Contentment

Teaching by the Sea of Galilee

We have all heard the beatitudes, or at least some of them, at various times in our lives. Some of them, like “Blessed are the meek” or “Blessed are the peacemakers,” have become so well known that they are enshrined in our culture and used as cliches.

But let’s reread them today and examine these blessings once again.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." 
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." 
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, 
     for they shall be satisfied." 
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy." 
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." 
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God." 
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, 
     for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." 
“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you 
      and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." 
"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, 
     for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." 
Matt 5:3-12 [ESV]

Lately, I have been pondering the word blessed in each of these lines. It is clear from the language and grammar that Jesus is not describing a future reward, but a present state of blessedness or happiness. In other words, you are blessed or happy if you are in these states. For some of these statements, like “Blessed are the merciful” or “Blessed are the pure in heart,” it is understandable to say that you are currently in a happy or blessed state. But to say you are happy and blessed when “others revile you and persecute you” seems kind of backward.

The beatitudes end with the statement, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets that were before you.”

This last statement gives us a different perspective on the suffering that sometimes follows obedience. We must learn to focus on the eternal value of things rather than on our immediate comfort if we want to know the blessing in suffering for obedience.

Paul once told the Philippians, “…I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content.”¹

Too often, we associate happiness, joy, and contentment with our external circumstances. We tell ourselves and others, “If only this one thing changes, then I will finally be happy.” Our entire culture is focused on comfort and pleasure, but Jesus tells us our outward circumstances are not the measure of our happiness or blessedness. We are happy and blessed through it all if we can remember that there is something beyond our current circumstances that will make whatever we are going through worthwhile.

Today, I want to focus on contentment more than happiness or blessedness. God has taken me to the woodshed many times about contentment, not because God is angry at me, but because discontentment makes me miserable in so many ways. And when I am miserable inside, I am miserable outside, which means I am miserable to others. Jesus keeps telling me about contentment, but my desire for the things I don’t have, or my frustration with the things I have and don’t want, always wants to scream louder than the truth.

The answer is not complicated, but it’s an answer I don’t always want to hear in the moment. The answer is to remember the generosity of God’s grace in Jesus. I should remember what I would be and where my life would be going if I were to experience true justice instead of the outrageous grace and mercy of God I have been offered through Jesus.

The truth is, we are blessed even on our worst days. We have life in Jesus, now and for eternity. We have been adopted into God’s family. We are forgiven and made righteous through nothing but God’s love and generosity. Beyond this, Jesus tells us in the beatitudes that we will be rewarded for our patience through any pain our obedience to him may bring us.

Some suffering is just the product of life in a fallen world, and some suffering we bring on ourselves by our discontentment. But there is a blessed suffering we take on by saying yes to Jesus. And this suffering brings an eternal reward with it.

How can we be content no matter what? By remembering who we are without God, who God is, and the price He has paid to adopt us into His family and remake us in His image. We must learn to see our short lives here through the lens of eternal life with Him. Our suffering is nothing compared to the suffering of Jesus, who willingly took on the pain and just punishment of our sins so that we may know eternal glory with Him.

This Week

The apostle Paul, who was no stranger to suffering, tells us:

But godliness with contentment is great gain, 
     for we brought nothing into the world, 
     and we cannot take anything out of the world. 
But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, 
     into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires 
     that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. 
It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith 
     and pierced themselves with many pangs. 
1 Tim 6:6-10 [ESV]

This week, let’s encourage each other to keep our eyes on Jesus and his coming kingdom, to give thanks for his love and forgiveness, and to love people the way he did by benefiting others at our expense. And let’s be content, because contentment is peace, and to know peace is to be truly blessed.

Have a great week!

1. Philippians 4:11b