Text:

CONTENTMENT.

BY REV. JOHN WOODS, D. D.,

Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Ludington.

"I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." Phil. 4:11.

Contentment is that disposition of mind in which our desires are confined to the things which we possess and enjoy, without complaining at our lot, or impatiently wishing that it were different from what it is. Contentment is the opposite of envy, of pride, of covetousness, and of undue anxiety. It does not imply indifference or unconcern in regard to temporal things. It does not forbid the use of lawful means to improve our circumstances. But it does imply moderation in our desires, and a disposition to make the best of our present condition, whatever that may be.

You will see from this definition that true contentment is not stoical apathy, nor sullen submission. It rests upon no such miserable maxims as "what is to be will be," or that "what can't be helped must be en

* Dr. John Woods was born in Hamilton, Ohio; graduated at Miami University; studied theology at Allegheny and at Princeton; was chaplain of the 35th Reg't Ohio Volunteers, and afterwards pastor of churches at Urbana and Bloomingburg, Ohio, Chicago, Ill., Fort Wayne, Ind., and St. Paul, Minn. For the last five years he has been pastor of the First Presbyterian church at Ludington. The degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Miami University in 1889.

dured;" but it has for its basis a firm belief in the providence of God and a sincere religious truth. It is distinctly a Christian virtue. The supreme virtue of the Stoic was resignation. Accepting a doctrine of fatalism, he submitted to the inevitable. The supreme virtue of a Christian is trust, acquiescence in the will of God and in the orderings of Providence. Hence it is a virtue that can be acquired. Notice Paul says, "I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content." It seems to be implied that contentment was not his natural disposition. He had learned it partly in the school of Christ and partly by experience. It was one of those lessons which he had learned at the feet of the Master, and which long years of toil and suffering had deepened and confirmed. Saul the Pharisee, proud, ambitious, restless, indefatigable, intellectually alert, was not likely to possess a contented mind. Paul the Apostle, the Christian missionary, the martyr, consecrating soul, spirit and body to the service of Jesus Christ, had learned the secret of content, and amid all his trials and persecutions enjoyed a constant peace and tranquility, such as he had never known before. "I have learned in whatsoever state I am, to recognize it as God's will for me" he would say "and to acquiesce in the dispositions of Providence. I have learned to be content. I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. In every circumstance and in every event I have been initiated, [for such is the meaning of the word; Paul had taken all the degrees in this order of Masonry; he had learned the whole secret ;] in everything and in all things I am initiated, I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry; both to abound and to be in want."

Now, what Paul had learned in the school of experience and at the feet of the great teacher, we may all learn in the same way if we set ourselves resolutely

down to the task. It may not be an easy lesson, but once mastered it will be worth to us far more than its cost. To learn contentment is to solve the problem of happiness, for contentment is happiness; it is another name for the same thing. To be contented is to be happy. When the apostle says, "I have learned how to be content under all circumstances," he means to say, "I have learned how to be happy; I have discovered the secret of true peace." How then shall we learn contentment? What are the motives to persuade us to exercise this grace?

First of all, is an habitual recognition of a divine providence. There can be no contentedness of mind without trust, and trust implies belief in a personal God and an overruling providence. We should accustom our minds, therefore, to revert often to this fundamental conviction, and form the habit of referring all events to him who is the sovereign ruler of the world, the almighty disposer of all events. The religious man is one whose watchword is God. He realizes his dependence upon a higher power, and takes God into his plans, and feels that whatever comes there is a wisdom that is higher than man's, an intelligence that sees the end from the beginning, a love that aims at the highest good and a power that is able to execute all its designs. The Psalmist looks up and says, "O God, my times are in thy hand." That is true of us all. Our times are in God's hand, in every sense of the word. He alone has determined the period of the world in which we should live. Our circumstances and the direction of our lives are in God's hand. The changes and the vicissitudes of life are all in his hand. We are not the victims of a blind chance or an inexorable fate, but are encompassed on every side by the power, wisdom and love of God. "The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice."