“Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content” (1 Tim. 6:6-8, NLT)
Here’s another thought for 2018. What if you and I focus on growing in the fruit of contentment in the new year ahead?
This Scripture tells us that contentment, mixed with godliness, is great wealth. Each time I read a headline about the latest Hollywood star that went through a breakup… or was arrested for drug use… or even committed suicide… I am reminded that accumulating millions of dollars does not really constitute wealth. Purposeful contentment, right where God has me; quiet joy in what He has put into my hands to do today, now that is wealth.
“If we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.” If God put it like that, it’s because we can be content. He would not be cruel enough to command something impossible for us to fulfill. In fact, His very words carry the power to put into action what He is instructing us to do. He is inviting us into very available, very accessible, very profound contentment. Let us be content.
One of the enemy’s favorite strategies against us is to try to stir up the opposite dynamic in our hearts: discontent. He does this by pointing out to us what other people are doing, achieving, buying, wearing, driving, and enjoying. The grass really does look more sumptuous just over the property line, where the Joneses appear to be delighting in the best life has to offer.
Let’s hit the pause button and remember, that the Joneses are living on a fallen planet just like you and I are. Contrary to what it may look like, they have not evaded the heartache and brokenness that often characterizes life before heaven. Their luxurious car and house are really not granting them a brand of happiness out of your reach.
And as we pause, let’s make a determination in our hearts: this year, devil, that strategy is not going to work on me any more! This year, quiet joy is going to greatly increase inside of me. This year, I am going to revel in the riches of a purposefully contented heart!
Stay tuned for Part 2 tomorrow 🙂
What are your thoughts about cultivating contentment in life? Please do share, in the comments!
Feeding On Jesus 
Due to age and Lewis’s Parkinson’s, I have become very discontent with our home. We have lived here 22 years, but 3 floors and a basement are just too much. I struggle with peace in this, because sometimes it’s very difficult to get up and down these steps. I look longingly at homes that others have, yet God has not released us to move. Pray for good health and peace and contentment in this situation.
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Thank you so much for sharing transparently, sweet friend. I will indeed lift you up in prayer for His deep work in and through where He has you right now. You are so deeply loved!
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I am thankful that God has helped me be content in most circumstances but I do struggle from time to time with those temptations to wonder why others SEEM to have less struggles when we work just as hard. Then God reminds my that even with my modest teacher income, I am wealthier than 99% of the earth’s population! Anytime I am tempted to “feel sorry for myself” I recall meeting that precious little girl who was also named Lindsey from the village in Nauta we visited with you guys. She was so delightfully content with what looked to me like a dirt floor shack with some hammocks. She was so proud to show me her home. Once we were back on the bus I remember sobbing, thinking how she could have just as easily been born into my life in the U.S. and me into her situation. But would she possibly pity me as well? Would she want me to experience the contentment that she has mastered? I think so! ❤️
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Mmmmmmm BEAUTIFUL insight!! That’s so good, Lindsey! Amen!!
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