'Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you.' John 14:27
In 1648, Jeremiah Burroughs' published a short book on the subject of Christian contentment entitled 'The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment'. It continues to have much to say to us today and I recommend that you take time to read it. In fact, the whole purpose of this short article is to encourage you to do so. The number of quotations used below easily demonstrate its insight and influence on the subject.
Contentment is hardly a virtue many are famous for today, neither is it likely to be first on the list of qualities we all aspire to possess. It is as rare a jewel today as it was in 1648. However, if we were to honestly examine the daily complications of our Christian lives, I think we may be surprised how many are rooted in a lack of contentment. As a result, it is clear that contentment is foundational in the Christian life. Paul argues this when he stated that 'godliness with contentment is great gain' (1 Timothy 6:6). Such is his language that Burroughs' suggests that godliness is not gain unless it is accompanied by contentment. Who can argue with that? A discontent Christian is hardly an attractive proposition. What gain is there in enjoying all of the wonderful blessings of salvation without actually enjoying them?
Notice that Burroughs refers to 'Christian' contentment. Just as Christ explained that his peace is different from the peace given by the world (John 14:27), there is a uniqueness to Christian contentment. Burroughs stresses this fact by defining Christian contentment as 'that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition'. This is not the contentment that you find in anyone other than the children of God.
However, not only is Christian contentment unique in its nature, but it is unique in its appropriation. Indeed, this is what I have found so helpful from Burroughs' treatment. He stresses the mystery of Christian contentment by contrasting it with the way in which the world obtains contentment. 'A gracious heart gets contentment in a mysterious way, a way that the world is not acquainted with.’ This is the curiosity of Christian contentment, which Burroughs’ outlines in at least six ways, three of which are detailed below.
1. CONTENTMENT IS NOT COMPLETE
Burroughs begins by pointing out the paradox that 'a Christian is the most contented man in the world, and yet the most unsatisfied man in the world.' Contentment is not complete, for it varies depending on the object. While a Christian is content despite suffering and persecution, he is not content as a result of affluence and influence. This is simply an application of the old adage that a Christian should be 'in the world but not of the world'. In this way, a Christian is to be content with their lot in this world, but not desire the lot of this world. Burroughs' explains of a Christian that 'those things that would content other men will not content him...a little in the world will content a Christian for his passage, but all the world, and ten thousand times more, will not content a Christian for his portion.'
Not only does this involve a dissatisfaction with sinful attractions, but with sin itself, as well as the suffering that it brings. Christ exemplified this when he cast out demons and healed the sick, rebuked the Pharisees and called sinners to repentance. For the Christian, this world is simply a site of contentment, not the source of it. We are to be content despite this world, not because of it. Christian contentment is not complete, it does not involve a complete satisfaction with all that is in this world.
2. CONTENTMENT IS NOT CUMULATIVE
Addition is the world's way of finding contentment. The advertising industry makes this plain to us. We are told that we have a desire for a product, a desire that can be met by adding it to our lives. Whether it be the latest electronic gadget or travel destination, we are told that meeting our desires by adding possessions or experiences is the way to find satisfaction. Not only is this the message for possessions and experiences, but it is also the lie that we are told in relation to family and professional life. If we desire marriage or children, we are told that the way to find satisfaction is to meet those desires. A promotion or new position provides us with a rush of pleasure. A wedding day or pregnancy is a source of longing for many.
The problem is of course that, so often, this fulfilment is short lived. Indeed, we quickly find ourselves with new and greater desires. Not only is this true when the novelty of the new gadget wears off, wedding days can lead to the years of a difficult marriage . Children can grow up and cause heartache and sorrow. There is no magic formula for contentment, in this world we will never find lasting satisfaction.
A further problem develops when we remember that meeting these desires is not always within our power. Some will never marry, others will be unable to have biological children. Sometimes businesses collapse, or our bodies give up. How do we find contentment when life doesn't go as expected? When all our deepest desires remain unmet? When we don't get what we want?
Burroughs' argues that Christian contentment is not found by adding to our circumstances so that they match our desires, but by subtracting from our desires so that they match whatever circumstances God is pleased to place us in. This isn't a call for a directionless and desireless Christianity. God often gives us good desires for good things. However, it is a reminder that when God determines our lives should look different to how we imagined, we should recalibrate our view to his vision and leave behind our desires for the things he has decided to deny us. Christian contentment is not cumulative, it does not involve a constant addition to our circumstances.
3. CONTENTMENT IS NOT CARELESS
When are you most content? Perhaps it is when you are given a few hours to yourself, reading that book you bought or watching the TV series you love. Perhaps it is when you are on holiday, lying on a beach of golden sand and listening to the waves breaking against the shore. The contentment found in the world often involves removing our cares and concerns. Getting away from the stresses and strains of everyday life.
There is nothing wrong with this. Which of us doesn't need a time out every now and then? Or a relaxing holiday to rest? However, the contentment acquired through these activities needs to be contrasted with Christian contentment. Let us not confuse the contentment found on a cruise with the contentment found in Christ.
Burroughs' explains 'if you can get your heart to be more burdened with your sin, you will be less burdened with your afflictions.' Instead of laying down the afflictions that burden us, acquiring Christian contentment often involves burdening ourselves with the true reality of our own sin. In forgetting our own brokenness, and the brokenness of this world, we can deceive ourselves into expecting (and even thinking that we deserve) a burden-free life. Our sin reminds us that we should not expect (and certainly do not deserve) a removal of all afflictions this side of eternity.
This is the kind of contentment that Elizabeth Clephane wrote of in the Christian hymn ‘Beneath the cross of Jesus’.
I take, O cross, thy shadow
for my abiding place;
I ask no other sunshine than
the sunshine of his face;
content to let the world go by,
to know no gain nor loss,
my sinful self my only shame,
my glory all the cross.
By revisiting the depths of our depravity, we remind ourselves of our debt and God's deliverance. We must never forget that the call to come to one who gives rest to the weak and heavy laden (Matthew 11:28) is a call to sinners to come in repentance (Luke 5:32). The burden found in Christ is light not because the burden of our sin is light, but because Christ carries it for us. When we remind ourselves of this, we find strength to bear the other burdens we are asked to carry in this life. When we remember we have been freed from the burden of our sin, we look forward in hope to the day when we will be freed from our other burdens as well. Christian contentment is not careless, it does not involve a withdrawal from the cares and concerns of this life.
THE CURIOSITY OF CHRISTIAN CONTENTMENT
Christian contentment is a curious thing. It is drastically different from the contentment we find in this world. It is not complete, cumulative or careless. It does not involve a complete satisfaction with all that is in this world, a constant addition to our circumstances or a withdrawal from the cares and concerns of this life.
These three insights are but the starting point of Burroughs’ treatment of Christian contentment and have been wonderfully helpful for me as I have considered contentment in my own life. Far from exhausting the curiosity of Christian contentment, the three characteristics above only scratch the surface. Next time we return, we will consider three further characteristics of this rare jewel together.
ALEXANDER ARRELL