This file can be printed for personal use and study. © Reachout Trust - www.reachouttrust.org
The Secret! (Philippians 4:10-13)
Rhonda Byrne is an Australian lady who has won
her fifteen minutes of fame by sharing with us (at a fee) The Secret.
In a book small enough to fit into your pocket or purse, she reveals the
secret to getting anything you want through a "universal law of attraction".
A sort of cross between Cosmic Ordering and Positive Thinking, this secret
has apparently been the basis of everyone's success down through the ages
from the ancients to this present day.
There is nothing new in her philosophy, but it is wrapped up such that
the reader is given the impression they are being initiated into something
quite wonderful and rare that has been barely glimpsed by the great and
the good of previous generations. One thing is for sure, like most positive
thinking gurus before her, Rhonda Byrne has found the secret to her own
success and the more people who buy into The Secret the more success she
enjoys.
Interestingly, Paul here uses a word for secret where he writes, "I
have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation..."
v.12. The word is mueo from the base
of musterion meaning 'to be initiated'. Paul has been initiated
into the secret of true happiness. Paul tells us:
"I know what it is to be in need, and I
know what it is to have plenty."
When we look at his record we can see that Paul knows what suffering is:
"I have worked much harder, been in prison
more frequently, been flogged more severely (than so-called 'super apostles').
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three
times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked,
I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers,
in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from
Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at
sea; and in danger from false brothers. I have laboured and toiled and
have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have
often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything
else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who
is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly
burn?" (2 Cor.11:23-29)
When we look at this list most of us would probably find it difficult
to identify with much of what Paul had to go through in his service to
the Lord. We are not whipped, stoned, beaten, shipwrecked etc, although
some Christians know such extreme suffering in parts of the world even
today.
However, some might sound familiar. Have you ever laboured and toiled
and gone without sleep in service of the church? Have you felt pressure
of concern for the churches? Ever suffered from the perfidy of false brothers?
Are you burdened with concern for sinners? Especially leaders, but all
who are mature Christians will know what it is to carry a burden for the
lost, for the church, and for the integrity of the gospel.
Paul's secret in dealing with these challenges, however, is not some ancient
human wisdom, or cosmic ordering system. Indeed, it is not really a secret
at all:
"I can do everything through him who gives
me strength" v.13
Paul destroys several myths in his teaching:
1. Things make you happy: Positive thinking gurus would have us
believe that we can have what we want out of life. Paul makes it clear
that things may make you comfortable (I know what it is to have plenty)
but with Christ we don't have to depend on things to make us content.
Paul knew contentment even when in want.
2. Your circumstances dictate your happiness: People go through
life telling themselves that once they reach a certain time, achieve a
certain goal, create a particular lifestyle, they will know unbridled
joy. Paul tells us that his contentment is not dictated by his circumstances.
Rather, Christ in him gives him the strength to face whatever circumstances
come along and triumph in them.
3. The secret is within yourself: "Dig deep inside yourself", the
gurus tell us. When we look at Paul we may be tempted to say, "I could
never be a Paul! I've looked and it isn't in me"! Paul would quickly come
back with, "It isn't me. It's Christ in me!"
Perhaps we anticipate difficulties this week that seem insurmountable.
Maybe we have nursed concerns for some time and don't know how to deal
with them. Now might be a good time to seek Jesus and apply the true secret
of contentment - whatever the circumstances.