Contentment

Dear Judan, Grace, Joanna, James, and the rest of my future grandchildren,

“but godliness with contentment is great gain.” 1 Tim 6:6

Contentment is the antidote to envy. Envy is a pernicious sin as it makes the sinner never satisfied with what God has given them. They move from the envy of one thing to the envy of another thing. They move from the envy of some amount to the envy of more. Contentment sets the believer free as it calms our anxious hearts, which think that the thing we don’t have will make us whole. Though in part envy does give some satisfaction when it’s goal is attained, in reality it always leaves us wanting more than we wanted before. Much like drinking salt water, it satisfied momentarily but in the end we need more water than we did before we drank it. Ultimately drinking salt water, or welcoming envy, will kill a person.

But contentment allows our heart to rest and enjoy what God has given us. But there is a problem. How do we become content? Not by trying hard to be content. That will only stir up envy. The key to contentment is to know that God has provided all our needs and to know that he is always working for our best. That truth cannot be overstated. The believer must bathe their thoughts in the promise that God loves us, is providing for us and is working for our good, even our best. As the heart can rest on these thoughts that rest in the mind, it is able to let go of the idols that envy brings, and is able to focus on God, his love and provision for us.

While there is much to talk about money and envy, as Paul does in this chapter and also appears in many other places in scripture, I can’t do a full treatment here. The key though, to viewing all of that rightly is to seek contentment in Christ, not in our circumstances.

Your Grandpa loves you more than you know… but still not nearly as much as Jesus does.

In Him,

Grandpa