{"id":153,"date":"2023-06-04T21:01:05","date_gmt":"2023-06-05T01:01:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/overcoffeewithbenjieshaw\/?p=153"},"modified":"2023-06-04T21:01:05","modified_gmt":"2023-06-05T01:01:05","slug":"pauls-view-of-contentment-in-philippians-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/overcoffeewithbenjieshaw\/2023\/06\/pauls-view-of-contentment-in-philippians-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Paul’s View of Contentment in Philippians 4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"A
Contentment is more than just being happy with what you have. Photo via Nora Hutton on Unsplash.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Philippians 4<\/a> has always struck me as a misunderstood chapter of the Bible. It\u2019s likely that Phil 4:13<\/a> is the verse that stands out in your mind. After all, it\u2019s emblazoned on everything from the home team\u2019s high school football banners to athlete\u2019s eye black to countless Instagram profiles. It\u2019s used to encourage everyone from test-takers to Olympic athletes that, through Jesus, they can do all things.<\/p>\n

But Philippians 4 has always been about contentment. In fact, Phil 4:13, the oft-quoted verse used to inspire a victor\u2019s mindset, was actually Paul\u2019s admission that he had learned how to be content in less-than-favorable circumstances. Paul wasn\u2019t<\/em> saying that, through Jesus, He could overcome any obstacle. He was<\/em> saying that, through Jesus, he had learned how to be ok with plenty or with little, with victory or with a setback.<\/p>\n

Contentment is More than Always Being Happy with what You Have<\/h2>\n

Lest we think that story ends there, Paul continued on: \u201cYet it was good of you to share in my troubles.\u201d Paul then outlined how the church at Philippi had been a financial blessing in his ministry. In fact, they were the first church ever to support him and were willing to help him when no one else would. Now, Paul took the opportunity to thank them for a new financial gift they had sent to him that had left him \u201camply supplied\u201d (4:18)<\/p>\n

The message of Philippians 4 is far more nuanced than we like to make it. Yes, learning to be content in less than ideal circumstances is a good thing. We will certainly be in many situations that are less than ideal. Those moments should not lead us to despair. They are opportunities to experience Jesus in ways that we wouldn\u2019t have otherwise. They teach us to be dependent on Him in transformative, sometimes life-changing ways.<\/p>\n

But that doesn\u2019t mean that we shouldn\u2019t hope for and strive for things to be better. In Paul\u2019s financial need, while seeking contentment,\u00a0he also asked the church at Philippi for help<\/em>. It seems that he had arrived at a place spiritually where he would have been fine had they not been able or chose not to assist him. We may never know. The reality is that they chose to assist Paul which left him in a place where his needs were provided \u201camply.\u201d<\/p>\n

Contentment isn\u2019t About Settling<\/h2>\n

Striving for contentment is honorable and good. But we should not allow striving for contentment to prevent us from seeking to better our situation through either work or asking for help.<\/p>\n

Help doesn\u2019t necessarily equate with finances, either. I\u2019m terrible about asking for any form of help. Many of my friends have expressed a similar struggle. Yet we\u2019re often met with obstacles that we struggle to overcome on our own. Try as we may, we can\u2019t escape the fact that God designed us to be inter<\/em>dependent. When we face obstacles that we can\u2019t overcome on our own, or at a minimum would be much less inconvenient if we had the assistance of others, it seems that God is inviting us to participate in something bigger than ourselves by asking for others\u2019 help.<\/p>\n

Stubbornly refusing this invitation creates personal and relational harm. It increases relational isolationism<\/a> which corresponds with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and illness. It prevents others from exercising the gifts that God has given them and from providing a physical representation of their friendship and love for you.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re facing an obstacle today, be it significant or fairly mundane, ask for help. Watch how God uses that simple act to begin a transformative work in and around you.<\/p>\n

Contentment is good. Transformation is a sight to behold.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Philippians 4 has always struck me as a misunderstood chapter of the Bible. It\u2019s likely that Phil 4:13 is the verse that stands out in your mind. After all, it\u2019s emblazoned on everything from the home team\u2019s high school football banners to athlete\u2019s eye black to countless Instagram profiles. It\u2019s used to encourage everyone from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5076,"featured_media":156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,51,9],"tags":[60,66,15,63,57,69],"class_list":["post-153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bible","category-contentment","category-discipleship","tag-bible","tag-contentment","tag-discipleship","tag-paul","tag-philippians","tag-relationships"],"yoast_head":"\nPaul's View of Contentment in Philippians 4<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Paul's view of contentment in Philippians 4 is more nuanced than learning to always be happy with what you have.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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