11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
So much of our lives is controlled by money, or should I say resources. Money is often seen as simply the currency controlling our resources. Life has its necessities: food, clothing, transportation, shelter, health care and many other things. Is it possible to live our lives without money being the final controlling or arbitrating factor?
Paul would answer, “Yes.” He settled that early in his Christian walk. He had learned contentment. One would need to study his life to see how this developed, but it is clear that this contentment that he discovered was directly related to his faith in taking the promises of God seriously. He dared to believe what he was about to tell the Philippians that, “my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:19).
But is this way of living only for the super-spiritual ones, those who have a larger measure of faith, who are called to missionary work? That would be an easy out for the average Christian who punches the time clock five days a week. But God has called all Christians to a life of faith. That paycheck at the end of the week is God’s supply coming through the hands of your employer. The reality is that we are all called into missionary work, to walk by faith in order to reach a lost world. Some have been assigned by God to leave their homes and secular employment to give more of their time to the specific work of the Lord. Others are on assignment by God, being placed in secular jobs to reach people where they work. To be sure, much of their time is spent “working” their jobs, but their faith transforms their work. As one person said, “I am an ambassador for God, cleverly disguised as an assembly line worker!” Indeed, we are all called into fulltime service for the Lord as His ambassadors.
But we must become content in whatever situation we find ourselves, so that our work and the money it produces does not become the goal, but a means to an end – to glorify God where He has put us. He is in control and we must see our status of life, whether humble or prosperous, as His calling in our lives at this moment. Then, and only then, can we be content. The secret to having enough in life is to be content with what we already have.
Lord, thank You for what You have given me and where You have placed me. I want the controlling force of my life to be the goal of living for You.
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