BE SELF-CONTAINED IN CHRIST

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”—1 Timothy 6:6

 

I think that the best viewpoint of contentment that I have heard is — only wanting what you have.  Since most people are always looking to get what they do not have, we, then, ask the question, how do you achieve godly contentment?  How do you get to the point where you only want what you have, and no longer focus on trying to keep up with what other people have?   I think that the best way to answer that question is to look at Biblical examples, like Paul for instance.   He came to place in his life – not a physical place, but a spiritual place – where he felt divine contentment. 

Contentment in God’s Word means to be “self contained.”  In the context of this passage, we learn that Paul was thanking people for their love gifts to him, but he wanted them also to know that he was not dependent upon them because God had brought him to a place of sufficiency in Himself alone.  That is, Paul was able to say, “I have learned that I do not need anything or anybody else, but the Lord. I have Him, and therefore, I am self-contained, not self –sufficient.  I can do all things through Christ.”  Do you have contentment today in Christ alone?  Or are you trying to fill the void in your life by seeking things that other people have?  When we try to fill the void in our lives by seeking things that other people have, we are actually, seeking worldly contentment and not godly contentment.

The Scriptures sum up godly contentment in the simplest of terms for us, that "having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (I Timothy 6:8).   Today, let’s repent for seeking worldly contentment in things and not true godly contentment and ask the Lord to remove any pride in our hearts.

 

Prayer—Father, I repent for seeking worldly contentment in things and I ask you to forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.  Lord, I repent of pride and every false way, cleanse me and make me new so that what I sincerely desire is you and your sufficiency alone, in Jesus Name. Amen.