The Serenity Prayer

1 Timothy 6

 

Reinhold Niebuhr is given credit for writing the Serenity Prayer in 1943. It is one of the most popular prayers known, and has been made famous by AA and other twelve-step programs. However, did you know that the version used by most of these groups is an abreviated one. Here is the complete prayer:

 

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships 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 all things 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.”

 

Obviously, you don’t have to be an addict to benefit from this prayer. Serenity, or contentment, is a fleeting experience in all of our lives. Think about how many times a day you complain about something: the weather, the traffic, your boss, your co-workers, your spouse, your kids, your food, your self, your health, your church, your house, your car… God. The list is undending.

 

In today’s chapter Paul wrote to Timothy about being content.

 

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that”.            Verses 6-8 NIV

 

People have been discontented since the Garden. Satan sowed discontent in Eve’s heart, and it’s been a part of the human condition ever since. In fact, it’s such a problem of the human condition, that God devoted one whole commandment to it.

 

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”           Exodus 20:17 NIV

 

Why else do we covet unless it is because we are not happy with what we have? We are not content. So what is the key to finding contentment in our lives? To help answer this question, here are Paul’s words to the Philippians:

 

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength.

Everything that we try to gain in this world stays here unless it is eternal. The only things that are eternal are our souls and God’s word.”        Philippians 4:11-13 NIV

 

So let us learn to focus on what is eternal – our souls and God’s word. The Serenity Prayer speaks not of perfection, but of growth; of surrender to God and trusting Him. Doing this leads to contentment. The same contentment that Paul wrote about. What more do we need?