“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:6-10, NASB)
What is contentment?
I remember reading that the multimillionaire, John D. Rockefeller, was once asked the question, “How much money is enough?” He answered quite transparently, “Just a little bit more.” In other words, “I will never have enough.” In these verses is God actually saying that wanting to have money isn’t appropriate? Not at all. Money is what we use to live in this world. Many have twisted this around, especially the last verse. Money is not evil, but THE LOVE OF MONEY is the problem.
God, through Paul wants to focus us on our attitude towards money and things. We are to seek first for GODLINESS, and to couple that with contentment. Look around you. I don’t know about you, but when I read and see what the standard of living is for people in many parts of the world, we all have a pretty good life here in America. I need to be content with what I have. Comparing ourselves to others is the start of a journey down the wrong road. Do you have enough? Can you be content with the blessings you have right now? God is saying that godliness is great gain when accompanied by CONTENTMENT.
Matthew Henry said it well: “The necessities of life are the bounds of a true Christian’s desires. Truly, the secret of contentment is not having much but wanting little. This is not to say we cannot have more than food and clothing. It means that having more than these presents a temptation. Having more usually leads to wanting more.”
There are very few who can be trusted with much, especially money. I read today that whether someone wins $500 million or something much less in the lottery, about 70 percent of them lose or spend all our money in five years or less. If you asked all of them when they won if they would go through it that quick I’m betting that all of them thought they were set for life, yet greed, shortsightedness and a lack of contentment causes them to blow through it all – they suddenly didn’t have to be content with what they had.
Actually, how much we possess is not as important as our attitude toward our possessions. Regardless of our status, we should be content, neither coveting more nor resenting those who have more than we do. Although we as Christians may enjoy God’s blessings without feeling guilty, we must also heed Paul’s admonition not to be haughty but to trust in God, and humbly acknowledge Him as the source of all we have, and share willingly and generously with others (1Tim 6:17-19). Such generosity has eternal value. Since God measures our giving by the degree of our sacrifice, many who have little to give in this life will be immensely rewarded in the life to come. (Mark. 12:42-44)
It’s not just Paul that wrote about the effect of not being content. God himself wrote it into the 10 commandments (which by the way are not the 10 suggestions…) #10 commands us not to covet. If you go back and read all the commandments, #10 may not seem to fit with the list of other actions we need to avoid such as murder, stealing, lying and adultery. In fact it’s the only one that forbids an attitude rather than an action, but it is essential to living a life of peace and contentment.
(DISCLAIMER: I read several sources, commentaries, devotionals, etc., when I study the bible. Some of what I write is heavily inspired by what I read, and some sections may not be all my own words. I try to distill and paraphrase but there are way too many great writers who know the depths of God’s Word more than I ever will. i try to give credit where possible, and I don’t want anyone to think that everything I write comes straight from my brain – it’s all inspired by God and others He has chosen to write through. I encourage you to look to those who have also studied and written about Scripture, while at the same time remembering they are only men, and the ONLY true standard is the Word of God – everything written by me or any other human MUST be measured against that standard.)
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