The Practice of Godliness: Godliness has value for all things (12 page)

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Authors: Jerry Bridges

BOOK: The Practice of Godliness: Godliness has value for all things
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CONTENTMENT WITH POSITION
Having to some degree won the battle of contentment regarding possessions, many Christians all too often fail in the battle of contentment regarding position in the body of Christ. Like Diotrephes of old we love to be first (3 John 9). And if we are not first, or at least prominent, either we envy those in positions of prominence, or else we adopt the attitude, “I’m just a nobody. God can’t use me.” It was to guard against this type of thinking that led Paul to write to the Roman Christians, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith that God has given you” (12:3).
Paul recognized, and wanted the Christians at Rome to recognize, that God has placed each of us in the body of Christ as it pleased Him. Our duty is not to decide what we want to be or to do, but to discover on the basis of our capabilities and gifts what God wants us to do and to be. Contentment lies not in being first, but in being faithful to fulfill the function God has called us to in the body of Christ.
The greatest single help to me in learning to be content about position is to come to terms with the fact that all positions in the church are given by the sovereign grace of God. Paul said, “We have different gifts, according to the grace given to us” (Romans 12:6). We have not only different gifts, but also different capacities for the use of those gifts. In the parable of the talents, one servant was given five talents, another two, and a third only one. The accountability was proportionate to the number of talents. The servant entrusted with only two talents who used them to get two more received the same commendation and reward as the servant entrusted with five talents who used them to get five more. Presumably, the servant entrusted with only one talent would have been similarly rewarded if he had been faithful to use it to get even one more, instead of burying it in the ground.
Whether we have several gifts or only one, whether our gifts put us in a position of prominence or keep us always behind the scenes, the important truth is that those gifts have been given to us by grace. We did not deserve them; we did not earn them; they were sovereignly bestowed upon us. I don’t deserve to be where I am in the body of Christ, and the prominent person doesn’t deserve to be where he is. We are each in our place by God’s grace.
And God is sovereign in the bestowal of His grace. Paul again makes this very clear in the ninth chapter of Romans when he asks, “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” Although Paul wasn’t asking this question within the context of the bestowment of gifts, the principle still applies. God has the right to put each of us where He pleases. He not only has the right, He exercises it, as 1 Corinthians 12 shows us. “All these [gifts] are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.”
How does my acknowledgment of God’s sovereign grace in placing each of us in the body of Christ help me to be content? First, I realize that I am where I am not by chance, nor by the favor or disfavor of other people, but by the decision of an all-wise and all-loving heavenly Father. And He has plans for me, plans to prosper and not to harm me, plans to give me hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).
Second, I realize I do not deserve to be where I am. However obscure a position it might be, I identify with Paul when he said, ‘Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given to me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). I may not be a missionary as Paul was, but whatever my position in the body, it was given to me by God’s grace.
Third, I realize that each part of the body is indispensable. Paul says the body grows “as each part does its work” (Ephesians 4:16). I am important to God and I am important to the body. This is true of every single Christian in the world!
As I realize and accept these truths I find not only contentment, but excitement. Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:10 that God has prepared in advance good works for each of us to do. As we accept our place in the body of Christ and seek to do these good works, we do find the fulfillment and contentment of a life lived in accordance with the purpose of God.
Along with accepting our position in the body of Christ, we also need to learn to be content with our position in society—our vocational calling. Vocational calling usually determines status as well as wealth. And because of the world’s preoccupation with status, we often face the temptation to be discontent with our position in society. Just as we are tempted to covet possessions, so we are tempted to covet position.
Here again we must go back to the sovereignty of God in all of life. God ultimately rules in the natural realm, just as He does in the spiritual, even though this aspect of His sovereignty may not always be apparent to us.
It is God who has created some to be farmers, some physicians, some building tradesmen, some salesmen, some bus drivers, and some airline pilots. If God did not rule in this manner, even in the lives of unbelievers, the world would be a chaotic place in which to live. We would have an oversupply of workers in some vocations and a critical shortage in others. The vocational imbalances that God does allow to occur arise out of man’s greed in constantly pursuing higher paying jobs and professions.
The principles of contentment with our position in the body of Christ will apply with equal force to our vocational position if we realize that our vocational calling is just as much a trust from God as is our spiritual responsibility.
In an excellent article on the Puritan work ethic, Leland Ryken said,
The Puritans declared the sanctity of all honorable work. In so doing, they rejected a centuries-old division of callings into ‘sacred’ and ‘secular’.... This Puritan rejection of the dichotomy between sacred and secular work has far-reaching implications. It judges every honorable job to be of intrinsic value, and integrates every vocation with a Christian’s spiritual life. It makes every job consequential by regarding it as the arena for glorifying and obeying God and for expressing love (through service) to a neighbor.
3

 

Not only are some jobs more prestigious than others; some are more challenging and exciting than others. What are we to do if God places us in a vocational responsibility that seems dull and unchallenging? We go right back to the principles of contentment in the body of Christ: I am where I am by God’s sovereign but loving appointment; I do not deserve to be even here; and my job, however dull, is necessary to the ongoing of society. If I will look to Him, God will give me the grace (in the sense of divine enablement) to be faithful and content in a dull and unchallenging situation.
Does this mean that contentment is incompatible with ambition, that we should never aspire to more responsible or challenging jobs? Not at all. Paul’s counsel to the Christian slaves at Corinth provides a principle for us today: “Were you a slave when you were called? Don’t let it trouble you—although if you can gain your freedom, do so” (1 Corinthians 7:21). Whatever your situation is, be content—don’t let it trouble you. But if you have an opportunity to improve your position, do so (unless, of course, doing so would violate the will of God in some other respect).
Every Christian should pursue excellence of workmanship and service in whatever vocational calling he finds himself. But he should do so to please Christ and to glorify Him, not for the sake of personal ambition. In many instances such faithful service
will
result in promotion, for even the unbelieving world respects and rewards excellence. But faithful service is not a guarantee to a better position. God is sovereign over our position in society, and He places us and keeps us where He wants us to be. As the Scripture says so eloquently, “No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt a man. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another” (Psalm 75:6-7).
PAUL’S SECRET OF CONTENTMENT
A Christian may be winning the battle for contentment with regard to possessions and position and still lose the struggle for contentment with the providence of God in his life. We live in a sin-cursed world, where even creation itself is subjected to frustration (Romans 8:20). Christians are not immune from the frustrating, irritating, often overwhelming circumstances of life.
But as Christians we believe that all circumstances come to us, not by chance, but through the often unfathomable will of an all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving heavenly Father. Because of this we refer to our circumstances as being under the providence of God, the word
providence
basically meaning God’s care of and control over all the universe.
4
That the Bible teaches such care and control is affirmed over and over again in the Scriptures. For example, Psalm 33:10-11 says, “The Lord foils the plans of the nations; he thwarts the purposes of the peoples. But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations.”
5
But God’s providence does not always appear favorable toward His children. We are at a loss to understand many events and circumstances that appear to cast doubt on His wisdom and love. As God Himself said through Isaiah, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways.... As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:8-9).
Other circumstances, though perhaps not severe or tragic, can be perplexing and frustrating: we experience varying physical limitations, chronic illnesses, and nagging injuries. We are placed with an inconsiderate roommate or find ourselves next door to annoying neighbors. We live in a city that is too large and crowded, or in a remote community that is too dull and boring. The climate is too dry or too humid. There are a thousand and one such circumstances that can make us fretful and discontented.
To make matters worse, our unbelieving neighbors often appear to have no problems. With Asaph of old we look at them and say, “This is what the wicked are like—always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence” (Psalm 73:12-13).
With such situations as these surrounding us, how can we learn, as Paul did, “to be content whatever the circumstances” (Philippians 4:11)? “I have learned the secret of being content,” Paul said, “in any and every situation.” What “secret” had Paul learned?
The Bible never tells us, but perhaps 2 Corinthians 12 gives us the answer. That chapter records Paul’s experience of being caught up into heaven and hearing inexpressible things that man is not permitted to tell. To keep Paul from becoming conceited over these surpassingly great revelations, there was given to him “a thorn in the flesh,” a messenger of Satan, to torment him. Three times Paul pleaded with the Lord to take away the thorn, but God said to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” As we noted earlier, the Greek word translated “is sufficient” is the same word rendered elsewhere as “be content.”
This must be the secret Paul had learned:
God’s grace is sufficient,
whatever the circumstance. And because God’s grace is sufficient, we can be content. But to experience contentment we must, as Paul did,
accept
that God’s grace is in fact sufficient. By acceptance I mean not just theological assent to a truth, but an authentic faith in His grace in the face of trying circumstances.
Since early childhood I have suffered a vision impairment that is often frustrating, and a total hearing loss in one ear that is often embarrassing (as when people speak to me and I don’t hear them, and thus appear to be ignoring them). But those are not my only physical problems. One day I stood before the bedroom mirror and named seven distinct things that were “wrong” with my body; things I had often fretted about and murmured over. That day I said, “Lord, I accept the fact that You made me the way I am, and that Your grace is sufficient for all these limitations.” I cannot say I have not fretted over these problems since then, but I can now say I know how to be content with them: by accepting that God’s grace is sufficient. Although I do not always apply this wonderful fact, it is true and it is always available. The choice to accept it and experience contentment is mine. And the choice is yours in your particular circumstances.
In all of the areas in which we are called upon to be content—whether possessions, position, or the providence of God—the grace of God is the ultimate solution for our discontent. Grace, as used in the New Testament, expresses two complementary thoughts: God’s unmerited favor to us through Christ, and God’s divine assistance to us through the Holy Spirit. An understanding and appreciation of both of these meanings is necessary for us to be content. First, we must learn to live by the realization that whatever our situation might be, it is far better than we deserve. Actually, we deserve God’s eternal judgment. It’s been said, “Anything this side of hell is pure grace.” This statement is true, and we must accept it and adjust our attitude accordingly.
Second, we must learn that however difficult and frustrating our circumstances might be, God’s divine assistance through the Holy Spirit is available to help us to respond in a godly manner and to be content. When Paul said, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” he was referring to God’s divine enablement. He could have said, “I can do everything by His grace,” and he would have been saying the same thing.
This is the secret of being content: to learn and accept that we live daily by God’s unmerited favor given through Christ, and that we can respond to any and every situation by His divine enablement through the Holy Spirit.
NOTES
1
William Hendriksen,
Commentary on I
&
II Timothy and Titus
(London: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1959), page 198.

 

2
WE. Vine,
An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words,
pages 226 and 1105.
3
Leland Ryken, “Puritan Work Ethic: The Dignity of Life’s Labors,”
Christianity Today,
19 October 1979, page 15.

 

4
Providence is defined theologically as “the unceasing activity of the Creator whereby, in overflowing bounty and goodwill, he upholds his creatures in ordered existence, guides and governs all events, circumstances, and free acts of angels and men, and directs everything to its appointed goal, for his own glory.”
The New Bible Dictionary
(London: Inter-Varsity Fellowship, 1962; rpt. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 1973), pages 1050-1051.
5
Other passages that affirm the truth of God’s providence include Genesis 12:17, 20:6, and 50:20; Exodus 3:21, 8:22, and 9:29; Ezra 1:1; Proverbs 21:1; Daniel 4:34-55; Acts 16:6-7; and Romans 8:28.

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