Satisfied

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content [autarkes – self-sufficient, satisfied with one’s situation] in whatever circumstances I am. 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 [manthano – come to understand] of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.                           Philippians 4:11-13

At times Paul experienced definite financial and material needs, and at other times he had an abundance. The Stoics used autarkes, translated as content, to mean human self-reliance and fortitude, a calm acceptance of life's pressures. But Paul used it to refer to a divinely bestowed sufficiency, whatever the circumstances.

He learned how to cope with both need and plenty. The words I have learned the secret translate manthano, a term that occurs only here in the New Testament. In the mystery religions, it was a technical term meaning "to initiate (into the mysteries)." Paul used it here to suggest a kind of "initiation" (by his experiences) into being content when either well fed or hungry, and either in plenty or in want. He realized that contentment was the end result of his complete trust in God’s provisions for his life in all circumstances. Jesus taught the principle when speaking the Sermon on the Mount:

"For this reason, I say to you, do not be worried [merimnao – anxious care] about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek [zeteo – strive after] first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.                            Matthew 6:25-33

The introduction of this passage is found in verse 24: "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth [mammon – god of materialism] (Matthew 6:24. The context is that of serving God, that the believer cannot be committed to serving God if he is too attached to the natural provisions of life. Seeking His kingdom and His righteousness is complete only when it is one's priority, and that happens only when he believes that God will provide, or provide the opportunity to acquire, the necessities of food, clothing, and shelter without anxiety or anxious care. It is too easy to let these necessities consume believers, taking priority over the essence of the spiritual life: striving after His kingdom and His righteousness. Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. The devil's energy tries to consume each of us with a need to accumulate for times when we might not have. This may be one of the great lessons that God was trying to teach the Jews in the wilderness during those forty years:

“For the Lord’s portion is His people; Jacob is the allotment of His inheritance. “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of a wilderness; He encircled him, He cared for him, He guarded him as the pupil of His eye. “Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings and caught them, He carried them on His pinions. “The Lord alone guided him, and there was no foreign god with him.” He made him ride on the high places of the earth, and he ate the produce of the field; and He made him suck honey from the rock, and oil from the flinty rock.                      Deuteronomy 32:9-13

You, in Your great compassion, did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud did not leave them by day, to guide them on their way, nor the pillar of fire by night, to light for them the way in which they were to go. “You gave Your good Spirit to instruct them, Your manna You did not withhold from their mouth, and You gave them water for their thirst. “Indeed, forty years You provided for them in the wilderness and they were not in want; their clothes did not wear out, nor did their feet swell. “You also gave them kingdoms and peoples, and allotted them to them as a boundary. They took possession of the land of Sihon the king of Heshbon and the land of Og the king of Bashan.                        Nehemiah 9:19-22

To experience a satisfied mind is to believe on and trust in the atoning work of Christ, that Jesus is God and that His work was enough. In Romans 5:10-11, Paul writes, “For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation”. If I am to live in the full (much more) effect of reconciliation, my mind must accept the reality that my previous, current, or future failures cannot revive the wrath of God toward me. My position is secure.

Constant reminders of my shortcomings in daily life can cause me to doubt God's promises, so I need a regular renewal of mind (the organ of mental perception and apprehension). Paul refers to this process in Romans 12:1-2 when he urges us to “present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice” as an integral part of our worship. He continues by recommending separation from this world’s influences by keeping on being “transformed by the renewing of your mind" (present passive imperative), representing a total change in thinking. The world outwardly conforms us to its agenda, while transformation (metamorphosis) is the inward assimilation of Christ's image and character. In the process, the believer proves the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God.

As long as one remains square in the middle of this world's influences, his mind will be conformed to its value system. Again, Paul teaches that sanctification, a willingness to be separated from the world for God's purposes is the will of God (1 Thessalonians 4:3). If one is to come to "know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor [respect]” (verse 4), he prioritizes purity as a path of life. The world says that a life of purity is either strange or impossible. In Colossians 1:21-22, “And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight." Reconciliation is the avenue through which we are seen by God as above reproach. Purity does not happen by accident, but is realized when the believer agrees with God in how he conducts himself in this life.

If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness [eusebeia – piety toward God]. he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment [autarkeia – a satisfied mind]. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.                             1 Timothy 6:3-10

Trials of life are ordained for each one to teach life lessons, many of them about the purpose and value of money. In the passage above, Paul addresses this issue within the church. America has enjoyed great prosperity, particularly since World War II. As a baby boomer, I was raised by the generation that went through the Depression, people who placed great value on working hard for what they had and not expecting any provisions from the government or others. Unlike the younger people of today, my generation had no real sense of entitlement. Those born in the last forty years have not experienced the kind of lack previous generations did. This attitude may be one reason young people today are gravitating toward accepting socialism as a great solution to capitalism and the mindset that one should work hard for what one has. This attitude has slithered into the church and its leaders. In the passage above, Paul warns Timothy about those who see godliness as a means of gain. Paul teaches that piety toward God begins with accepting that God's promise to provide for each man's necessities is the real source of a satisfied mind and contentment, and it provides the foundation for godliness. Job understood this and passed his first test in Job 1:20-22: Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God.

23 And Cush the son of Ham, the son of Noah, took a wife in those days in his old age, and she bare a son, and they called his name Nimrod [rebel], saying, at that time, the sons of men again began to rebel and transgress against God, and the child grew up, and his father loved him exceedingly, for he was the son of his old age. 24 And the garments of skin which God made for Adam and his wife, when they went out of the garden, were given to Cush. 25 For after the death of Adam and his wife, the garments were given to Enoch, the son of Jared, and when Enoch was taken up to God, he gave them to Methuselah, his son. 26 And at the death of Methuselah, Noah took them and brought them to the ark, and they were with him until he went out of the ark. 27 And in their going out, Ham stole those garments from Noah his father, and he took them and hid them from his brothers. 28 And when Ham begat his first-born Cush, he gave him the garments in secret, and they were with Cush many days. 29 And Cush also concealed them from his sons and brothers, and when Cush had begotten Nimrod, he gave him those garments through his love for him, and Nimrod grew up, and when he was twenty years-old he put on those garments.                               Book of Jasher 7:23-29

Nimrod is the founder of Assyria and Babylon, two evil nations that tried to take over the world in their day, operating from the kingdom of darkness and energized by evil. Both kingdoms were ultimately destroyed because of the way they treated Israel. Nimrod was empowered by that evil when he put on the garment God had made for Adam after the Fall and was king of the world for 185 years, according to Book of Jasher, energized by that evil. The garments were made for Adam, but stolen by the devil for his purposes. The same energy occupies the desire to acquire possessions and power to find happiness and a satisfied mind. Paul saw this clearly in his own life:

For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; because we have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you are strong; you are distinguished, but we are without honor. To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are roughly treated, and are homeless; and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure; when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the world, the dregs of all things, even until now.                           1 Corinthians 4:9-13

Paul understood suffering's role like few others. Instead of seeing tribulation as punishment from God, he saw it clearly as a means of a deeper spiritual experience in this life:

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations [thlipsis – distress, calamity], knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance [hupomone – remain under]; and perseverance, proven character [dokime – proof of genuineness]; and proven character, hope [elpis – expectation of something good]; and hope does not disappoint [kataischuno – dishonor, disgrace], because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.                   Romans 5:3-5

Paul recognizes the principle of reaping and sowing. Still, most of the trials believers face in life are intended to work something into a believer's life that he could not replicate himself; that distress or calamity brings about perseverance, the ability to remain in the processes of life without crying "uncle". Success in this way is measured by the believer's acceptance that every challenge he faces is ordained for a divine purpose and is not intended to spank us. Instead, these events are meant to create proven character, a genuineness that is proven. Proven character is about doing what is right when no one is looking. It means living to please God and not worrying about what other people think. John Wooden, the great basketball coach at UCLA, said, "Be more concerned for your character than your reputation. Character is what you really are while reputation is merely what others think you are."

The ultimate goal of proven character is to produce hope, a confident expectation of something good. This hope does not disappoint because of God’s love. As a believer has faith in who God is, looking back 2,000 years to His first coming, hope looks forward with the same confidence in His impending return. In this way, the believer has the right mindset about what each life test intends. Placing a potato in boiling water yields a different result than an egg: the potato softens while the egg hardens. When the believer has a satisfied mind, the trial will soften him rather than harden him.

The fear of the Lord leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.                      Proverbs 19:23