Oct 3, 2018
But godliness with
contentment is great gain. 1Tim 6:6
Having peace with God
in your soul and spirit is a happier life than seeking power or money.
One of the least valued character qualities today is contentment. Our
culture values ‘discontent’.
Athletes are discontent with playing
well, they want a championship.
Students (and parents) are discontent
with ‘Bs’, they expect straight ‘As’.
Spouses don’t like their current
marriage and dump it for a new one.
CEOs fudge the numbers to look better
and gain more market share.
Even pastors want bigger churches.
(Note: It’s not all of them – but many
hunger for improvement and remain discontent.)
Wanting to improve is not a bad thing, until it becomes the
primary thing. God is not looking for
anything to become a god over Him. When
we lack contentment, it turns the target into an idol.
You can see that today in all of those things. Ethic & moral lines are crossed in sports
so people can have an extra edge. Many businesses
and CEOs violate wise standards to gain temporary success. Some politicians are not satisfied with the
place they have been elected to, they want more power.
Discontent can drive us to improve, but can also lead us to
compromise. When we lack contentment, we
often create an idol in our lives that takes over. Sooner or later, it will do more damage than
help.
Paul tells Timothy that contentment creates the greatest
gain. If we maintain pursuit of
godliness and trust God’s timing, we’ll not only live more joy-filled lives, we’ll
also find lasting results. God likes
blessing us, He just wants lasting blessing.
God likes seeing us improve, He just wants lasting improvement. God celebrates our victories, but prefers
lasting impact. You don’t find lasting
results by living with discontentment, you find it by living in a spirit of
contentment.
Contentment is a simple practice (simple, not easy): Be thankful for what you have! Be thankful for the skills you have, the
money you have, the family you have, the marriage you have, the career you
have, the ministry you have, the life you have.
Start with an attitude of gratitude.
Let God continue to grow you, but you remain thankful.
Go for the lasting results – by remaining content in the
current ones.
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