When I see the ruins of old cottages around us in Ireland, I’m always struck by how small they are, and by how dramatically our everyday living has changed. Even the best of the ancient castles are not nearly as comfortable as a standard modern home or apartment. They didn’t have flushing toilets. They didn’t have radiators or refrigerators or wifi. They didn’t have washing machines or cars or exotic foods from around the world available year round in local shops. They couldn’t order whatever they wanted from anywhere and have it shipped to their door in days without ever needing to leave the climate-controlled comfort of their own couch. If our ancestors could see us now, they would probably expect us to be the happiest, most care-free and content people to ever live. And they would be wrong. Our modern society is anything but content. We are plagued by anxiety, depression, relational breakdown, hopelessness, and despair. We promote mental health now more than ever, but the problems persist, and grow. Clearly, contentment is not just the result of having more wealth, more opportunities, more education, or better conditions. If it were, we should be one of the most content societies to ever live on planet earth. And yet somehow, contentment has eluded us. Have we been looking for it in the wrong places?
The Apostle Paul found contentment while serving an indefinite and unjust prison sentence. From his cell, he wrote that:
“…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. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
– Philippians 4:11-14
How can a man in prison write something like this? How can anyone? Paul is so content that the circumstances of life, whether good or bad—even in the extreme—cannot shake his satisfaction. Thankfully, he shares his secret: “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” In other words, Paul’s contentment is not tied to anything in this world, it is tied to Christ himself. In Jesus, he found unconditional love, complete forgiveness, and never-ending life and joy through Christ’s death and resurrection, and God’s own presence with him. These treasures are far greater than anything the world can offer. Fame? Fortune? Status? Success? Paul says it’s all rubbish compared to the greatness of knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8). He was not depending on Christ’s power to give him wealth or status or better circumstances so he could finally be happy and content in those things. He didn’t need to. He was already content in Christ himself—whether he had the other things or not. That’s the secret.
Think about it: If you tie your contentment to anything in this world, then it will always be insecure. Everything we have and experience here on earth, no matter how wonderful, is temporary and fragile. Even if we manage to hold on to it for our whole lives, death will still come, and still rob us of all that we’ve accumulated. It’s no wonder our society finds contentment so elusive. When you look for contentment in temporary things, you can only ever find temporary contentment.
Paul’s secret was that he was not looking for something that would finally satisfy him. He had already found Christ. He was already satisfied. And because of that, the ups and downs and gains and losses of living lost their power to rob him of his contentment. If he had plenty, Christ was still a far greater treasure to him, beyond comparing. If he had nothing, he still had Christ. And that was enough. This is the secret of unshakable contentment. This is the security we can all have, if we come to Christ. If we have him, we already have everything we need. No mansion, romance, or bank balance on earth can compare. As Elisabeth Elliot put it, “The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.”
This post originally appeared on sethlewis.ie