The Freedom of Not Needing Anything

Not long ago, I was at the birthday party of a friend of mine. My friend is one of the most successful business leaders in Nashville. Everyone in town knows who he is. The guests at the party were all very successful business leaders…and me. Yes, I stood out like a sore thumb. When a few other friends wanted to know why I was there, I joked that I was there to say the blessing before dinner.

But later, another friend pulled me aside and said, “Really, how did you get in here? There are people all over town who would have given anything to be invited to this party. How did you get in here?” I smiled and said, “I’m the only one in here that doesn’t need anything from him.” Look around, I told my friend. Everyone in here is doing business with him or wants to. Me? I don’t need anything from him. I’m just his friend.

The business leader friend of mine and I were put together during a very tough time in his life. Everything in his life has blown up. A mutual friend had suggested he call me. He did and we started having regular lunches. I loved hanging around him. He was into everything and knew everybody. He was always just getting back from a great adventure or about to go on one. He was smart and well read. I always learned something from him.

But his world was very different from mine. I wasn’t in business with him. I wasn’t ever going to be in business with him. Anytime the conversation begins with “the initial offering is” I’m out of my league. Yet, with all the success my friend had, there was one thing he didn’t have – a friend. Someone who cared about him – just him. I wasn’t trying to pitch him a new deal. I wasn’t trying to get him to support my work or give me anything. When I called him, I was calling to check on him. He told me later I was the only person in his life – besides his mom – who called to check on him for his own sake.

Yes, that’s a sad indictment on our culture and the inability of men to make friends, but it also brings up one of the most important roles we play in the lives of our friends. We’re their friends. We don’t need anything from them. We aren’t trying to do anything to them. We are content to walk along with our friends on their journey.

This is why contentment is so important for us as believers. First, we need to recognize that we don’t need anything from our world. We have everything we need in Christ. As we follow Christ, He continues to pour Himself into us, we are filled with HIs love, mercy and grace. We have all we need in Him. This allows us to live with freedom and lightness in our communities and world. We don’t need a whole lot of stuff to validate our self-worth. Our worth was validated in the cross of Jesus. We don’t need to impress anyone. We are known by Christ. We are valued as His children. What can the world add to that?

Sadly, most Christ followers don’t spend enough time with Christ and in study of His word for these truths to be woven into our lives. We know them, but we don’t live them. We crave the validation of others. We sell our souls for the approval of others. And what does it do for us? It makes us smaller. It makes us live with less hope and even less courage.

Being content in Christ gives us the courage to follow Christ even with the circumstances of our lives changing because we’re confident our relationship with Christ doesn’t change. This is why Paul and Silas could turn a prison cell into a sanctuary filled with worship. It’s why Peter and John could say to the beggar at the temple gates, “We don’t have silver or gold, but what we do have…”

We live in a world that thrives on discontent. Every ad is made to make us want something, buy something, to feel that we need something. But we don’t. We have a Savior who loves us just for us. He doesn’t need anything from us. He calls to us because He loves us. That’s it.

Jesus told a story about a merchant who sold everything to buy the pearl of great price. Imagine the scene. A man with no home, only one set of clothes – and we would feel sorry for him. He would laugh at our pity because he owns the pearl of great price.

Like the merchant, we have the pearl of great price. The world can’t give us anything else. In Christ, we’re free from needing anything else.

This essay was first posted in Scot McKnight’s newsletter.