Christian Contentment

One word I consider very important for us as Christians, in the times that we live in today; and which we hardly remember is “contentment”. We just seem to have an insatiable appetite for everything – clothes, money, food; it is an endless list. We keep wanting more and yet we are born again Christians empowered to control ourselves by the Holy Spirit who is in us. The sad thing is the unbelievers are even more content than we are. Now people are forever in debt (buying clothes, shoes, jewellery and other things they cannot readily afford) because they need to look a particular way when they go to church. The bible says in 

1 Timothy 6:6-7 – “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we can carry nothing out”

I checked my Webster’s dictionary as I usually do (I wish I could learn to check the Greek and Hebrew dictionaries for some of these words instead of the English dictionary. It sounds so theological and spiritual to say the Greek and Hebrew meaning of words. Who knows, I might be able to do that one day.)  Anyway, I went to my dictionary and found that contentment is derived from the word 'content' and 'content' amongst other things means ‘to be satisfied’. It also means ‘to limit oneself in requirements, desires or action’

The word appears to have become so obsolete that it sounds so totally out of place when used in the midst of Christians. We excuse our greed, envy, discontent and covetousness with ambition, strong drive and every other seemingly nice word but the truth is more often than not the ambition is selfish and the drive is greed and an endless list of ungodly things yet we want to express the nature of God. We quote various scriptures to support all of these “fruits of the flesh” meanwhile we are just a bunch of discontent, greedy , selfish, uncaring people who are always lusting after all that is going on in another person’s life and never grateful for what God is doing in their own lives and so are very “unthankful”. We have become very selfish and uncaring; thinking of ourselves only.

The all-wise and all knowing God says it is profitable to add contentment to our godliness. God says – it is great gain. It helps one to appreciate where God took one from, where He has brought one to and gives the confident assurance that He will also take one to heights of fulfilment in His own time and way. Contentment helps us live a real and true life instead of always dreaming of how your life could have been and is not; living in the future and not enjoying the present then one day you find that your entire life is gone and you did not enjoy any of it just because you refuse to be content and enjoy life as it is whilst trusting God to take you forward.

It is time to begin to learn contentment otherwise we may soon start having born again believers who are robbers. People who lust after other people’s things so much that they steal them; is that not the basis of adultery? You want a person that belongs to another by reason of marriage. You want the person so much that you steal the person. It is lack of contentment. We must reinstate that word immediately and give it the attention required in our lives. It is time to learn again to limit oneself in desires, requirements and actions. God is looking to you and I to express His nature and the entire creation waits for us to manifest the nature of God. If you are ready, ask God for help please and I can assure you He will send help in the person of the Holy Spirit.