Summer 1976
The Secret of Contentment

Bill Welker
Teacher at Pinecrest

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” Philippians 4:11

It is important that we arrive at a clear understanding as to what the Apostle Paul was saying here when he said he had learned to be “content.” “Autarkes,” the Greek word for “content,” meant to be entirely self-sufficient. In Paul’s time this was one of the greatest words of Stoic ethics. The Stoics believed that by self-culture they could develop an indifference to the world and it surroundings; that there was a state of mind in which a man could be entirely independent of all things and of all people. They believed they could reach this state by eliminating all desires, emotions, and feelings until they came to the place where they did not care what happened to themselves or to others.

Paul was not saying that he had become indifferent and passive; rather that he was not mastered or controlled by his circumstances. Paul was in prison when writing this letter and yet he could say that he was independent of his circumstances and that he was not controlled by them. So many of God’s people let their circumstances master them, but the Lord wants us to learn how to “reign in this present life” (Romans 5:17). When we find ourselves in a trying place, we are not to let it master us or get us down, but rather that we learn how to be master of that situation. Praise God for the words, “I have learned” Through experience and an intimate relationship with the Lord, Paul came to the understanding that God was with Him and that whatever He willed for his life was for a purpose even though he did not understand; and that circumstances were not an end in themselves but a means of God’s dealings in maturing him.

The secret of Paul’s learning to “reign in the midst of his circumstances” is found in Philippines 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which is infusing strength into me” (Amplified Version). Here we see the difference between the Stoics and Paul. The Stoics were self-sufficient in that they believed in abolishing every feeling and emotion by the act of their own will. But Paul said, “I can do all things through Christ which infuses strength into me.” The Stoic was self-sufficient; Paul was God-sufficient. The key is realizing that Christ is sufficient for every circumstance.