I CAN'T GET NO SATISFACTION

Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content 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 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

This verse has been sitting in me – maybe because I have come to the end of a season of abundant discontent, and because I am very aware that it was a God season, a breaking up of dry ground, deeply cracked and baked hard, unable to either receive new seed or allow what has germinated to push forth.

This is the verse people will quote when they see you get a little too agitated by life and they want to tell you to, Don’t worry, be happy. It’s what passive people sometimes say in place of, You are not the Captain of your ship. It’s what panicked people tell themselves when the winds of change grip them and lift them from the ground into a tree five miles away. It’s what we tell ourselves when we have to endure, or we want to avoid doing hard things. You don’t like your job? Be glad you have one. You don’t have enough money? You just need an attitude of gratitude. You don’t prefer being disrespected and abused? You need to learn to be content in any and ALL circumstances. Bloom where you’re planted. Count your blessings. Think about the positives. Look on the bright side. Learn to be satisfied with what you’ve got.

But I do not believe that is what content means – at least not here, in this verse, in the Greek. Paul was, after all, perhaps one of the most agitated, least contented people in the New Testament. Paul was on the move and never satisfied. Paul was driven, hungry, looking for opportunities, pushing himself and others to the limits, wind-tossed and ship wrecked, but committed to a purpose that was neither bolstered nor hindered by any physical circumstance.

The greek word for content in this verse is autarkes. It comes from a combination of the words autos (self) and arkeo (sufficient), and means exactly what it sounds like – self-sufficient, contented, sufficient, independent. Sufficient for oneself, strong enough or possessing enough to need no aid or support; independent of external circumstances. (Strong’s)

It does not mean relax, chill, get over yourself, learn to put up with it, make the most of your situation, why can’t you ever just be satisfied.

I don’t believe that God means for us to be content in the way that we desire to be content. Nothing in Scripture says white picket fence, money in the bank, a few neuro-typical kids and a pre-trained, non-pooping puppy. You can look for it – and I have – but it’s just not there. The earth that God created exists by dying and raising, setting and rising, burying and uprooting, spinning, shifting, moving, changing. This world is never the same one day to the next – it is in a constant state of rotation, rot and renewal. Last night’s manna will mould before dawn. Yellow weeds grow inches and bloom overnight. The sky changes by the hour. Even mercies come to us new every morning. What is rigid is subject to erosion and breakage. What is fluid is subject to evaporation and absorption. Whatever grows will increase and diminish. Our bodies, hearts, spirits and minds were made to be in motion – to remain in one spot is to die. When is there ever time to be satisfied?

To be completely honest, people who are chronically content annoy me. There is nothing less interesting or less inspirational to me than a person who doesn’t ever get upset, who doesn’t change, who doesn’t get stirred up or isn’t moved by anything, who is never affected by the railing of the wind and who goes to bed on a thorn bush murmuring, Isn’t this a lovely purple. Dull. Boring. Zzzzzz.

But you know who really interests me? MacGyver. If MacGyver had a Bible verse framed on his wall, I think it would be Philippians 4:11. MacGyver was self-sufficient. MacGyver was Mister Dress-up for adults – the whole world was his Tickle-Trunk, but instead of playing dress-up he was finding a way to save the day with a fork, an old boot and a roll of toilet paper. Whatever he had in his hands to use, he used it. In any and every circumstance, he had learned to be content because he had learned that everything he could ever need was at his disposal – although he was always required to use his brain, be creative and look around a bit.

You know who else does this? Jason Bourne. Love him.

Being content in this context is not about being satisfied – it is about being on a mission, committed to a purpose, and refusing to allow abundance or want, handy or just-out-of-reach, pleasure or pain, to determine your cause of action. Being content is about knowing that you - YOU - can do hard things, you can do painful things, you can do uncomfortable things, you can do frightening things – and in any and all circumstances, My Grace is sufficient for all your needs.

Just like in this video: