Godly Contentment

Being Content

Today we are going to continue in our series on Simplicity. Today we are going to try and figure out how to be content. In our culture today it’s hard to be content.

I mean look at all the ads and commercials telling us to get the new this or the new that. You can’t even talk about something at the house with facebook knowing about it and putting an ad in your timeline right? And then all the people who offer advice like yeah get yours, get what you deserve, chase the money, buy the new car, the house that’s too big, the brand new phone that come out 8 months after you just upgraded to the previously brand new phone. Everything around us in this world is telling us not to be content but to strive and push and throw ourselves at getting the most. So how? How do we have contentment? I think we will have a better idea when we get finished.

You know when I was thinking about being content and preparing this sermon a funny picture began to come in my mind:

Have you ever been driving down the road and you see some cows eating up by a fence? And let’s really imagine this ok? Anybody else have kids or a spouse that always points out animals when your driving besides me? You know everytime they see an animal while your going down the road it’s like the first time they have ever seen it.

It’s always funny to me there’s always 1 cow that has their neck through the fence right? They are eating the exact same meal but its on the other side of the boundary? That grass has to taste better right? Maybe but more likely there’s a lot of trash in the grass. There’s plastic and glass bottles, wrappers, empty chip bags, cigarette butts, no telling what kind of chemical run off when it rains. So the grass may look greener but it’s full of dangerous things for the cow. That’s how life gets for us when we aren’t content. We seek after things that may look great but are full of dangerous things for us and can harm us, our relationships, and others around us.

When I hear the word simplicity or contentment applied to life I tend to think of the things we really need. Not our wants, not our desires, but the bare necessities of life to live and function.

Paul in his first letter to Timothy had the same idea…He references food and clothing. He’s going real simple he doesn’t even mention a house.

Let’s look at what Paul say in

New Living Translation Chapter 6

6 Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. 7 After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. 8 So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.

There are several instances in the scriptures that tell us we brought nothing into this world and will bring nothing out. Probably specifically for people like me who are a little hard headed on occasion. I want to expand this a little bit though. Normally when we think of being content we think about just material things. But I also want to hit on things like prestige, reputation, and legacy as areas where we all struggle to find contentment. Pastor Charles talked about contentment some last week and I guess this week I’ll beat that horse until it falls over.

Just for a minute though I want to be very open and honest up here. We all struggle with contentment. Here are just a few phrases that I have either spoken to myself or have thought:

I need a better job.

I need more money.

I need a bigger house.

I need a nicer car.

I need a better life.

If I had more money I’d be happy

If I had nice things I’d be happy

I don’t have enough

I need a bigger church

I need a bigger congregation

I need a bigger youth group

You see having these things is not a bad thing. But not being content with what you do have will set unreachable expectations.

I need lighting.

If we look at those things I just said again here is the reality of those statements.

I need a better job which will keep from my family

I need more money i’ll quit being generous

I need more funding.

I need a bigger house that i wont be able to enjoy

I need a nicer car just so it can sit in the parking lot at work

I need a better life

And honestly I think I have said every single one of those in both categories. You see having these things is not a bad thing. But not being content with what you do have will set unreachable expectations.

If I had more money I’d be happy until i ran out again

If I had nice things I’d be happy until nicer things come out

I don’t have enough and as long as i keep pursuing the wrong things i won’t

As we dig in to what the scriptures say about contentment here is my first point.

Godly Contentment is the polar opposite of self-sufficiency.

What do I mean by that. Contentment is not in our self but is found in God and His sufficiency for all our needs.

Listen to what Paul writes in Romans 8:31-32

New Living Translation Chapter 8

31 What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

God is sufficient for our needs. He will give us everything else is what paul says here. Every need. Including the one that caused Him to send His son Jesus to a cross.

What happens when we don’t have Godly Contentment? What happens to us when we seek and prioritize and our thoughts are dominated by the things we don’t have but we think we just have to have. Continuing in paul writes this:

New Living Translation Chapter 6

9 But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

New Living Translation Chapter 6

11 But you, Timothy, are a man of God; so run from all these evil things.

My second point is this....

When we chase riches the road is not only dangerous but we are blinded to the exit ramp.

Paul says that not being content and chasing things will cause us to fall into temptation. And we are trapped by harmful desires that plunge us into ruin and destruction. And these traps are so dangerous for us that Paul tells Timothy to RUN from these evil things. Not rationalize, not sleep on them, not mull them over, JUST RUN.

Have you ever driven through dense fog. Like you know the kind that you can only make out a little past the hood of your car. I’ve done that a few times and I tell you its dangerous. Your laser focused on whats in front of you. You can’t see the curves until your in them and you can’t see the exit ramps until you pass them. That’s kind of like how we get when we are not content and chasing riches. We can’t see anything except the thing we’ve put in front of us to chase.

When our eyes are looking at how we can acquire more that becomes a laser focus. Our world revolves around getting more. And we become so laser focused on that so much so that not only do we not see the flashing caution lights of a deteriorating family situation, loss of relationships, and blatant sin to get what we want, we justify those things and lie to ourselves that we will fix it after we acquire more. We miss the exit ramps completely.

Paul says that not being content and chasing things will cause us to fall into temptation. And we are trapped by harmful desires that plunge us into ruin and destruction.

We end up like the cow I talked about earlier. Not only is our neck hanging over a barb wire fence we are sifting through the trash searching for a little piece of treasure. Just a little bit more.

So then what are we to do? How can we live lives that are content. And what happens if we do happen to have a little bit of money? Listen to what Paul writes to Timothy

Timothy 6:17-19

Godly Contentment is living dependent on your relationship with Christ and independent on circumstances.

New Living Translation Chapter 6

17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.

My last point I want to make is

My last point I want to make is

Godly Contentment is living dependent on your relationship with Christ and independent on circumstances.

When we have resources as Christ followers we are called to put those resources to good use. We can’t hoard them up and take them with us. They will serve you no purpose when you leave this earthly body. But think about the impact we could make on the world if every believer used their resources to further the Gospel. To take care of the widows and orphans. To feed the hungry and clothe those who don’t have anything to wear.

Circumstances change. Employment changes. World Events change. Our contentment cant come from our things. Because all of those things can be gone in an instant. Look at Job he was wealthy, had servants, farmhands, livestock, crops and in the span of 1 day all of that plus his children were taken away.

How devastated do you think he would have been if his contentment had been found in all of his material goods or even in his children. It would have destroyed him. Let’s see how Job handled this storm:

Job 1:20-22

Job 1:20–22 NLT

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

It says he worshipped. He had rest and contentment that even through all of this God would provide. God’s decisions are best. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

The key to Godly Contentment is worshiping God for who He is. Not for what He’s given you but just for who He is. Being thankful that He made you and wants to have a relationship with you. When your heart is full of worship you don’t have time to chase anything else.