In my extensively researched opinion, one of the worst places a person can go out to eat is at a Chinese buffet. It is not that I have an aversion to egg rolls and wantons. Quite the opposite actually. I love egg rolls and wantons, almost as much as I love Chow Mein and friend rice, but not nearly as much as I love Kung Pao Chicken and Beijing Beef. I love Chinese food and I am not ashamed to eat it. And I mean eat it. And that is the problem. When you combine my love for Chinese food with my penny-pinching personality a Chinese buffet is a dangerous place to be. You see, I consider the “all you can eat” sing on the buffet to be a personal challenge. When I eat at a Chinese buffet, I don’t bother with those dainty chop stick things. I grab me a fork and a spoon and start shoveling. It doesn’t take long before the free space at my table is stacked with empty plates. When I am at a Chinese buffet the waitstaff have to rush to keep pace and as they frantically refill buffet trays the owner sweats nervously in the corner. Children start to point and stare at me, men passing by give me a nod of encouragement, and women look away from me in horror and disgust. Eventually, upon the insistence of my wife (or the restaurant owner) it is time to leave. And that is when it happens. The egg rolls begin to expand in my stomach, the Chow Mein refuses to be digested, the Kung Pao starts to fight back, and I feel horrible.
Every time I eat at a Chinese buffet, I end up feeling horrible. But what makes a Chinese buffet one of the worst places to eat is, no matter how much you stuff yourself full of Chinese food, even if you waddle out of the restaurant like a walrus leaving clam island, 30 minutes after you get done eating Chinese food you are hungry again. I don’t know if this is true for y’all or if it is just me, but it seems no matter how much I eat, Chinese food just doesn’t seem to satisfy me for very long.
Glutenous gastrointestinal distress aside, there is a lesson we can learn from the unsatisfying nature of Chinese food. It is a lesson in contentment. I think we are tempted to find contentment by stuffing our lives with a bunch of stuff. We call them knickknacks, collectables, and sentimental items because that sounds better than “junk our closets are crammed full of”. Sometimes we even become so stuffed with stuff that we need to rent a storage unit; at least that is what we like to call it. “Storage unit” sounds so much better than “hoarder’s hole”. We tend to stuff our lives with stuff, but stuff, like Chinese food, doesn’t satisfy you for very long.
Saint Paul is a man who knows a thing or two about being satisfied. He told the Christians in Philippi, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” Saint Paul knows what it takes to be satisfied, or as he says here content. Today in his letter to Timothy saint Paul shares that secret with us. In verse 6 Paul writes, “6 godliness with contentment is great gain” and as I look at the verses that follow, I see five things we need to be aware of if we want to be content.
The first is found in verse seven. There Paul reminds us, “7 we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.” The first thing we need to be aware of in order to be content is that that old saying, “you can’t take it with you” is true. For some reason we tend to feel more safe and secure when we are surrounded by stuff. For some people there is nothing like the feeling of having a fully funded emergency fund or maxing out your Roth IRA investment. For others it is successful Costco run that stocks the pantry with canned good and other nonperishables. For still others it is a closet full of clothes, a rack full of shoes, and hanger loaded with accessories. Somehow, we convince ourselves the more stuff we have the more safe and secure we will be, but God’s simple truth is still the truth. You can’t take it with you. A great example of this truth is John D. Rockefeller. Rockefeller’s life was stuffed full of more stuff than anyone alive. Rockefeller was once asked how much stuff it takes to make a man happy, he said, “Just a little bit more.” On May 23rd, 1937, after years of accumulating stuff, Rockefeller died. And do you know how much John D. Rockefeller left behind when he died? “All of it.” The first thing we need to be aware of in order to be content is stuff is temporary.
The second thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is there is a difference between stuff you need and stuff you want. In verse 8 Paul writes, “8 if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” Here Paul boils down our needs into two basic categories, food and clothing. I recently read about a simple-living Quaker who was watching his new neighbor move in, with all of the furnishings and expensive “toys” that “successful people” collect. After seeing a few truckloads of stuff being unloaded, the Quaker finally went over to his new neighbor and said, “Neighbor, if ever thou dost need anything, come to see me, and I will tell thee how to get along without it.” Do you realize that the things we think of as needs – like cable TV, microwaves, one car for each driver, a cell phone, going out to eat several times a week, air-conditioning, airplane trips, cruises and so much more… were considered outlandish luxuries two generations ago? Maybe we should take a step back, take a good hard look at all our stuff and distinguish between wants and needs. I think when we do we will see we have everything we need and more than we should want. The second thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is there is a difference between stuff you need and stuff you want.
The third thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is how to keep our priorities straight. In verses 9-10 Paul writes, “9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” First, let me start off by saying it is o.k. to be rich. The bible is full of rich people. Abraham the old patriarch was filthy rich as was Solomon, Joseph of Arimathea, Lydia, and many others. It’s not wrong to be rich and that’s a good thing because y’all are rich and so am I. Did you know that if you make more than $1,500 a year, you are richer than 75% of the world’s 6+ billion people? Let me say it again. If you make more than $1,500 a year (that’s less than $30 per week), you are richer than 75% of the world’s 6+ billion people? According to those numbers, any kid with a job at McDonalds is rich. It is not wrong to be rich. That is not what Paul is saying here.
Having a lot of stuff is not wrong, it is how you prioritize that stuff that matters. Paul warns about a wanting of stuff, a loving of stuff, an eagerness for stuff. Having stuff is not the problem, it is what you are willing to do, what you are willing to sacrifice, it’s the compromises you are willing to make to get that stuff that throws your priorities out of whack. An extreme example of how stuff can screw up your priorities is Judas. Judas wanted, loved, was eager for stuff, 30 pieces of silver to be exact. He so wanted, loved, and was eager for it that he was willing to betray his savior to get it. Stuff has a way of screwing with your priorities. If it happened to Judas it can happen to you. Beware of stuff’s ability to make itself your top priority! The third thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is stuff is just stuff.
O.K. so we are over halfway through the list. We have almost learned Paul’s secret to being content. Just two more things to be aware of and in some ways, they are the most important things to be aware of. The fourth thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is that when it comes to our stuff there is a regular need for repentance. In verse 11 Paul writes, “11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.” Paul invites us to confess that we are guilty of trying to stuff ourselves with stuff. We forget that we can’t take it with us, we confuse the difference between a want and a need, and our love for stuff has resulted in screwed up priorities. We have allowed our stuff to stain us with sin and as long as we are stained with sin, we will never be content. That is why Paul tells us to “flee” and “pursue”.
“Flee” is a great way to describe repentance. Typically, we use a word like “confess”. When I hear the word “confess” I envision myself with my head bowed as I beg for mercy. But when I hear the word “flee” I envision myself running for my life with some sort of vicious predator chasing after me. In this context, the vicious predator chasing after me is my stuff –- or rather the temptation to use my stuff in a sinful way. Paul warns us to run away from the temptations associated with stuff; run away from it like we are running away from a vicious predator. Likewise, I appreciate the use of the word “pursue” to describe repentance. Typically, we use a word like “follow”. When I hear the word “follow” I imagine myself walking in a line behind Jesus as He teaches us about “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness”. But when I hear the word “pursue” I envision myself frantically chasing after Jesus in order to catch up to Him and grab hold of Him. Saint Paul tells us when it comes to our stuff we must flee from sin and pursue our savior. The fourth thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is regular repentance is needed.
The fifth and final thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is that which is eternal. In verse 12 Paul writes, “12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.” The problem with stuff is, it is a lot like Chinese food. At first stuff is good, it brings pleasure and enjoyment and that is what stuff is supposed to do. That is why God gives us stuff. God wants our stuff to bring us pleasure and enjoyment. But stuff has its limitations. Stuff can only bring you pleasure and enjoyment for a limited time. Eventually stuff, all stuff fails to satisfy. It fails to satisfy because it doesn’t last. That is why contentment can never be found in stuff. Contentment can only be found in something that last. The only thing that lasts is that which God gives. It is a gift that He purchased with the life of His Son Who used stuff, enjoyed stuff, took pleasure in stuff but never allowed that stuff to lead Him into sin. It is a gift that He is able to give to you because that Son sacrificed His life in payment for the times that we have let our stuff lead us into sin. It is a gift that has no expiration date. It is the gift of life, eternal life with Him in heaven. As long as by faith you take hold of this gift, regardless of how much stuff you do or do not have, you will be content. The fifth and final thing we need to be aware of if we want to be content is that which is eternal.
So, there you have it, Paul’s secret to being content in any and every situation. Be aware that stuff is temporary, there is a difference between stuff you need and stuff you want, There is a powerful temptation to make stuff your top priority, regular repentance of our sinful use of stuff is required, and finally, the only gift that can satisfy our soul is the gift of eternal life that God gives. Be aware of these five things and you will be content. Amen