Learning to Be Content —Our Greatest Financial Skill

What if someone were to offer you a life principle that could immediately increase your fulfillment spiritually, financially, and emotionally—really in every area of life? Of course, you’d want to know what it is. The apostle Paul gives us exactly that kind of principle in Philippians when he writes, “I have learned to be content.” He did not say that contentment came automatically with his new nature when he accepted Christ; rather, he said he learned to be content.

That one word matters. Paul doesn’t say contentment came naturally or arrived once his circumstances improved. He learned it while being brought low and while abounding. Contentment, then, isn’t tied to income, comfort, or stability. It’s tied to trust.

That’s where contentment becomes a stewardship issue. Discontentment quietly questions God—His wisdom, His timing, or His plan. When life squeezes us, it doesn’t create something new; it reveals what we already believe about God. Do we see ourselves as victims of our circumstances or recipients of His providence? Pressure has a way of exposing our theology and what we really believe about Him.

This is especially challenging for high-capacity, driven people. Ambition can be a gift, but it can also become a substitute for resting in God. Many of us assume the next promotion, the next credential, or the next milestone will finally bring peace. It rarely does. Contentment isn’t achieved; it’s learned. And it’s learned by trusting God rather than trusting our next accomplishment.

Biblical contentment is not resignation. It’s confidence—confidence that God is good, that He is wise, and that He is at work even when we don’t understand the path. When doors close, contentment allows us to say, “God must have something better,” not because life turned out as planned, but because God’s plans are better than ours.

Paul learned contentment. And by God’s grace, we can grow in it—because contentment may be the greatest financial skill a Christ-follower can develop.

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Steve Crawley, PhD

BMA Financial

Executive Director