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One thing about Christians in Scripture (ideally speaking) \u2014 they learned to roll with the punches no matter what was going on. If the government opposed them, they went with it and continued to glorify God. If things were going smoothly, they enjoyed the peace and they kept glorifying God. If they were scattered from persecution, they spread the Gospel anyway. Their allegiance to the Lord was not dependent upon the circumstances they encountered. They did not quit teaching the Gospel due to threats, nor did they entertain stopping during peace. They knew they had a higher mission in the Kingdom of Christ and they were always encouraged to stay true to that. They prayed for those in charge so that, no matter what may come, they could \u201clead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way<\/em>\u201d (I Timothy 2:2).<\/p>\nThis mentality is captured well by Paul in this well-known passage:<\/p>\n
\u201cI rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me<\/em>\u201d (Philippians 4:10-13).<\/p><\/blockquote>\nIn need, Paul was content and did the Lord\u2019s will.
\nIn persecution and prison, Paul was content and did the Lord\u2019s will.
\nIn abundance, Paul was content and did the Lord\u2019s will.\n\u201cIn whatever situation I am \u2026 content<\/em>.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Let\u2019s not make the mistake of tying our faithfulness to God to the way we are being treated, to the way government operates, or to the economic circumstances we face, whether good or bad. Faithfulness transcends all situations, and how we respond will demonstrate whether or not we are content in the Lord in all circumstances.<\/p>\nIf we are complaining due to circumstances, we are not content.
\nIf we feel entitled, we are not content.
\nIf we think circumstances can keep us from glorifying God, we have not grasped the nature of biblical Christianity.\nLet us, then, be encouraged to think to the higher cause, the higher mission, and the higher message of the Gospel. Let us refocus ourselves to learn to be content in whatever situation we are in. Look to the things that are not seen, where Christ is, setting our minds on things above (see Colossians 3:1-5). May God help us to seek first His kingdom and righteousness. All else will fall into place when we do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer One thing about Christians in Scripture (ideally speaking) \u2014 they learned to roll with the punches no matter what was going on. If the government opposed them, they went with it and continued to glorify God. If things were going smoothly, they enjoyed the peace and they kept glorifying God. If they…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[385,182,188],"class_list":["post-22442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-contentment","tag-suffering","tag-trials"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25128,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-wait-to-teach-until-after-my-wife-is-converted-is-blogging-a-substitute-for-going-into-the-world-to-teach-the-gospel\/","url_meta":{"origin":22442,"position":0},"title":"Should I wait to teach until after my wife is converted? Is blogging a substitute for going into the world to teach the gospel?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 2, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thanks for all your scriptural answers to questions. They helped me a lot! My questions are: Is it wrong to wait for a while to teach (or preach) to other people while I'm still teaching my wife to become a Christian? I feel like a hypocrite to teach others\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22941,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/thank-you-for-a-web-site-that-pulls-no-punches\/","url_meta":{"origin":22442,"position":1},"title":"Thank you for a web site that pulls no punches","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 11, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Thank you for your boldness in creating a web site that pulls no punches. I have read \"How to Misunderstand the Bible\" and \"Sons of Thunder\" a great blessing to me. And please continue doing what you are doing Thank you! Answer: I appreciate the encouragement.","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55023,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-appeal-of-ketchersides-teachings\/","url_meta":{"origin":22442,"position":2},"title":"The Appeal of Ketcherside’s Teachings","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 7, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Herschel Patton via\u00a0Truth Magazine\u00a0- April 1974 We have been saddened lately by a few brethren, mostly among the young, abandoning strict adherence to a \"thus saith the Lord\" and casting their lot with liberal brethren, even to the extent of \"open fellowship\" with the denominations - as advocated by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19272,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-tell-the-essenes-not-to-eat-breakfast\/","url_meta":{"origin":22442,"position":3},"title":"Did Jesus tell the Essenes not to eat breakfast?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Is it true that Jesus told the Essenes not to eat breakfast? If so, why? Answer: I was puzzled by the nature of the question since the Essenes are not mentioned in the Bible, though some claim that the Zealots (of which one apostle was once a member) were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":64220,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-my-baptism-invalid-because-i-did-it-to-avoid-going-to-hell\/","url_meta":{"origin":22442,"position":4},"title":"Is my baptism invalid because I did it to avoid going to hell?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 22, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: When I got baptized, I was being baptized not necessarily wanting forgiveness but more about keeping myself from going to Hell. I was sincere in my commitment to God giving Him my life, but I was baptized out of fear of going to hell. This burdens my conscience every\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38923,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-missionary-work-scriptural\/","url_meta":{"origin":22442,"position":5},"title":"Is missionary work scriptural?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 12, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Mr. Hamilton, What is \"missionary work\" and is that scriptural? Does God call us to a particular occupation, such as God has \"called me\" to this career or that career? Is all this scripturally sound? Thank you. Answer: Missionary work has come to mean going to foreign countries to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22442\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}