‘Godliness with contentment is great gain.’ 1 Timothy 6:6 KJV
When you talk about contentment (being satisfied), some people think you’re against progress. No. Paul is saying contentment never comes from externals! Every 12 minutes your TV programme is interrupted by advertisers try to convince you that contentment isn’t possible without their particular brand of product. Don’t go for it!
The desire for more can be insatiable. As long as you believe more is better, you’ll never be satisfied. Why? Because you’ll never live long enough to have it all! Just think; when you get something or achieve something, do you even take the time to enjoy it, or do you gallop off to the next thing without stopping? To avoid getting old too soon and wise too late, read this Scripture:
(1) ‘We brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it.’ (1 Timothy 6:7 NLT) When you die and people ask, ‘How much did they leave?’ the answer will be ‘everything’ (including a legacy of good or bad).
(2) ‘Some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith.’ (1 Timothy 6:10 NLT) If your pursuit of material things is leaving no time for God, re-examine your priorities and start changing them while you still can. Stop thinking, ‘If only I had a bigger house, a more understanding spouse, a particular job, a radical makeover, a higher IQ, or the acceptance of a particular person, I’d be happy.’ It doesn’t work that way. The Bible says, ‘This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.’ (Psalm 118:24 NKJV)
SoulFood: Jer 4–6, Mark 15:1–20, Ps 144:9–15, Pro 14:5–8
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©