The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment

This was not my first foray into the book, and I actually thought I might be wading in again too soon. An online book reading group I am in picked the book, and I figured, why not? So turning to the book expecting a refresher on not grumbling and gritting your teeth and accepting your lot, I had apparently forgotten more than I realized. It is amazing what the impact your age and current lot in life can have and Burroughs surprised me.

His argument comes out strong that contentment is not resignation, not a personality trait, and not something you drift into. It is a skill, a mystery, something Paul says he had to learn. And Burroughs is just as interested in diagnosing the disease as he is in prescribing the cure: nearly half the book is given over to the sin of murmuring, which he treats as far more serious than we typically admit. The whole book made me realize how casually I complain, and how much of my restlessness comes from looking at my circumstances instead of looking at God.

Jeremiah Burroughs was a Puritan pastor who preached at Stepney and Cripplegate in London (two of the largest congregations in England) and served as a member of the Westminster Assembly. He was known for his peaceable spirit, and Richard Baxter said that if all the Independents had been like Burroughs, the divisions of the Church would soon have been healed. This book is a series of sermons on Philippians 4:11, published after Burroughs' death in 1646. Do not let the date put you off. The writing is remarkably clear, and Burroughs has a gift for illustrations that stick with you long after you close the book.

The structure is straightforward. The first half defines contentment, explains why Burroughs calls it a "mystery," shows how Christ teaches it, and lays out its excellence. The second half turns the mirror around: the evils of murmuring, the aggravations that make it worse, the excuses a discontented heart makes for itself, and practical directions for how to grow in contentment.

Key Lessons

1. Contentment is a Learned Skill, Not a Personality Trait

Paul says he learned to be content. Burroughs leans hard on that word. Some people are naturally easygoing, but that is not what Paul is talking about. Contentment is a grace taught by Christ over time. This means your present discontentment is not a permanent condition; it is a lesson you have not yet finished learning.

2. Contentment Comes by Subtraction, Not Addition

This is probably the most memorable idea in the book. We naturally assume we will be content when our circumstances improve, when something gets added to our situation. Burroughs turns it around: the Christian comes to contentment not by getting more but by wanting less. Bring your desires down to your circumstances rather than always trying to raise your circumstances up to your desires. That simple inversion changes everything.

3. A Contented Heart Sees God Behind Every Condition

Burroughs teaches that the contented Christian looks past secondary causes (the economy, other people, illness) to the wise and fatherly hand of God behind all things. This does not mean pretending that hard things are easy. It means the believer can say, even in the valley, that the Lord is present and His purposes are good. God is the contented heart's chief comfort in good times and only comfort in bad times.

4. Murmuring is a Far Greater Sin Than We Think

Burroughs gives substantial space to the sin of murmuring, and he does not pull punches. He uses Israel's wilderness complaints as a recurring case study. Grumbling is not a minor vice. It questions God's wisdom, doubts His goodness, and amounts to rebellion against His rule. We are quicker to excuse complaining in ourselves than almost any other sin, precisely because the world around us treats it as normal.

5. The Discontented Heart Has an Arsenal of Excuses

Burroughs catalogues the excuses a murmuring heart reaches for: "My situation is unusually hard," "Anyone would struggle with this," "I am not complaining, I am just being honest." He takes each one apart. The most convicting point is his insistence that even if your affliction is great, you deserve far worse, and what God is presently giving you is far greater than what He is presently withholding.

Ultimately, discontent can ruin the very thing you wanted. Burroughs points to Rachel, who told Jacob, "Give me children or else I die" (Genesis 30:1). God gave her children, and she died in the bearing of them, just as she said. The point is plain: when we set our hearts too fiercely on something, we often receive it in a way that proves to be our heaviest cross.

6. Contentment Guards You Against Temptation

Burroughs makes a practical point that I had not considered before: the contented person is almost impossible to bribe. If you are satisfied with what God has given you, the world has very little leverage over you. He illustrates this with the old story of Marius Curio, sitting at home eating a plate of turnips when men arrived offering him rewards to betray his country. His answer was simple: the man who is content with a dish of turnips cannot be bought. Burroughs applies this directly to the Christian life. When we are not content, we are vulnerable to every kind of compromise.

The Shift in Perspective

Key Quotes