Contentment #5— Naked Contentment

Godliness is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we should be content. … But many who have longed for money have wandered away from the faith. 1 Timothy 6:6–10

Contentment energizes godliness. So, if we want to be more godly, we must bend every effort to be content. Why be more godly? Because “godliness holds promise for life now and for the life to come.” If we seek first to live under the rule of the King and according to his rules—to be godly—we will receive what we need for this life: houses and farms and mothers and sisters and brothers, even our daily bread; and in the age to come eternal life. To gain the contentment necessary to succeed in being godly, minimizing distractions would be a wise course of action. Remembering our condition at birth and looking forward to our condition at death is one way to stay focused. Since life with God in the age to come will require none of the accouterments we obtain for our lives on this earth, he wants us to trust him now, because this will make us fit for the fellowship of life in the age to come. Longing for more now—whether the abstract of money or the concrete of things—distracts us from longing for everything God will provide for us in Christ in eternity. Minimum content, maximum contentment.

Father, when I was born, I was dependent on you for everything. Keep me trusting in you, fully content with your way in my life, so that when Jesus returns, I’ll be ready. Amen.