Content In Christ – Part 2
The church in Philippi was known as a generous church. Their generosity flowed from their contentment in Christ. We’re called to the same generosity as the Philippian church, which means that we’ll battle daily with being content in Christ. As we’ve talked through it in our church family, here are some things that we’re tempted to chase after instead of finding our contentment in Christ (just like Zachhaeus was chasing after money–see part 1).
Money
The author of Hebrews writes, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have…” Over and over again in Scripture we see warnings about being too attached to money. Having money feels secure; not having money feels insecure. One of the problems with finding our security/contentment in money is that we never really know how much we need to actually be secure. So we’ll always chase after more. But with Jesus it’s different. The author of Hebrews continues “…for he [Jesus] has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.‘” The reality of placing our security and contentment in Jesus is that when we have him, we have enough! He will never leave. He will never turn on us. We will never lose him. Stock markets can crash, possessions can be destroyed or stolen, the housing market could crumble, but Jesus will always be with us in all his fullness. And when we are content in Christ, then our attachment to money will fade, and we’ll be freed to be generous like the Philippians.
Personal Time
I’d be shocked to find a community of people that’s more busy than most of us are in Hawaii (with some major exceptions of course). Many people in Hawaii have multiple jobs just to handle the cost of living. When you throw in a few kids, a house with an ohana unit, the demands of extended family with 14 birthday parties each year, a couple of dogs, and the H-1, we don’t have a lot of free time. I doubt that I could meet one person who would tell me that they’re content with the amount of personal time they have. I think many of us need to change the way we view our responsibilities, commitments, and busyness. Ephesians 2 says, “For we are how workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” God has created us for good works; for these responsibilities and this busyness! He wants us to walk in them well. What’s more, Jesus says in Matthew 5, “Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” When we’re content in Christ, we’re freed to be generous with our personal time and to work hard in what we’ve been called to do. As that happens, people will see Jesus through us.
Our Image
Many people in our church are in our mid-30s. We’re basically the people who we’re going to be for the rest of our lives. We’ve settled into our likes and dislikes, our passions and giftedness. But it’s very tempting to not be content with that. We look at other people and wish we could be much more like them. You may look at that guy who is just so laid back and go with the flow and see that people always love being around him. You may think, “Why aren’t I more like him? He still rides a skateboard at 34. Should I be riding a skateboard?” Or look at that lady who has impeccable taste and style. The way she dresses is always so perfect and her house is a Pinterest board and her hair’s never up in a bun and you’ve never seen her in sweatpants. The problem is that we tend to compare our image with those whom we envy and feel are “better” than us. The Bible has much to say about the identity of someone who is in Christ. It says that you are a son/daughter of the King. King Jesus finds joy in you and rejoices over you. He’s created you to be unique and to please Him in your uniqueness. What an amazing identity that is! But if we’re feeding our souls with the message that we don’t measure up to everyone else, then there’s no way any of us will be content with our image. That’s why it’s crucial to see what the Bible says about who we are in Christ. When we realize who we are in Christ, we’ll be supremely content with our identity.
Pastor John Piper made a great statement to expose some of my own lack of contentment in Jesus during this holiday season. He said, “If being Jesus-focused is a killjoy for your Christmas, you don’t know him well.” If I knew Christ well, and understood the riches he has for me in Christ, then my Christmas would be radically Jesus focused and filled with supreme joy.
Father, may we find our contentment in Christ above all!