Monday, February 10, 2025

          Contentment is a highly desirable station in life.  Most people want to be content.  For many, contentment is elusive—almost seemingly unattainable and elusive at best.  Others find biblical contentment rather easily as they lean on Christ.  Paul wrote in Philippians that he had learned to be content in any situation—in need or plenty, well-fed or hungry, living in abundance or living in want.  Paul connected this contentment to his faith in Christ.  He was content because of Christ and because of Christ he was content.  That is more than a play on words.  It is a clear profession of faith.  The apostle acknowledged that Christ is much greater than our circumstances—any circumstances at any time, be they good or bad.
            In his first letter to Timothy, Paul wrote, “but godliness with contentment is great gain” (6:6).  Contentment is the state of being satisfied with what one has, rather than desiring more of something else.  Envy, jealousy and pride can often be bandits of contentment.  And these bandits send us on never-ending pursuits and exploits.  Paul seemed to be emphasizing that contentment comes from what God provides and from knowing that God will provide for us—exactly what we need and precisely when we need it.  Wealth can be gained and lost.  Money can be earned or squandered.  But contentment endures.  It is not subject to the whims, waves and ways of life.  A sense of God-given peace endures.
            Paul illustrated the fragility of wealth, money and possessions in verse 7.  He wrote, “for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it” (1 Timothy 6:7).  Everything we possess or enjoy comes as a gift from God.  Even pagans and non-believers enjoy the common graces of God—like water, air, food, the delights of a sunrise or a sunset.  He is the Provider.  Knowing just how fragile those possessions and the usual measurements of success truly are informs us that we are to place our trust in much greater things—the ways of God and a personal relationship with Him.
            Paul warned readers in 1 Timothy 6:10 that the love of money is a root for “all kinds of evil.”  The pursuit of wealth above all other things can leave us panting instead of content, spent instead of at peace and enslaved instead of enriched.  In wrapping up his first letter to Timothy, Paul concluded, “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17).”  Most people would prefer certainty to uncertainty.  When we trust the things of this life to bring lasting contentment and fulfillment, we will be disappointed.  The God-shaped void within each human heart is sated and satisfied only by the presence of God in it.
            As we approach Valentine’s Day near the end of the week, we are to remember and cherish the great love that God has demonstrated to us—a love that does bring contentment and fulfillment to all who receive and relish in it.  Through Christ and His selfless sacrifice at the cross, God has conquered sin and broken the shackles that enslaved us to the evil one.  We are free by His grace.  And that freedom leads to a lasting fulfillment that we are secure in Christ—in this world and the next.  As Paul so eloquently and rightly put it, “for to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21).  Have a great Monday!  Remember you can share our worship any time at YouTube.com/FirstBaptistKannapolis.