A man decided to live in a monastery a few days because he was looking for spiritual direction, peace and contentment. The head monk showed the visitor to his devotional cell and told him; “I hope your stay is a blessed one,”. “If you need anything, let us know, and we’ll teach you how to live without it.” (Philip Yancey, “What 147 Elk Taught Me About Prayer,” Christianity Today, March 2006; www.PreachingToday.com)
Finding peace begins with having an attitude of being content. While every person has needs and desires to be happy, happiness is not found in pursuing what you want. It’s found in wanting what you already have.
In Hebrews chapter 13 there is a list to help keep our attitude of contentment.
The first objective that we need to cherish and participate in is,
We must love our church family.
Hebrews 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.
The book of Hebrews was written to first century Christians who had lost a lot in life because of their faith. BUT
The author of Hebrews demonstrated the overwhelming benefits of a relationship with Christ in chapters 1-10. Then to close the book, he urged his readers: to keep faith in all situations (chapter 11); endure in all things through hope (chapter 12); and finally, the last chapter is about being a loving person (chapter 13).
The words in verse 1, “let brotherly love continue” means that believers in Christ should never stop loving one another! An attitude of contentment is kept by keeping good relationships. We are better able to persevere in life, when we have brotherly love for others. A brother and sister in Christ are blessings and provide comfort and satisfaction in life.
We also need to show LOVE to strangers.
Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to be hospitable to strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.
The word “hospitality” in this context carries the idea of “love for strangers.”
This need to love strangers was important in the era when the book of Hebrews was written. It was during Christian persecution which had driven many believers from their homes. Those displaced believers depended on other believers to put them up for a night or two or assist them in their plight.
The writer of Hebrews urges his readers to show hospitality to “these strangers”, to take care of them, because when you do, you might entertain angels.
That’s what happened in Genesis 18 when three strangers came to Sarah and Abraham. They prepared a meal for them, however the strangers turned out to be the Lord Himself and two of His angels.
One idea why we should have hospitality to strangers is because they are not merely people, they are men and women created in the image of God. When we serve them, we are serving the LORD. (Matthew 25:40)
We must love our church family, love strangers and we need to cherish those who suffer to be blessed with the gift of contentment…
We need to LOVE THOSE WHO SUFFER.
Hebrews 13:3 Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also.
During the writing of Hebrews, Christians were being imprisoned for their faith and that meant badly mistreated. As a result, other Christians would be fearful and stay away from their Christian brothers in prison lest they be thrown into prison too. Besides this, they had plenty of their own personal problems to handle without taking on someone else’s problems.
But God’s word encourages them to not forget about those who are in prison and are suffering. This passage teaches Christians to reach out to those who are being mistreated, because we are all a part of the same body, the body of Christ. Their pain is your pain. 1 Corinthians 12 verse 26 says, “If one member suffers, all suffer together”.
When a part of the body of Christ is in pain, the whole body suffers. We are reminded to reach out to those who are suffering, because when we do there is a reciprocal blessing, we are comforted as we comfort others. Consider this verse…
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
Have you ever experienced this phenomena as you care for a person who was suffering? We are seldom able to take the pain away, but to them our presence is a comfort. When you cared for others, do you remember the feeling of pleasure and joy afterward?
We can find the gift of contentment when we love our church family, love strangers; loving those who suffer; and …
We must LOVE OUR SPOUSE.
Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge.
Remain faithful to your mate. Direct your passions only to him or her.
When this passage says, let the marriage bed be held in honor and let it be undefiled it means sharing intimacy in the context of marriage is honorable and pure!
In the culture of the Romans, marriage was not upheld as God’s ideal, much like it is today.
A husband and wife relationship through marriage is God’s idea. 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. – Genesis 2:24
A marriage is not only honorable and God’s design. We should remain faithful to our mate so we have the blessing of contentment.
Why? Because pursuing love outside of your marriage does not bring contentment. It is like being a thief because you’re not content with what you have. The text is clear in verse 4: “God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” Hold on though, that warning also includes using pornography while in a marriage. The Greek word for “immoral” or “fornication” depending on the translation that you are using is (πόρνος pórnos). We get our word pornography from this Greek word. People that need pornography do not have an attitude of contentment.
Let me illustrate this with the life of Samson. Samson was a strong man dedicated to God. Yet, he led a restless life after entering into a relationship with Delilah. David, a man after God’s own heart and one of Israel’s greatest kings, lost out on his peace after entering a relationship with Bathsheba. And Solomon, the wisest man that ever lived, yet he was not content with all that God had given so he began multiplying his wives and concubines.
None of these examples lost their salvation, but their families and lives were scarred by immoral relationships and they lost out on the gift of contentment.
However, no matter how much has been ruined, no matter how strong the addiction, restoration is possible. Redemption is available, because Jesus died on the cross for ALL your sins, and He can deliver you from ANY sin.
What is needed to be done is to repent and admit you have sinned, turn from that sin to Christ, who will set you free as you continue to depend on Him. And as we are encouraged in this passage, enlist the help of others to help you overcome.
The Bible is very clear: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Literally, “He is faithful and just to loosen us from our sins and to purify us from all unrighteousness.” Christ will break the chains that bind you and clean you up on the inside if you just admit your sin to Him.
James 5:16 says, “Confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed.” Now, in the context of James, he is talking about healing from your struggle against sin in times of pain and suffering.
Here’s the good news! You don’t have to go it alone in your struggle. Instead, you can find healing as you admit your struggle to others and together plead with God for deliverance.
No matter how bad you’ve messed up, redemption is possible because Jesus died for your sins and rose again.
The believers in the book of Hebrews are told that satisfaction is not found in another woman or another man. It is found in remaining faithful to the mate you already have. So if you want to be blessed with gift of contentment, love your church family, love strangers; love those who suffer; love your spouse. And most of all…
We must LOVE our Savior and LORD JESUS CHRIST.
Hebrews 13:5-6 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” 6 So we may boldly say: “The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”
Covetousness is really idolatry and the opposite of contentment. Believers are told that through love for the LORD and His people we will overcome. Through love for our Savior, we will find peace in the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and (all your needs) will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33).
In times of hardship or temptation, it’s normal to be tempted to think that money is the answer, that money will solve your problems and satisfy your needs. Money might help, but seldom will money solve the problem. And there is a saying that more money you make the more miserable you’ll be, because to get more means we are not already content with what we already have.
Money is not the answer, the answer for contentment is loving the Lord and loving people and we’ll never be in need.
30 And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. 31 And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:30-31
Every believer must find contentment in Jesus, because no matter what, He will never leave you, and He is always there to help you. Here is a reminder of an earlier passage that was written to the believers.
Hebrews 4 15-16, “We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need”
If you want to be blessed with the gift of contentment, love your church family, love strangers; love those who suffer; love your spouse; and above all, love the Savior, Jesus Christ.
I close with what the apostle Paul, who was a great man of faithful contentment wrote: I Timothy 6:6-16
6 Now godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 11 But you, as a person dedicated to God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, 14 that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, 15 which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.