[Most often I preach from a manuscript, but occasionally I preach from an outline. Here is the outline for this sermon with the sources I used.]

804. Contentment Oliver Wendell Holmes (excerpted)

LITTLE I ask; my wants are few; 
  I only wish a hut of stone 
(A very plain brown stone will do) 
  That I may call my own;— 
And close at hand is such a one,        
In yonder street that fronts the sun. 

Plain food is quite enough for me; 
  Three courses are as good as ten;— 
If Nature can subsist on three, 
  Thank Heaven for three. Amen!        
I always thought cold victual nice;— 
My choice would be vanilla-ice. 

I care not much for gold or land;— 
  Give me a mortgage here and there,— 
Some good bank-stock, some note of hand,          
  Or trifling railroad share,— 
I only ask that Fortune send 
A little more than I shall spend. 

Honors are silly toys, I know, 
  And titles are but empty names;          
I would, perhaps, be Plenipo,— 
  But only near St. James; 
I’m very sure I should not care 
To fill our Gubernator’s chair. 

Jewels are baubles; ’tis a sin          
  To care for such unfruitful things;— 
One good-sized diamond in a pin,— 
  Some, not so large, in rings,— 
A ruby, and a pearl, or so, 
Will do for me;—I laugh at show.          

   ……

I would not have the horse I drive 
  So fast that folks must stop and stare; 
An easy gait—two forty-five— 
  Suits me; I do not care;—        
Perhaps, for just a single spurt, 
Some seconds less would do no hurt. 

Of pictures, I should like to own 
  Titians and Raphaels three or four,— 
I love so much their style and tone,         
  One Turner, and no more  …..

The poem is really a commentary on contentment, or rather desire, which erodes contentment.

Contentment is elusive…

Many websites, self help books, herbal products, 30 day plans, retreats, promise to give you contentment for low introductory price of three easy payments plus shipping and handling…

What is contentment…

Definition: Greek word is autarkas and that word means to be entirely self-sufficient

Stoics vs Christians

Contentment:

·       Do we know it when we experience it?

·       Is it always fleeting?

·       If not, how do we get it to stay?

Lectionary text: Paul letter wrapping up letter to Timothy—summing up what is important

Godliness and contentment

Elsewhere Paul says:

"For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content."—Philippians 4:11.
Misconceptions:  Often think contentment is achieving certain level of achievement, stuff, creature comforts or at least the basics

Paul tells us is a state of mind. Can find contentment anywhere even in roman jail awaiting execution.

Why is it valuable? Why so important that Paul includes it in his final words? Why is it a Christian value?

Counterpoint:

If achieve contentment we become lazy, a slug, not caring about world

Henry Ward Beecher's comment: "We are not to make the ideas of contentment and aspiration quarrel, for God made them fast friends. A man may aspire, and yet be quite content until it is time to raise; and both flying and resting are parts of one contentment."

Does not mean apathy.

We need contentment to truly respond to world--- because we then come from foundation of love, wholeness, peacefulness, centered, lack of interior agenda

Contentment is true wealth, beliefnet.org

“No one here is suggesting total complacence and indifference. Yes, the world has plenty of problems, and there's no denying it. I believe it is incumbent upon us, each of us and all of us, to participate, help as we can, and have a healthy concern about making it a better place. Still, cultivating objective detachment helps leave room -- time, space and clarity -- to see what actually is, in reality -- thus cultivating the wisdom of allowing -- before reacting and entering the fray, leaving room for the arising of intelligent, considered response rather than mere habitual knee-jerk reactivity.”

Contentment is not always where we imagine it to be

Study of nursing homes vs assisted living

Contentment not about how nice a place, how many amenities etc

Tied to relationships, health, and how involved in process

Finding the Right Home — and Contentment, Too, Paula Span, New York Times, August 6, 2010

“what variety of facility an older person lives in may matter less than we’ve assumed. And that the characteristics adult children look for when they begin the search aren’t necessarily what makes a difference to the people who move in…I’m not talking about quality of care, let me hastily add. Nobody flourishes in a dismal environment with negligent staff and a lousy safety record. But an accumulating body of research indicates that some distinctions between one type of elder care and another have little real bearing on how well residents do.

“It’s the characteristics of the specific environment they’re in, combined with their own personal characteristics — how healthy they feel they are, their age and marital status,” Dr. Robison explained. Whether residents felt involved in the decision to move and how long they’d lived there also proved significant.

“the five-star rating system that Medicare developed in 2008 to help families compare nursing home quality also has little relationship to how satisfied its residents or their family members are.

“Families can look a bit more for where residents are going to be happy,” Dr. Sloane said. And involving the future resident in the process can be very important.

We all have our own ideas about what would bring our parents happiness. They have their ideas, too.

“A friend recently took her mother to visit an expensive assisted living/nursing home near my town. I’ve seen this place — it’s elegant, inside and out. But nobody greeted the daughter and mother when they arrived, though the visit had been planned; nobody introduced them to other residents. When they had lunch in the dining room, they sat alone at a table. The daughter feared her mother would be invisible there, and she decided to move her into a more welcoming facility. Based on what’s emerging from some of this research, that might have been as rational a way as any to reach a decision.”

Finding Contentment does mean giving something up:

·       Accept as things are—Serenity prayer

·       Things are good enough

·       Perfectionism is an idol we worship: our lives will never be perfect

Seek good in all

Give up complaining, stop seeing self as the center of the world

A Complaint Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted, Will Bowen challenges his readers to go 21 days straight with no complaining whatsoever. He recommends wearing a rubber wristband; when you slip up and find yourself complaining, you switch the band to the other wrist and start the 21 days again.

Gratitude and generosity—opening hands vs closed

The Collision of Contentment and Generosity, Joshua Becker on September 7, 2010, becomingminimalist.com

Gratitude for what one has in their life is a critical part of contentment. Without gratitude, contentment will always be elusive. The results of the first major study on the efficacy of gratitude for cultivating contentment and happiness is presented in a recent book, Thanks! How Practicing Gratitude Can Make You Happier, by Robert A. Emmons.

Steps we can take to make room for/find contentment

1. Give thanks—gratitude

2. trust in God’s presence

3. learn to be satisfied with little

4. learn to live above life’s circumstances

It involves noticing how much good is in your life. It involves letting go of craving for things to be different than they are. that there can be a peace, a stability in us, a sense of contentment and joy that's not related to all the things that are carrying us up and down in life.

5. learn to rely on God’s power working within you

6. become preoccupied with the wellbeing of others

Contentment and Thanksgiving, John MacArthur, Pulpit Magazine, November 22nd, 2007

“If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.” – Cicero

"The way for a man to be contented is not by raising his estate higher, but by bringing his heart lower." Thomas Watson, English Puritan preacher 17c

"He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have."  Socrates

"Everything had its wonder, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein, to be content." Helen Keller