Are You Content?

April 3, 2025

We live in a culture where contentment is counter cultural. In our society, contentment can actually be seen as a negative thing.

But, the truth is, contentment is not a lack of ambition. It’s not a lack of goals. It doesn’t mean you don’t work hard or have dreams. Contentment means your happiness doesn’t depend on your circumstances.

Contentment begins when we stop measuring our satisfaction by what we want and start recognizing what God has already provided.

How do you eliminate discontentment? For one thing, stop comparing. We compare everything—clothes, houses, cars, intelligence, even husbands and wives. Whenever you compare, you’re going to feel discontentment.

Paul says in Philippians 4:12, “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” (NIV).

He wrote this from prison. Paul says contentment is learned. It’s something that doesn’t come naturally. It’s learned.

The Bible also says, “There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:6-7 NRSV).

One of the greatest secrets in learning to be content is to realize that you don’t really own anything. It’s all on loan to you for a few decades! You didn’t bring a single thing into this world, and you’re not going to carry anything out of it, either. You just get to use it while you’re here on earth.

The Bible calls that stewardship. You are the manager or steward of what God allows you to have while you’re here, but it’s not actually yours. When you understand that you’re just a manager of the blessings God allows in your life and you hold them with an open hand.

Gratitude is also a powerful catalyst for contentment. When we focus on what we’re thankful for, it shifts our perspective and helps us appreciate what God has already abundantly blessed us with. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul writes, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 

In a world that constantly tells us we need more, may we be bold enough to say, “I have enough.”