I Have Learned

Do-it-yourself books line the shelves, teaching “dummies” everything from picking a tagline to enhance an online dating profile to how to design a garden.  A friend quipped, “I might not know how to do something, but I can easily grab a book and learn.”

Come to find out the same is true of contentment.  In a time of year when that c-word is easily replaced by consumerism, we can go back to the how-to on contentment.  The trick?

For 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.”  Philippians 4:11, 12

The original word for “have learned” is just as it seems—to learn by use or practice; to be in the habit of.  Contentment, that elusive, often-forgotten Christian discipline, can be obtained through nothing more than practice.  As I flip through countless ads trying to find the perfect gifts for loved ones, the gimmes creep into my life.  I can continue adding to my wish list and find myself growing bitter over the realization that my wants exceed the means of those giving, or I can practice.  Just like sit-ups are especially painful at first, it is hard for my mouth to claim the truths of Psalm 23.  “The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing.  I shall not want.”  At times I want to throw in the towel and allow myself to be consumed by things rather than the one who says He is a consuming fire.  After all, it goes against most everything our culture teaches and its oh so hard.  But then I read the next verse of Philippians 4.  “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”  I can.  And so can you.  Let’s learn together.