Philippians 3:10-11: Contentment vs complacency
Sunday, I preached about the the secret of contentment, which is key to experiencing new and abundant life in the arena of our finances. As I prepared to preach, however, I could not escape the notion that it is easy for us to take contentment too far. That is, it is easy for us to go so far with Jesus, our job, our spouse, or our kids and then decide that we have gone far enough.
The word for this is complacency. Google defines this term to mean “showing smug or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one’s achievements,” and it is readily demonstrated in the childhood fable about the hare that raced the tortoise. The hare, of course, surged out to an early lead, but when he decided he had gone far enough that he could not be beat, he lay down and took a nap. When he awoke, the hare heard the cheers as the tortoise crossed the finish line before him.
The line between contentment and complacency in our faith is incredibly fine. It is alarmingly easy to settle for knowing about Jesus the things we hear from others and read in books. Yet, our goal as Christians must be to know Jesus by spending time and sharing experiences together. The question, therefore, is how we can avoid sliding from contentment into complacency. Fortunately, we can find some tips in Philippians 3:10-16.
We’re not there yet.
The first of these may be found in Philippians 3:10-11, where Paul wrote, “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.” In his words, we discover that the great apostle did not know everything there was to know about Jesus, had not fully experienced the power of his resurrection, did not really have the fellowship of his sufferings, was not yet fully conformed to Christ’s death, and sometimes doubted he would reach the resurrection.
All of this led the apostle to confess in verse 12, “Not that I have already reached the goal or am fully mature.” That is, he recognized he was not yet arrived at his goal of Christ-likeness, and if we are going to avoid complacency, we must first reach the same conclusion: we’re not there yet.
The importance of this recognition cannot be overstated. If we begin to think that we have arrived, we will be tempted to follow the example of the hare and take a nap, and in doing so, we will run the risk that we may never get to the finish line at all. Thus, if we are going to avoid complacency, we must embrace the reality that, this side of glory, there will always be room for improvement.
We must make every effort.
A second tip may be gleaned from verse 12. There, after his startling confession, the apostle continued, “But I make every effort to take hold of [Christian maturity] because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.” The language of this verse is full of references to racing. The word rendered “goal” refers to the finish line. “Mature” might also be understood as being in perfect shape. “Make every effort” paints the mental image of a runner straining with every bit of strength to reach the finish line.
Paul was fond of this language because his readers were generally familiar with the world of athletics. The Philippians, in particular, were only about 200 miles from the site of the Isthmian Games, a massive, annual sporting event that rivaled the Olympics in scope and fame. Thus, the Philippians were quite familiar with what it meant to make every effort. Competitors in the Isthmian Games observed a strict diet and a strenuous training regimen in the months prior to the race, and on race day, they would leave everything on the course.
Likewise, when it comes to reaching our goal of knowing Jesus and being conformed to his likeness, we must make every effort. Like the runner in the Isthmian Games or any other elite athlete, we must avoid complacency by doing absolutely everything in our power to know Jesus better. This means spending time in prayer, Bible study, and thanksgiving. It means going and making disciples, telling people about Jesus, so that he will be with us always. And it means keeping his commands by seeking and destroying any lurking disobedience in our lives. How do we do that? Paul offers three keys in the balance of the passage.
We must forget what’s behind.
In verses 13-14, after confessing that he had not yet reached his goal of Christ-likeness, Paul wrote, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus.” In this declaration, we find a key that is too often overlooked. Paul deliberately forgot what was behind, and we must do the same. We must forget what’s behind.
Obviously, the apostle could not selectively remove memories. Indeed, there are often important lessons to be gleaned from our pasts. Yet, the apostle’s point was to deliberately avoid focusing excessively upon such things, and the significance of this decision is revealed in one of the tips regularly drilled into me by my high school cross country and track coach: never look back. See, it is tempting for a runner to look back in order to see the competition, but coach explained that looking back for even a second caused our stride to shorten, slowing us down. Indeed, many runners have lost races because they were looking back instead of ahead.
Similarly, Charles Ryrie explains that Paul deliberately chose to forget what was past because remembering those things could cause one of two things. First, if we remember our sin, it will discourage us. Indeed, I have sat with parishioners who are paralyzed by overwhelming guilt and self-loathing over some sin they committed in the past, and I myself have heard the devil’s reminders of how unworthy I am to receive God’s love, grace, and power. In such cases, I often remember two Scripture passages. The first is Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 12:1-10: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” In context, it was an acknowledgment that Paul was indeed guilty and inadequate, but God’s grace atoned for Paul’s sin and overcame Paul’s shortcomings. The second passage I remember is Jesus’ words to the church at Philadelphia in Revelation 3:7-13: “I know your works. Look, I have placed before you an open door that no one can close because you have but little power; yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.” The Philadelphian church thought of themselves as faithful but weak, but Jesus saw them as weak but faithful. Moreover, it was precisely because of their past weakness that Christ now opened a door for ministry (read more about Jesus’ letter to the church of Philadelphia). Far from disqualifying us from serving the Lord, our past failures and weaknesses may be what has positioned us to do his work!
Conversely, if we remember our accomplishments and accolades, looking back may trick us into complacency. Remember, in the story of the tortoise and the hare, it was when the hare looked back and saw the lead he had established that he decided he could take a nap! So also, many saints look back on what they have done and what God has done through them, and even though they have not yet crossed the finish line, they think they must have done enough and no longer need to move ahead.
We must reach forward.
It is not, however, enough to avoid looking back. Notice in these same verses that the apostle also reached forward. Again, I hear the words of my high school coach ringing in my ears. Every day, he would beckon us to lean in and use our arms. It seemed counterintuitive because it is our legs that do the work when running, but he explained that leaning forward and using our arms created forward momentum that would pull us ahead and compel us to take that next step.
This is exactly what Paul was talking about. We must reach forward, always looking ahead and launching ourselves into the next step of our faith and mission. This means seeing what we must do or where we can improve, planning how we may realize such things, and then putting that plan into action so that we will inevitably claim that next step and take another.
We must pursue Jesus.
And what is that next step? Paul provided some hints in verses 14-16: “I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you. In any case, we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.” Three things jump out at me.
First, “the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus” is our ultimate objective. What is that prize? Remember his goal in verses 10-11: “My goal is to know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead.” It is easy to dismiss this goal as fanciful, and in fact, many believers do, resigning themselves to sinning daily in thought, word, and deed. Yet, the apostle’s words in Romans 8:29 suggest this was not fancy. There, Paul wrote, “For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” That is, Christ-likeness is achievable, and every step we take and every bit of energy we expend should be aimed toward making us more like Jesus. No, we will not be absolutely perfect until glory, but we can nevertheless keep moving closer in this life. Is there something that we are doing that does not conform to his image? Our next step should be to remove it. Is there some attribute of Christ that is not yet incorporated into us? Our next step should be to include it.
Second, he challenges every believer who does not share this unswerving commitment to pursue Christ-likeness. Indeed, there are believers who are content to sit on the couch or distracted by all sorts of other priorities. Perhaps they think the goal of their faith is prosperity on earth, a life of liesure in heaven, or any number of other things. They are wrong. Paul declares in no uncertain terms that truly mature believers will see as their first priority increasing in Christ-likeness because, the closer we are to Jesus, the more keenly aware we are of those areas where we fall short. In fact, John Wesley famously wrote that saints, upon reaching maturity, “may grow in grace far swifter than [they] did before” (source: A Plain Account of Christian Perfection by John Wesley).
Finally, the apostle insists that “we should live up to whatever truth we have attained.” Put another way, we must implement in our hearts, tongues, fingers, and feet what we already know of Christ’s character and command in our heads. It is not enough to know that we are supposed to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:16-20); we must go and make disciples. It is not enough to know that we are supposed to do unto others… (Matthew 7:12); we must do unto others. It is not enough to know that we are supposed to encourage and build up others; we must actually encourage and build up others. It is not enough to know that we are supposed to love; we must actually love. Indeed, if every saint simply lived up to whatever truth we have already attained, this world would be a radically different place.
If I were to summarize these three things, I would say simply that we must pursue Jesus with everything we have. Do what we know we are supposed to do. Keep pushing closer to Christ-likeness. Do not stop until we are standing in the presence of God and finally reach that prize of absolute Christ-likeness.
Going into the 2016 Summer Olympics, American Allyson Felix was a favorite to win the 400m dash with a world-leading time of 49.68 seconds. The first 300m of the race was led by Shaunae Miller of the Bahamas, but in the final stretch, Miller faded whil Felix charged. Just when the world thought Felix had clinched the gold medal, however, Miller lunged forward and dove across the finish line, and since the clock stops when the torso crosses the finish line, Miller won by .07 second. In an interview following the race, Miller said, “The only thing I was thinking (about) was the gold medal, and the next thing I know, I was on the ground.” Shaunae Miller was so committed to the pursuit of gold that she made absolutely every effort she could to reach it.
The differences between contentment and complacency are subtle but profound. As Christians, contentment is key to experiencing new and abundant life, but complacency must be avoided at all costs. This side of glory, we must always recognize that we are not there yet and make every effort to reach our goal. This means forgetting what is behind, both failures and successes, and reaching forward to pursue Jesus with everything we have.