CONTENTMENT
In I Timothy 6:6 the Holy Spirit through the apostle
Paul says, "Godliness with contentment is great gain." Though I
have read through the Bible several times, that verse really caught my
attention a few years ago. I long to make it my goal, but I
realize that in order to do that, I need to understand what it means.
First, what does godliness mean? Webster does
not define godliness, a noun, but godly, an adjective, is defined as
"Having great reverence for God." Unless we do that,
acknowledging who God is, I doubt that we will understand the true
meaning of godliness. A bible dictionary says, "It is the sum
total of religious character and actions." So it involves the
person I am and what I do. But godliness is not something that I
can produce. I cannot be like God on my own. That is a work
I must allow Him to do in and through me. He wants me to be like
Jesus. When that is the desire of my heart, the Holy Spirit can
produce God-like qualities in my life.
But the verse goes on to say, "with
contentment". First, there is no way to have contentment without
godliness. Godliness must come first. But what does God mean by
contentment? It involves an acceptance of our
circumstances. If I am content, I don't have to have things
different than they are. Each day I can choose how I will relate
to what God sends into my life. I can choose to trust Him and
believe that He is working out His plan in my life, which is far better
than anything I can produce. So this all involves my attitude,
something I can control. While I often cannot control my
circumstances, I can decide how I will respond to them.
This is not fatalism. Suppose I get cancer (
I've had breast cancer twice). Nothing comes into my life that
God does not either send or allow. I need to ask Him what He
wants to teach me through this experience. Without an acceptance
of what has happened in my life, there can be no
contentment. But I then need to seek treatment (which I did).
Contentment also involves my attitude toward
material possessions. Hebrews 13:5 says, "Let your conservation
(way of life) be without covetousness: and be content with such things
as ye have." For many years I was discontent with the things I
had. I was always wanting more and more. This is the
attitude of so many people in our country. It's called "keeping
up with the Joneses." I haven't reached perfection yet, but there
has come a satisfaction and gratitude to God for what I do have.
That is a choice we can all make.
I've been reading a book entitled
A Woman God Can Use by
Alice Mathews. Her second chapter is about Leah, the woman Jacob
married because he was tricked into it. Leah was the mother of
Jacob's first four sons. She kept hoping with each of the first
three that Jacob would love her, but when the fourth son arrived the
name she chose indicated she had changed her focus. She named him
Judah which means "praise". She was making a choice to be content
with what she had and praising God in her less than perfect
circumstances.
This is the only way to true contentment. The
choice is ours. I hope we like Leah will change our focus and
begin to praise God as we walk with Him each day.