. But it’s not passive!
The two Hebrew counterparts of autarkes are ‘avah and ya’al. You’ll find the first word in Proverbs 6:35 and Genesis 24:5. You’ll find the second in Exodus 2:21 and Genesis 18:27. In these and many other occurrences, both words convey the idea of choosing. ‘avah is about being positively inclined to respond. Ya’al is about making a decision to act. Neither one conveys the idea of simply waiting around for something. To be content is to choose a certain frame of mind, a certain kind of external activity, a certain way of being in the world. That’s why contentment has to be learned.
And here’s the best part. Life gives us plenty of opportunities to learn contentment.
Now you can understand why Paul introduces this statement with the declaimer that he is not in want. He isn’t starving. He isn’t naked. He isn’t under duress. He has all that he needs because he has learned to choose a life based on God’s provision. Paul believes in the sovereign God. He believes that his life is engineered to accomplish God’s purposes. He believes that God actually cares about what happens. And therefore, he can choose to live according to what God provides and what God is doing with him. But it wasn’t always so. Paul had to learn this active contentment, just as we have to – and just as Yeshua had to. The human frame is prone to complaint – toward God and everyone else. We must constantly fight the seduction of entitlement whether it be with the political world or our “spiritual” rights. God is in charge and God is good. That’s all we need to know in order to learn contentment. If either of those two fundamentals are shaken, then we will slip into the negative forms of self-sufficiency, the forms that demand and grasp and hoard. Our road to recovery begins with a choice to let God be God and be satisfied with that. And if you need a full-blown lesson in what this means, then go read the last few chapters of Job.
Today you will undoubtedly have an opportunity to choose to be content. Turn on your radar now so that this opportunity isn’t squandered in a flood of complaints. And when it presents itself, remember who you are and who God is.
Topical Index: content, autarkes, ‘avah, ya’al, Philippians 4:11
“God is in charge and God is good. That’s all we need to know in order to learn contentment. If either of those two fundamentals are shaken, then we will slip into the negative forms of self-sufficiency, the forms that demand and grasp and hoard. Our road to recovery begins with a choice to let God be God and be satisfied with that.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQCsB3snW0k 3:37 MIN “Give It All Away” by Aaron Shust
There are quite a few mistakes in the printed lyrics in the music video, but at least you can hear the passion in Aaron’s voice. Below are the correct lyrics:
Search my heart, search my mind, search my soul
Make me clean, make me new, make me whole
All of my plans, all of my dreams, I lay them down before Your feet
All of my time, all that was mine, I now submit to Your design
‘Cause You are the One who can make my life complete
You are the One who can give light to my feet
You are the One and only One who dared to give it all away for me
You are my strength, You are my God, You are my King
You make me laugh, You make me dance, You make me sing
Everything inside, everything outside, I give it all away
You never change, but You rearrange my heart more everyday
Also see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrRd-NZjdcg 4 MIN “My Dependence” by Jamie Slocum
Shalom Skip,
You wrote: It is the positive sense of being satisfied in mind and disposition. But it’s not passive! I wrote on this blog a few weeks back about this verse and said that I had read that it reflected a Stoic point of reference for Paul. Considering his rabbinic training and being steeped in the TaNaK, it seems, he would reflect that heritage in this intimate and joyful letter to the Philippians. Thanks bro!
“The LORD is my shepherd; I SHALL NOT want.” Psalm 23:1
It was probably something you wrote, Skip, that made me realize several years ago, that this statement reflects a conscious choice, not a vending machine for my personal ‘fulfillment’! I had never thought about it before, but when I examined what my understanding of this verse was, I came to see that because of the culture in which I had been raised, I thought it was about what came into my life, not what I gave out. Now, I understand that no one owes me anything, least of all the Creator, who has already given everything pertaining to life (and godliness). It is my responsibility to choose to be grateful for those things He has provided, and to be content with that, leaving the rest to Him.
Hello my precious sister Gayle,
You wrote: I had never thought about it before, but when I examined what my understanding of this verse was, I came to see that because of the culture in which I had been raised, I thought it was about what came into my life, not what I gave out. Now, I understand that no one owes me anything, least of all the Creator, who has already given everything pertaining to life (and godliness).
That is some precious revelation and understanding. If you were in close proximity of me, I would give you a Holy Spirit, brotherly, full of love hug this morning. The Lord is our Provider and I know He will take care of us! Therefore, our focus can be on living and blessing all who we interact with on any giving day. I believe I have learned, and am learning more and more on what this means. We are not going to give an account on what we did not have, but on what we did, and whether we put it to use or not. Have a blessed day!
I believe that contentment is the essence of living a life that is in keeping with walking with GOD. Contentment is to experience peace with God and the peace of God. Contentment is to be wholly satisfied with God and with God’s graces (every good and perfect gift that comes down from the Father – James 1:17)….Discontent is to ultimately be dissatisfied with God and with His grace gifts. It is the failure to give God glory and to give Him thanks (Rom 1:21). It is the essential sin of the Garden of Eden in Genesis 3. From it (discontentment), flow all of the other sins and make relationship with God impossible. From it (discontentment), we create our own god (which makes us god) and become idolatrous.
Today’s culture and its voices tell us that despite all we have as a people, we should rather focus on what we don’t have (coveting), what we are entitled to have (rights), what we must have (demand) and all of this while energizing a spirit of discontent and negativity with either our circumstances or with God Himself. We need to be very careful to not fall into this current and to live, model and proclaim that our God is more than enough and that we are thankful and content with His sufficiency and supply…His grace is enough and regardless of my circumstances. And then, we need to resist our culture and teach our children to also be thankful and to learn contentment even when the message of today’s American culture is counter to this truth.
“Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thess 5:16-18)
I had to visit my bank manager today to inform him of my situation as a new account had been opened for the proceeds of my house sale. At the end of our conversation I said to him ‘ well you know me I trust in the living God who has the solution’ to which he replied – ‘oh yes you mean it is down to fate’? I replied ‘oh no its not fate I truly trust that God has it all in hand and I am being tested in how I handle it. He went on to say – he’s not a believer – that perhaps I was being tested to see if I was strong enough! I told him ‘ yes I believe so but the thing is I am learning to be content while I sit surround by boxes, no job and no way forward and all in Ethiopia bemused! I then came home, turned on the computer to find today’s reading! Thanks skip the delving into these words is fascinating.
Christine
“That’s why contentment has to be learned.”
Just as Yeshua and Paul learned from their obedience, we too will learn contentment from our obedience – or learn something else by our disobedience. There is a choice.