Contentment

1 Timothy 6:6 says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain.."  I want that "great gain" along with godliness.  I want all that God has for me.  So I want to be content.  Are you content? 

Contentment means "ease of mind, satisfaction"  I think of it as that, "Ahh, I'm happy" feeling.  Peace...feeling settled, content.  No striving for bigger and better.  Being at peace with the lot God has given you even if it is not the American Dream.  

1 Timothy 6:7 says, "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."

Job 1:21 says, "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Matthew 6:19-21 says, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Where is your heart?  When your heart and your mind are fixed on Jesus you will have peace...but when your heart and mind are on keeping up with the Joneses you will be unsettled and always striving. 

Genesis 28:20 "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on"

1 Timothy 6:8 says, "And having food and raiment let us be therewith content."  So what does God want us to be content with?  Just food and clothes!  Not even a house!  Jesus did not even have a place to rest His head!  Wow. 

Proverbs 30:8-9 says, "Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me:

⁹ Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."

^{Psalm 37:16-18}  A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.

¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the LORD upholdeth the righteous.

¹⁸ The LORD knoweth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall be for ever.

Hebrews 13:5-8 "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

⁶ So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

⁷ Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation.

⁸ Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever."

We should be content with the fact that Jesus will never leave us nor forsake us!  He is the SAME yesterday, today and forever!  Now that's some security in an ever changing world where prices keep increasing and jobs keep decreasing. 

May our conversation be without covetousness.  What do you talk about?  Are you always saying, "I wish I could have a car like that or an iphone like that or a house like that...."  What do you covet?  Take those things to the Lord in prayer.  Let Him remind you that everything else will fade away in this world except for Him.

Psalm 73:25 "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee.

²⁶ My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."

God is our portion.  He is enough. He is more than enough.  But we don't feel like He is enough if we are consumed with other things or ourselves.  The times that I spend in close fellowship with Him (through worship and prayer) He feels more than enough!  And that should happen daily.

1 Timothy 6:9 "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition."

One of these temptations could be buying something you can't afford and then being snared and enslaved by debt.

Lust is to have an intense longing for something. We get into trouble when we lust after treasures that we do not need or cannot afford.

1 Timothy 6:10 "For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

Having a lot of money is not a sin, but the love of money is.  Ponder on this thought that the love of money is the ROOT of all evil.

This verse says they have erred from the faith.  Erred means an ignorant or unintentional deviating from accuracy or truth.  It all started with wanting to make a little more money...or taking a job out of God's will because it paid more, etc. 

1 Timothy 6:11-12 But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.

¹² Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.

So what do I do?

What should we seek after then?  Righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness. 

Keep things in perspective...think on eternity. 

Think on how short life is and how long eternity is. 

What STUFF will matter in eternity? 

Store up your treasures in Heaven. 

Be content and thankful everyday for what you have. 

"Live simply so that others may simply live."

Read No Longer a Slumdog by KP Yohannen