Invincible by Robert JeffressSample

Day Six

The Mountain of Materialism

Scripture: Ecclesiastes 5:10; Hebrews 13:5-6; 1 Timothy 6:1-5

How much money is enough? According to popular tradition, oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller’s answer was simple: “Just a little bit more.” If you want to know the secret of contentment, you need to learn to want what you have. This is the one great overriding lesson the Bible teaches about money.

In 1 Timothy 6, the apostle Paul instructed Timothy about how to handle the delicate situation at that time between believing slaves and believing masters (vv. 1–2). His primary concern was that godliness dominates all relationships. With that in mind, Paul moved on to false teachers, who believed godliness was a means of financial gain (vv. 3–5).

This same false doctrine is alive and well today in those who preach a gospel of wealth. In fact, Paul concluded this section without mincing words, calling them “men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain” (v. 5). 

Then Paul observed, “Godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment” (v. 6). 

Contentment—autarkeia in Greek—is an unusual word because it points to a sense of self-sufficiency as opposed to a lack of desire for things. The Stoics often used autarkeia in their writings to imply that people need nothing outside of themselves. But that certainly wasn’t what Paul had in mind when he used autarkeia in 1 Timothy 6:6. Instead, Paul turned the Stoic idea on its head. He declared that contentment, along with godliness, expressed a way of living that makes us independent of outward circumstances but not independent of God. 

Our relationship with God isn’t transactional. God isn’t a benevolent grandfather waiting to indulge our every whim as long as we are good little boys and girls. Rather, He’s the Sovereign of the universe who knows and does what’s best for us when it’s best.

Coupled with contentment, godliness refocuses our glance away from all that glitters (the temporal) to all that glorifies (the eternal). It reminds us that God is sufficient to supply all we need (Hebrews 13:5–6). Therefore, Paul says, godliness isn’t about getting more material stuff; godliness is about how to live a life of faith in Christ, content with whatever we possess. 

What is the difference between a transactional approach to prayer and a relational approach to prayer?