Contentmentናሙና

Contentment is great gain

Contentment is rarely the goal in this world. Advertising is specifically marketed towards our discontentment. This is the generation with the least contentment in their jobs, the least contentment in their relationships, and the least contentment with their lives. What the world robs us of, Jesus gives in abundance. In these verses, Paul offers his young apprentice Timothy deep spiritual wisdom, ‘godliness with contentment is great gain’. Earlier, Paul had shown that there are people who would even use godliness as a means to gain something else. For instance, using godliness as a way to earn people’s favour. Paul turns this around to say that you should just be happy that you are godly and this is of great benefit to yourself. True godliness is a gift of God. If we are able to enact godliness, it is because the Gospel has worked in us and we have inherited Christ‘s righteousness. What an amazing gift this is in and of itself.

To be satisfied with Christ means to be content with life. This state of contentment is the state that we are made for. In eternity we will be in a constant state of contentment. In our contentment we will not have needs for anything else. Putting our joy in material things of this world will not give us true contentment. For we didn’t bring anything into the world and we cannot take those things with us when we die.

To be content is to be truly happy with what you have and, because we have Christ, we can be truly content.

Written by QUYNH EASTMAN