1 Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”
Introduction: Lats week we studied I Timothy 6:9, the consequences of a person that will be rich. At the core of a person wanting to be rich is a person that is covetous, and that person will fall into temptation, fall into a snare, will fall into many foolish and hurtful lusts, and is drowned in destruction and perdition. The solution and balance to not being covetous is contentment. It would do us a lot of good in our lives to get to the point where we don’t covet things but instead are content with such things as we have. Furthermore, this lesson brings balance to last week’s lesson.
According to Philippians 4:11-13, contentment is something that was learned by Paul and can also be learned by every believer today. Paul learned how to be abased (have nothing) and how to abound (have it all). A good lesson for us to understand and apply in our lives is this, learn to be content with the things that we have. To be content means to be completely sufficient, to need absolutely nothing.
A person can learn to be content with:
I. His Wages– Luke 3:13-14 – John the Baptist, obviously thought that this is what he should have answered this soldier. It’s possible that John the Baptist perceived and identified exactly what his problem was, it was his lack of contentment with his wages.
- Matthew 20:1-15- This person though he could have made more on a deal, and he felt cheated. This person agreed to get paid a penny a day for a day of labor but then was discontent when he found out that another person only worked the last hour and got paid the same thing.
- If you agree to a certain wage, be content with that. Don’t go talking with others about how much they make and start thinking you can and should be making more.
- People think they will be content after the next big thing in their life happens. In this case, whenever their job pays them more. Or whenever they get a job where they make more money.
- Proverbs 30:8-9 This is a good place to be in regards to our wages on this earth. Instead of wanting to covet to make more money and save more money, we should learn to be content with the wages we do make.
II. His Possessions– Hebrews 13:5-6 “be content with such things as ye have”. This means being satisfied with what one has because our confidence in not in our possession but in Christ.
- Vs 5 “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”. This statement alone should lead us to be content with such things that we have. Because knowing that Christ will never leave us, even if we don’t have anything in the bank, should be of great comfort. We can learn to be content with our wages because we know that God will never leave us nor forsake us.
- Vs 6- “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper”. A person can be content with his possession when he realizes that the Lord is the supplier of everything we have. Our testimony regarding what we have should be found IN CHRIST not in our home, possessions, clothing, goods, and everything else we have.
- Psalm 118:1-9 “It is better to trust in the Lord”. Why, because our possessions will break, rust, be stolen, be taken, etc., but God will not.
- Even if the world’s economy collapses like it did in 2008, believers would be secure and content in God. Isaiah 41:17 “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them”.
- We have two choices: working and seeking our own strength, ability, energy, fighting and struggling through life, fretting and worrying about succeeding. OR, we can seek God’s strength, trust and acknowledge Him, leaving and trusting the results of our labor to Him.
III. His Godliness– I Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” One thing we have to learn to be content with is our godliness. We cannot and will not be content with our ungodliness, how can we be if we are a child of God. Proverbs 23:17 “Let not thine heart envy sinners: but be thou in the fear of the Lord al the day long”.
- Another thing that God wants us to be content with is godliness. Godliness alone can take a person and make him fulfilled, satisfied, complete, and sufficient. Don’t envy the wicked and their ungodly deeds, don’t believe that they are content, they’re only happy, which is temporary.
- Godliness alone can give man the sense that he lacks absolutely nothing.
- The purpose of our life here on this earth is to live for God in everything, to be Godly. If we truly give our life to this end, we should be fully satisfied and content. When we get out of these bounds, we begin to desire other things to satisfy something in us.
- I Timothy 4:8 “but godliness is profitable unto ALL things”. This includes being content.
- Matthew 6:25-33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”. When we seek the righteousness of God, His Godliness, there is great gain, and all these things (drink, food, clothing) shall be added unto you.
IV. His State– Philippians 4:11-13 Paul had to lean to be content in his state, in his circumstances. The inflation in the last couple of years has really put a strain in the life of people and some people are not content with their current state. Circumstances in life change however, our contentment should not change.
- I Corinthians 4:11-12 Paul learned that no matter his state, he was to be content. In hunger, thirst, nakedness, and without a dwelling place, they were still content.
- II Corinthians 11:23-27 A persons that doesn’t have anything can really appreciate a little something when they do have it.
Conclusion: Just like Paul had learned to be content, we can learn to be content also. Being content is the remedy to covetousness and wanting to be rich therefore it is good for us to learn this also. We can learn to be content with our wages, our possessions, our godliness, and our state. If we stay with this, we won’t be discontented in our lives.