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One of the key passages in the New Testament on contentment is Philippians 4:11-13.  The Greek word used by Paul for contentment in verse 4 is autarkes. In the middle voice, this word means, “to be satisfied, to be contented with” (Vine, I, 234).  In I Tim. 6:6, Paul’s famous formula for success, “godliness with contentment is great gain” the word for contentment is autarkeia and means, “satisfaction with what one has found, contentment.”
What is contentment? Contentment is “tranquility of spirit that finds complete satisfaction in God’s grace.”  Jeremiah Burroughs defines contentment as “that sweet, inward, quiet, gracious frame of spirit, which freely submits to and delights in God’s wise and fatherly disposal in every condition” (quoted by William Barcley in The Secret of Contementment, 34).  In short, contentment is being completely satisfied with God’s sufficiency.  The apostle Paul knew that the circumstances of his life were in God’s hands.  God’s Providential care would not fail Paul.  Paul learned the secret of contentment was to trust God’s provisions, protection, presence and purposes for his life.
Discontentment is just the opposite. Discontentment is not being satisifed with what God provides.  Discontentment leads to murmuring.  Murmuring is a sign of unbelief.  This is illustrated by the conduct of the children of Israel during the wildnerness wanderings.  In Numbers 11:5-6, Moses records their words of complaint, “We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick; But now our soul is dried away: there is nothing at all, besides this manna, before our eyes.”  Manna in the morning,  manna for lunch, manner for supper, manna, manna, manna, they were sick and tired of manna.  However, manna was God’s provision for sustaining their lives!  They were not content with what God supplied.  Their murmuring betrayed the discontent that revealed their unbelief.  They did not trust God to take care of them.
Why did they do this? Numbers 11:4, they fell a lusting!  The lusts of the flesh caused them to loath the provisions God made for their lives.  Manna was a blessing from God miraculously provided by Him to sustain their lives every day for forty years!  They could not receive it with gratitude because of the lusts of their hearts.  We will not experience contentment until we slay the lusts of the flesh.  We must put to death the old man of sin and stop serving sin (Romans 6:6).  We must stop living to fulfill the lusts of the flesh and start living to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives.
Contentment results when faith conquers the flesh.  Paul wrote, “the just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17).  Sometimes Paul had everything he needed and sometimes he was in want.  Paul had learned that whatever state he was in-therewith to be content.  Paul accepted by faith God’s provisions for his life.  Paul never murmured against God!  Absolute faith in God motivated him to write,”I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”  This is a statement of faith that demonstrates that Paul had conquered the flesh.  Faith conquers the flesh by refusing to serve sin and rather focuses on serving God.  Faith praises God for His providential care.  Trust produces gratitude for God’s grace.  God’s grace is sufficient for us.  We can be satisfied with God’s sufficiency!  At this point, we have discovered contentment.

Every person faces temptation.  How do we win over temptation?  James writes, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”  There is a blessing for enduring (holding up under and not yielding to) temptation.  Faithfulness to God means meeting temptation on a regular basis and triumphing over it.  A key part of faithfulness to God is love.
Every time we sin, we violate the law of love.  How does love play an empowering role in overcoming temptation?  The law of love applies to: (1) ourselves, (2) our neighbors; and (3) our God.
Love of Self and Overcoming Temptation.
Sin is always destructive and will bring us to damnation before God.  In Matt. 22:36-39, Jesus mentions that we are to love our neighbor as ourselves.  What does it mean to love yourself?  There is a bad aspect and a good aspect to this concept.  Inappropriate love for self manifests itself in selfishness (just the opposite of love).  Inordinate love for self may involve us in indulgence of the lusts of the flesh.  We lust more and sin more!  An appropriate love for self recognizes our self-worth before God as our creator and redeemer.  Love for self actually involves self-denial.  We make decisions that will preserve spiritual status with God.  We nourish our souls as we would our own bodies.  We will not choose self-destructive behaviors that harm the soul.  Consequently, we love more and sin less.
Love of Neighbor and Overcoming Temptation.
What does it mean to love our neighbor?  Love means that we will seek the highest good of others.  Love is undefeatable, benevolent, goodwill.  Love seeks to do no harm to our neighbor.  Many of the commands of God reflect love for neighbor.  Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not bear false witness are commands that set boundaries that recognize love for neighbor.  Many sins have the consequence of hurting or injuring our neighbor by trespassing against him/her.  Love provides a restraint from harming our neighbor.  Instead, we will do good to him.
Love of God and Overcoming Temptation.
The first and great commandment is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul and mind (Matt. 22:36-39).  When we sin against self or others, we sin against God.  In Acts 5:1-11, Ananias and Sapphira conspired together to lie to the apostles, the church and to God.  Their sin (a lie) was self-destructive, harmful to the church, and an affront to God.  In I Cor. 6:18, Paul mentions that sin of fornication and specifically states that fornication is a sin against one’s own body.  However, it also is a trespass against another person and a sin against God.  Sin is an injury to God–an offense and a trespass.  It violates the law of love for God!  If we truly love God, we will not sin against Him.
Appropriate love for self, love for neighbor and supreme love for God are powerful deterrents to sin.  Love is a force that enables us to endure temptation, refrain from sinning and receive the crown of life.  Why not love more and sin less?