Philippians 4:11
" . . . for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content."

As a kid I always dreamed of playing in the NBA. I just knew that some day I would be an all-star. When I got to about the 8th or 9th grade, I took a hard look at my growth chart and began to realize, "It is not looking good." Even then, I had a hard time accepting the fact that I was not destined to be a professional basketball player. I kept reminding myself of such little giants as Tyrone Bogues and Calvin Murphy. But eventually reality set in and I accepted the fact that the NBA was not calling my name.

I am convinced that most stress is caused by a failure to accept the things that we cannot change. It is like crying over spilled milk. Why do we do that? When you spill a glass of milk there is nothing you can do about it but grab a rag and clean it up. You could sit there all day and complain about the spilled milk, fret over it, get upset about it, but none of that will make the milk flow back into the glass. What is done is done. Just clean it up and move on.

The Apostle Paul had a healthy perspective in this regard. If anyone had reason to complain about his situation it was Paul. He endured a great deal of hardship during his thirty plus years of ministry. Yet he wrote, "I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content." Notice he says that he "learned" to be content. We can take comfort in knowing that even Paul had to learn to accept his circumstances. In other words, it does not come naturally. It takes wisdom, experience, and time to get to the point where we accept the things we cannot change.

There are some things in life we can change and some things we cannot. The sooner we come to grips with this principle, the better we will be. Reinhold Neibeur restated this fundamental principle beautifully in his prayer we call "The Serenity Prayer." He writes, "God, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time. Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace. Taking as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it. Trusting that He will make it right; if I surrender to His will. That I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen."

To put it much less eloquently, "There is no use crying over spilled milk."

J.B. Hixson, Th.M.
Associate Pastor
Grace Bible Church of Houston
jb@hixson.org