What I Learned on My Summer Vacation (1999)
Tom Shrader returns from summer vacation to deliver a focused message on the spiritual problem of complaining and discontentment, drawing from Philippians 2:14 and 1 Timothy 6:6-8. He argues that grumbling is not merely a social irritant but a symptom of a deeper failure to trust God, and that true contentment flows from genuine godliness and a right relationship with Christ. The sermon closes with a reading from Mabel Williamson's 'Have We No Rights,' holding up Jesus as the model of one who laid aside all rights and calling believers to do the same.
“Godliness is actually a means of great gain when it's accompanied by contentment — if I'm truly concerned about the things of God, then contentment inevitably flows from that.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: What I Learned on My Summer Vacation
Recorded: 1999 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 44 min
Themes: contentment, complaining, gratitude, trust, discontentment, grumbling, surrender, rights, struggling with discontentment, chronic complainer, feeling entitled, navigating hardship, new believer, young adult, parent, anyone in a season of comparison
Scripture: Philippians 2:14-15, Philippians 4:11-13, 1 Timothy 6:6-8, 1 Timothy 6:17, Hebrews 13:5-6, James 3:14-16, James 4:1-2
Theological Themes: sanctification, becoming holy, kenosis, self-denial, imitation of christ, godliness, union with christ, biblical contentment
Full Transcript
Gratitude and Introduction
I want to express my thanks to Jim Harper, Walter Crutchfield, and Tim Maughan. It is such a treat for me to come back and to hear people say they were blown away by the depth of teaching and giftedness in the staff. Because I'm around these guys all week long, you get a little bit numb to it. But God has assembled here an awesome team of people, and you saw what those men are capable of in terms of teaching and the way that they minister and serve. So I want to publicly thank those three men in particular for the work that they did while we were gone.
Coming back from summer vacation demands that we present the annual, highly anticipated "What I Learned on My Summer Vacation" series. I've added only three lessons this year, but I've added pictures, because you always want to know. Many of you ask where we spend it — we spend our sixteenth or seventeenth summer in the same location, a place called the Sea Ranch, which is 114 miles north of San Francisco right on the coast. It's pretty isolated, and we spend some meaningful time up there. After that, I went to Spokane and then back to be with my parents, so it was a full time away.
Setting Up the Series
I've done this series four years now, and each one is very different. Some lessons come right out of scripture, some frequently out of magazines — in fact, I came across a quote from Gwyneth Paltrow that I want to build a lesson around next week. She inspired me. One year I just did general observations, and I think that was the least appreciated one. That was when I had a chance to just talk.
This year I'm going to do something a little different. I want to really emphasize one singular point. It came up over and over again, and it truly is a summary of so many different issues. If you're someone who regularly hears chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse teaching, that's not where we're headed today, although we will spend some time in scripture. I want to make one point, and I want to make it over and over again.
Here's the deal. I want you to listen and resist the temptation to think I'm talking to the person to your left or your right. This is one of those lessons where you'll want to get the tape and send it to somebody else who's supposed to hear it. But we're not doing that today. We're talking right now to you. This is entirely about you.
The Ubiquitous Characteristic
I'm going to talk about one singular characteristic that seems ubiquitous in nature. I'm going to put three three-digit numbers on the screen and see if they generate any reaction for you.
I anticipated, since we've been through so much of this — especially here at the church and in our other areas of ministry — that the media and the news would make a big deal of this. What I did not anticipate, and this is what I want to talk about, is all of the moaning, groaning, and complaining I heard this past week. I had to go back and do a little research to make sure I understood what was actually being asked. What they're demanding is simply that, in addition to your seven numbers, you add three more. That's it. They're not asking you to run a mile. They're not asking you to go outside. They're not asking you to take a lesson. And yet it is symptomatic of how pathetic a culture we've become.
Complaining and What Scripture Says
This leads me to Paul's writing in Philippians chapter 2, verse 14: "Do all things without grumbling." The New Living Translation puts it this way: "In everything you do, stay away from complaining."
One of the things that happens to me on vacation is that we are frequently around a lot of people we don't know, and there is almost an incessant amount of complaining. It's too hot. It's too cold. It's too wet. It's too dry. It's too fast. It's too slow. It's too loud. It's too quiet. To the non-believer, Paul essentially says, I expect that from you — I expect you to whine and moan and groan and complain. But to the Christian, he says, "In everything you do, stay away from complaining." Stop it. Knock it off. I don't want to hear any grumbling.
The word "grumbling" is an interesting word. It means murmuring — which seems to define itself — or, as I like one translation's phrasing, "an expression of discontent," muttering in a low voice. Paul says he doesn't want to hear any of it.
Why Complaining Damages Your Witness
There are two reasons, I think, that Paul begins to address this. The first is right there in the verse itself. Again from the New Living Translation — Philippians 2, verse 15: "So that no one can speak blame against you. You are to live clean and innocent lives as children of God in a dark world full of crooked and perverse people. Let your light shine brightly before them."
Here is what he is saying. When you are mumbling, grumbling, and complaining, you are damaging your witness. Complaining and grumbling is an ugly thing to see. And those who aren't Christians apparently hold a higher standard for your behavior than you hold for yourself. In a world where your light is meant to shine brightly, complaining extinguishes it.
Grumbling and Complaining
Grumbling and complaining is the norm — you are the exception. There are two very practical reasons to avoid this grumbling, and here is the second one: it is contagious. Secondhand smoke — I don't like it. But let me tell you something far worse than that: secondhand complaining.
Something that starts with one person, one comment, one observation — maybe even an accurate one, but one that everyone has missed until that point — gets made. And all of a sudden a whole constituency is built around that complaint, around that grumbling. I have no subtle message here. If I had a message for you, I wouldn't give it to you subtly — I would tell you what it is. I am talking about what happens in the workplace, what happens in the home, what happens in relationships, what happens in every social setting: there is a culture of grumbling and complaining.
Here is why this is so important. This complaining, at its core, is a symptom of a deep spiritual problem, and that problem is a failure to trust God — a failure to yield to Him. We live at a time of unprecedented prosperity. If there was ever a generation that should not complain, that should not be discontent, it has to be ours.
One author writes: "We live in a society that loves to complain. Ironically, the most indulged society the world has ever known, at least thus far, is also the most discontent. The more people have, the more discontent they are apt to be with what they have. And these types don't believe in suffering in silence. We seem to be breeding a generation of complainers."
Contentment as the Alternative
Rather than framing this in negative terms, let us look at it positively. What we are talking about is contentment. This is Webster's definition: to come to a point where one is not disturbed by desire, even though not every wish is gratified. In other words, I don't have everything I want — and yet the characteristic that ought to be present in our life is that we are satisfied.
I am a card-carrying member of the generation whose anthem was "I can't get no satisfaction." We built a whole culture around this. If you have been at East Valley Bible Church for any length of time, or in any of the Priority Living studies, aside from the personal salvation we find through Christ, perhaps this issue of contentment is the one I come back to most often. Because it is not a social issue — it is a spiritual issue.
Especially at this hour, with college and career over, in this service right now we have more younger people than in any of the other services. You have an extraordinary opportunity to free yourself from the worries and cares of this world so that you can serve God in a fuller way — if you will now decide to be content, to not fall into the trap.
Contentment Is Learned, Not Given
Why is contentment such a difficult issue? Here it is: it is not natural. Paul says, "I have learned to be content." I was talking with somebody not too long ago who said, "I wish I had the gift of contentment." It is not a gift. It is something that is learned.
Paul says he has learned the secret to life. Here is the apostle saying: I have learned to live with a lot, and I have learned to live with a little. Right after that he says, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." I want the secret to life — what is it, Paul? Contentment. I am satisfied. My condition is not driven by my circumstances. My condition is based on my relationship with the Lord.
Every time I talk about this, I have to offer a number of disclaimers, so let me tell you what we are not saying. I am not saying that you should be unconcerned about the things of life. What I am saying is that you should be deeply concerned about the things that are truly important. This is not a call to apathy. This is not a call to say, "Que sera, sera." It is a call that says: because we know the sovereign God of the universe, because we know that He has a purpose and that we have a plan and that we are part of it, contentment inevitably ought to flow in our life.
Godliness and Contentment
Paul links them together in 1 Timothy chapter 6, verse 6 — a verse and passage I love: "Godliness is actually a means of great gain when it's accompanied by contentment." Godliness plus contentment equals great gain. If I am truly godly — if there is a consistent, genuine, authentic walk with God in my life, if I am truly concerned about the things of God — then contentment inevitably flows from that.
It is important that I am righteous. It is important that I am obedient. But true religion, true godliness, carries with it contentment — a satisfaction, though not every desire is met. Let me put this in context, because this could be a significant day for you.
First Timothy 6, verses 6 through 8: "But godliness is actually a means of great gain when it's accompanied by contentment. We brought nothing into the world, so we can't take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with those we should be content."
Now, here is what drove me crazy for years about these three verses: verse 7 seems to break the flow. I have to presume God wrote it, and therefore it is perfect — but if I were writing it, I would remove verse 7. Verse 6 says godliness is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment, and verse 8 returns to the same topic: if we have food and covering, we ought to be content. Verse 7 — "We brought nothing into the world, so we can't take anything out of it either" — sits between them.
The Secret to Contentment
The secret to contentment is understanding that I came in with nothing and I am going to leave with nothing. This world is temporary. Just look at Pete Maravich. It is fun that people have their favorite basketball players now, but few of them could touch what Pete could do with a basketball. Many of you know of Pete's exploits on, and probably off, the court, but I doubt that many of you know the last words Pete spoke before he died.
He was playing basketball, and he happened to be playing with Jim Dobson. Pete had had some physical problems. They took a little break, and Jim said to him, "How do you feel?" Pete said, "I feel great," and then fell over and died. You don't know when this is going to happen. You don't know if it will be today or tomorrow.
But sometimes, because we don't know, here is what we do: we pretend it will never happen. The one thing we do know is that we are going to die. It is certain, inevitable, and it is in your future. We did a baby dedication this morning at eight o'clock — nine months old — and I didn't want to break the news to the parents, but this child is already in the process of dying. He has already started to wind down, and his days are numbered. However many days he has on this earth, it is nine months less than what he started with.
That reality is important because it allows me to put life in context. I came with nothing and I am leaving with nothing. I ought not get too concerned about seeing how big I can build my empire while I am here, because all I am going to do is leave it behind. And this whole accumulation of stuff easily gives way to some very serious temptations.
Contentment and the Sovereignty of God
Hebrews 13:5-6 says, "Let your character be free of the love of money. Be content with what you have." Why? How? Do you see the recurring theme? Whenever we talk about contentment, it drives us in two directions: the sovereignty of God and the temporariness of life. Why should I be content with what I have? Because God said, "I will never desert you and I will never forsake you." The author of Hebrews goes on to say, "The Lord is my helper and I won't be afraid. What can man do?"
In a world that cries out and says, look out for number one, be concerned about your empire, make sure your needs are met — a world that inevitably asks, what does it mean to me, how is it going to affect me, what about me — in the middle of all of that, God says no. What about Me? And what about the people around you? That is what He says.
A Warning to the Rich
I want to pause for a moment and go back to 1 Timothy 6. It says, "Instruct those who are rich." Here is the problem with this verse: when you hear the word "rich," you think of anybody who has more money than you. Pretty much everyone in this room qualifies. Paul gives a warning about this money thing. Number one, don't be conceited. Number two, don't fix your hope on it.
Money, accumulation, wealth, success, and recognition have a tendency to puff a person up. There is a tendency to say, "I am self-sufficient. I am a self-made man. He started with nothing and look what he made of himself." But you and I as Christians are not self-sufficient — we are Christ-sufficient. "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Not me, but Christ.
Paul also says that riches are uncertain, and uncertain in two ways. First, they are a little like a greased pig — you squeeze them tight and they are gone. Asset erosion. That is what we experienced in the middle of the eighties around here, and some of it even now. Second, everywhere I went this summer, more than sports, I found men talking about the stock market, trusting it, securing their future in stuff. That is the problem. Riches have a tendency to make you say, "I am secure in my pension plan." You begin to trust your stuff to make you happy and find your joy in your possessions.
Rather, Paul says, use it liberally. Give it away. Don't trust riches and don't become conceited because of them, but trust God who supplies all your need.
Contentment in Every Area of Life
Back to Hebrews 13: "Let your character be free of the love of money." This is a gigantic trap. Be content — and we need to broaden this out — be content with all that God has given you. Those of you who are married, be content with the spouse God has given you. Those of you who are single, can you relax and be content in your singleness?
I meet singles all the time who are ready to throw out everything God has to say about a spouse just because someone has a pulse. I am telling you, there is a day of reckoning for that kind of disobedience, and you will pay a price for it. There is nothing wrong with saying, "Father..."
The Trap of Discontentment
I want a spouse. Bring me a spouse. But is it possible that you're at a point where that spouse is more important to you than your relationship with God? Parents, be content with the children God has given you. I was talking to a fine young man the other day — he's a senior in high school — and I asked him where he was going next year and what he was going to do. He said he didn't know. I said, are you getting a lot of pressure? He said everybody was on him, that his dad was all over him saying he had to make a decision. I told him, when you see your dad, tell him that Mr. Schrader is fifty and he doesn't know what he wants to do yet. Figure it out, do your best, and let's go.
But so many parents feel they have to get their son charted, get him into the right school, make him a Rhodes Scholar. Do you want to know why you want him to be a Rhodes Scholar, why you want him to be successful? This is our ugly, dirty secret, but I'm going to say it out loud: it's for your own pride. That's all. You don't even care about him. That is sick.
Be content with the gifts God has given you. One of my favorite things — and I only get to do it about once a month — is to come in on Thursday night and watch Gary prepare for Sunday. I'm with Gary through the week and see him in a lot of different settings, but when he's with those people preparing for Sunday, it is an awesome thing to watch. He is so gifted. I find myself saying I wish I could do that, but I can't. Be content with the gifts God has given you.
I know a man who used to be so frustrated and discontent with the fact that he was short. I feel like I can connect with him — it's not like I don't understand. But what are you going to do about it? The one thing I can control is my width, and I don't even work on that, so why would I worry about my height? Do you see how discontentment creeps in? Do you see how all of this gets inside us?
The Root Problem: Pride and Selfishness
We are going to try to package this enough that you can begin to meditate on it and react to it. If the secret to life is contentment, and God doesn't want me to grumble but wants me content — especially in the area of material things and all these other areas — then why am I discontent? What is the problem? Here it is: the problem is that you are a selfish, prideful person. That is the problem.
All we have talked about is getting your eyes on Him. C.S. Lewis gives us a helpful definition: pride is an anti-God state of mind. So when my eyes are not on Him, they are on me. In the book of James, James talks about two kinds of wisdom, two kinds of thought, two kinds of views of the world — God's way and man's way. Listen to what he says about man's way, and just see if it describes you:
"If you are bitterly jealous, and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don't think you're wise. This is the worst kind of lie. For jealousy and selfishness are not God's kind of wisdom. They are earthly, unspiritual, and motivated by the devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil."
Is there a lot of tension in your life? Are there a lot of relationships that don't work very well? Let me climb out on a limb and suggest that maybe this is the problem. James also writes, "What's causing all those quarrels and fights among you? Isn't it the whole army of desires at war within you? You want what you don't have, so you scheme and kill to get it. You're jealous of what others have, and you can't possess it, so you fight and quarrel to take it away from them."
Here is the deeper problem: God sets Himself against the proud, and He shows favor — that is, He draws close — to those who are humble. When I look at my life and find myself so worried about what things mean to me and what people are going to think about me, I am living in that pride. C.S. Lewis goes further and says — think about how powerful these words are — it was through pride that Lucifer became the devil.
The Culture of Self
Advertising Age recently released what they consider the top ten advertising slogans of the century. Number one: "You deserve a break today." Number two: "Be all you can be." Even the army is now appealing to our selfishness. It used to be that they said, "Uncle Sam wants you." The message was that you have an obligation as a citizen of this country — you have to be a patriot, you have a duty, you have a responsibility. Someone in the Pentagon decided that was a losing message. So they replaced it with: "Be all you can be. Find your identity here. Let us help you find your identity. Let us unlock the potential in you. We, the United States Army, will help you be everything you can possibly be."
Let me help you with something. In your search for your identity — in an honest desire to maximize all the potential and all the gifts and talents God has given you — you will never find that identity. You will never find contentment in life. You will never find yourself apart from Jesus Christ. And when you find Him, you find everything.
Living for His Glory, Not Our Own
Here is the battle and the struggle. I look at the world, and I live in the world, and I know that many people measure us in many different ways. But you and I have to reach a point where we say it is not important what we accomplish for our own glory, but for His. Ronald Reagan used to keep a little sign in his desk that read, "You can accomplish great things if you don't care who gets the credit." And it is true. Why wouldn't I want to accomplish great things? I do — but I want all the credit that comes with it to go to God.
I have to tell you, and I mean this sincerely, one of the most magnificent thrills I have had over the last two years occurred —
Gifted People Are Meant to Be Used
This week, when I came back, I heard person after person say that Jim Harper was unbelievable — what a passion he has for discipleship. Someone told me they thought Tim Maughan was just up there with the kids, but said this guy was unbelievable. And Walter blows the doors off the place. I say this not to draw attention to myself, but I want you to know that a lot of places would not want three guys that strong in the pulpit, because it would distract from the honor and the worship due to the senior guy. That's foolish. God has given us three extraordinarily gifted men — not to be hidden away, but to be used in a powerful way.
Pride, Control, and the Illusion of Delegation
The same principle shows up everywhere. Every management book says the same thing: delegate, delegate, delegate. Yet every manager, at best, delegates something and then takes it right back. Why? They want control. Why? It's pride and ego. Do you see how this destroys you in every area of life?
Consider how parents push their children — study hard, get an A in calculus, pursue all these achievements. There is a healthy motivation in that, but when it becomes obsessive pushing, we have to ask: are these things ultimately that important? They have a role, yes, but at the bottom line, it is far more important that the report card shows straight A's in God's economy than in any school's economy. I'm not minimizing education — I'm putting it in its proper place.
A Book on Rights
I ran into Beth Hancock the other day — Friday — and she asked what I was going to talk about on Sunday. I told her I was going to address this issue of laying aside our rights and all that goes with it. She said she had a perfect book for me, and she brought it in. It is a simple, easy book called *Have We No Rights?* by Mabel Williamson. The foreword is written by a man we quote frequently, James Montgomery Boice.
Here is what Boice writes: *"This book you hold is one many people should read, but I confess to being a bit doubtful whether I can adequately commend it to you in our contemporary Christian generation. It's not that the book is lacking — rather we are lacking. Or, to put it another way, we are so preoccupied with ourselves and our rights that a book whose central theme is 'we have no rights' is bound to be unappealing."*
Beth, knowing me well, not only gave me the book — she took the time to mark up the part I was supposed to read. That's a good hint: if you're going to give me books, you had better mark them up. She marked chapter 12, the very last chapter, titled "He Had No Rights" — speaking of Jesus.
He Had No Rights
You cannot help but think of Paul's writing: have the mind in you that was also in Christ Jesus, who laid aside not His deity but His glory, became a servant — not just a servant but a bondservant — became obedient, not just obedient but obedient to the point of death, not even ordinary death but death on the cross. Now go and do likewise.
Here is what the author writes:
*"He had no rights — no right to a soft bed and a well-laid table, no right to a home of His own, a place where His own pleasure might be sought, no right to choose pleasant, congenial companions, those who would understand and sympathize with Him, no right to shrink away from filth and sin, to pull His garments closer around Him and to turn aside to walking cleaner paths, no right to be understood and appreciated, no right even never to be forsaken by the Father, the One who meant more than all to Him. His only right was silently to endure shame, spitting and blows, to take His place as a sinner, to bear my sins and anguish on the cross."*
Do I Have a Right?
Then the author turns it on us:
*"He had no rights — and I, do I have a right to the comforts of life? No, but a right to the love of God for my pillow. A right to physical safety? No, but a right to security in being in His will. A right to love and sympathy from those around me? No, but a right to the friendship of the One who understands me better than I do myself. A right to be a leader among men? No, but a right to be led by the One to whom I have given my all. A right to a home and loved ones? No, not necessarily, but a right to dwell in the heart of God. A right to myself? No — oh no — a right to Christ."*
And then the final paragraph:
*"All that He takes, I will give. All that He gives, I will take. He my only right — He the one right before which all other rights fade into nothingness. I have full right to Him — how great is this — and this is our prayer: oh, may He have full right to me."*
Closing Prayer
In a world and a culture that screams out for rights and is never content, that grumbles and complains, God says: you have everything you need in Me.
Father, we pray that we would understand that — that You would teach us that. God, we will with open hands give You all that You take, and we will take all that You give. Father, here is what we pray this morning: that You might have Your right, Your full claim on our lives, and that this would transform us. Father, please do that work in us. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen.