How To Be Rich Devotionalنموونە

The Great Gain

Contentment. There's a concept we don't hear much about. And let's be honest, isn't it discontentment that fuels our unnecessary, irresponsible, and, at times, harmful spending? Paul goes so far as to say that contentment is great gain. Translation: Contentment is more valuable than the things you acquired because of your discontentment. Looking back, we know this to be the case.

Ever regretted a large purchase? If you could go back and choose contentment with what you had over the purchase your discontentment caused you to make, wouldn't you have done it? Of course. Why? Because with hindsight you can see the value or the gain of opting for contentment. Opting for contentment would have actually made you richer. If you are truly interested in gain, contentment is the ticket.

How can less stuff result in greater contentment? The answer is found in an observation regarding the nature of appetites: If you feed an appetite, it grows. Satisfying an appetite does not diminish it. It expands it. To diminish an appetite, you have to starve it.

Paul understood this. In fact, he took this principle to a logical but uncomfortable extreme. He writes:

"For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that." (1 Timothy 6:7-8)

Fighting for, pursuing, and embracing contentment always results in gain. Every time. At multiple levels. And that brings us to a most important question.

How do you say "enough" in a world that has fine-tuned it's messaging so as to make you continually dissatisfied with everything you currently own?

The answer is found in a single word. A word that works for us or against us. If you are carrying debt on something you wished you had never purchased, then you know all about this word and the power it wields. I'm convinced this single term holds the key to disarming discontentment.