God’s Word for You
Philippians 4:11 Be content
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Friday, April 24, 2026
11 It isn’t on account of poverty that I am saying this, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
To learn to be content is the goal of the Seventh, Ninth and Tenth Commandments. God shows us in his Law that his will is for us to be so trusting, to lean on him so completely, that we will not only refuse to take what is not ours, but not even to consider such a thing, which is coveting.
Luther says a great deal about this, laying out different scenarios of theft and fraud and even willful negligence that costs other people dearly. He says: “We must preach this not only to Christians but chiefly to knaves and scoundrels, though it might be more fitting if the judge, the jailer, or the hangman did the preaching. Let every one know that it is his duty, at the risk of God’s displeasure, not to harm his neighbor, take advantage of him, or defraud him by any faithless or underhanded business transaction. More than that, he is under obligation faithfully to protect his neighbor’s property and further his interests, especially when he takes payment for such services” (Large Catechism).
In his travels, the Apostle says that he was shipwrecked three times; that he spent a day and a night on the open sea, that he had constantly been on the move. “I have been in danger from rivers and many other things. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep. I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and I have been naked” (2 Corinthians 11:25-27). But he had learned to be content. This was a hard course of study, with a deadly syllabus and many tests that brought Paul to the brink of starving to death more than once. But he learned to be content.
To be content is to think, “God has given me enough to stay alive, at least for this day. I will look to him again for his help tomorrow, and the day after that.” Paul was, after all, called to do the work he was doing. When God demands something from us, he gives us what we need to keep that command. And God is always doing what he does for our good: “The Lord will indeed give what is good” (Psalm 85:12). He even disciplines us for our good (Hebrews 12:10). But he also promised: “If you obey and serve me, you will spend the rest of your days in prosperity, and your years in contentment” (Job 36:11).
Contentment is the opposite of coveting. It comes with the realization that we can trust God to give us the things we need. When things don’t seem to be going our way, we can ask: Is God withholding what I need, or what I only think I need? Are things failing to go the way I want them to, or is the Lord taking me in a direction I had never considered? And should I not learn to be content while I am doing whatever task is before me at this moment, even if it may not be as great or as marvelous as things that other people seem to do? For what does God truly ask of us? “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8). “When a poor young girl tends a little child, or faithfully does what she is told, some regard that as nothing,” but she does a far greater thing than all of the tyrants and kings in their palaces and ball rooms, and all the monks and nuns in all their monasteries. What she does from faith is truly the work of a saint.
One of my predecessors at the church where I serve began his adult life as a cobbler. Then he studied medicine, and became a licensed medical doctor. He studied theology on the side because both disciplines included required classes in Latin and Greek at his university (Basel). The Lord steered Gottlieb Reim’s life in many directions, setting him for two critical years as the President of the Wisconsin Synod just as the church was debating its position on the Lutheran Confessions. A few years later, he left Wisconsin for Minnesota and came here to St. Paul’s, serving for ten years with great distinction and helping our congregation to weather more than four years (1873-1877) of a locust plague that stretched from Missouri to Montana and an outbreak of diphtheria. But he helped our people remain content and trusting in God for his help and his providence.
“Godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). When we bring contentment to one another, we become a priceless blessing to our families, our loved ones, our friends, and the people all around us (Song of Solomon 8:10).
Poverty, plague, war, and the disruptions of life too often only stir up discontent. But to trust in God, which is the fear of the Lord, leads to true life. Then one rests content; untouched by trouble (Proverbs 19:23). “God wants our hearts to be pure, even though as long as we live here we cannot reach that ideal. So the Ninth and Tenth Commandments remain, like all the rest, ones that constantly accuse us and show us we really are in God’s sight” (Luther, Large Catechism). We see, then, just how much we need our Savior Jesus. For we cannot be content without him; we cannot keep God’s holy Law left to ourselves. But he did. He did all that the Law demands, and he did it in our place. He pointed out more than once that “the Son of Man has no place to rest his head” (Matthew 8:20), but he was never too proud to lay his tired head on a boat’s cushion (Mark 4:38), or accepting a meal from friends or enemies (Mark 14:3; Luke 14:1). He was content. He teaches us: “The Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his mercy” (Psalm 147:11).
A blessing among friends goes: “Be content with little or much.” May God grant this for Jesus’ sake.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.