In Philippians 4:10-13, Paul describes his life as an ongoing
succession of different situations, each of which he regards as one of two
classrooms in which he learns the way of contentment. One of the classrooms
involved for him a sense of abasement, when he was humiliated before
others. Perhaps some would have regarded his current imprisonment in that regard,
especially as it was likely he had gone hungry often (prisoners had to provide
their own food).
Believers often have to go into this classroom
and many things within them will object to the treatment received. After all,
abasement is a denial of human dignity, and a believer, of all people, knows
that he or she is made in the image of God. Further, the imposing of abasement
is sinful: such behaviour is an expression of rebellion against God, a denial
of his command to love one’s neighbour as oneself. In such situations,
believers sense strongly the injustice of it all. Yet they have to react to it
in a Christlike way. When he was mistreated and abased, Jesus did not react
with anger or fury. Instead he committed himself unto God. In the imitation of
the behaviour of Jesus, Christians discover contentment in abasing
circumstances.
Of course, Paul had discovered that abasing circumstances
were often times of learning important realities. In these situations, he
discovered afresh the sufficiency of God. To others, his situation gave the
impression that he was in the grip of the iron hold of the Roman authorities;
in reality, he was in the gentle grip of Jesus, the same hand that was on the
tiller of the universe. In these antagonistic situations, Paul discovered that
Jesus could strengthen him against all the attacks of the enemy. Jesus was in
control, and working all things for his benefit.
The second classroom in which Paul learned
contentment was in the classroom of abundance. Perhaps he has in mind
the consequences of the gift given to him by the Philippians. Sometimes
believers find themselves in a situation of material plenty, and there are
dangers in this classroom that don’t exist in the other. One obvious danger is
such a situation is the desire to want more, to not be satisfied with what one
has. No doubt, a balance has to be maintained because there is nothing intrinsically
wrong with having more possessions. Yet often the existence of more possessions
increases the amount of care and worry that a person has. For example, if a
burglar is on the prowl, the person who worries the most is the one who has
most to lose. Worry and contentment are opposites, therefore a believer in the
classroom of abundance needs to listen well to his heavenly Teacher. In times
of plenty, Paul learned that gratitude to God was the appropriate response.
