WEDNESDAY May 14, 2025
Godly Contentment
Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.
1 Timothy 6:6-8
Paul gave such practical advice to Timothy and to us! As we grow in Christ, our character changes, and we begin to personify Christlikeness:
But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love (2 Peter 1:5-7).
As we add godliness to our character, so must we add contentment––freedom from worry or restlessness: peaceful satisfaction. Job, in his trials, exhibited his godly contentment when he came to this conclusion: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return there.” The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). Job had a mature understanding of earthly trials and sorrow in the light of God’s sovereignty. He may not have understood the “whys of life,” but he expressed a godly contentment in his thinking.
It was the same with Corrie ten Boom as she learned this life lesson: “I have learned to hold all things loosely, so God will not have to pry them out of my hands.” It is important not to become rooted and grounded in/to all your material things and the people around you, because one day, belongings and people can be taken from you. If you die, then you will leave everything behind. Nothing we accumulate here on earth will go with us. That is a biblical fact. So make sure that Jesus Christ is central in your life, not anything you have here on earth.
Contentment is not by addition but by subtraction: seeking to add a thing will not bring contentment. Instead, subtracting from your desires until you are satisfied only with Christ brings contentment.
~Jeremiah Burroughs~
For more from Raul Ries, please visit SomebodyLovesYou.com!
