Read: Read 1 Timothy 6:3-16

Godliness with contentment is great gain. 1 Timothy 6: 6

Consider with me the contrast between contentment and discontentment. Timothy does not give any room for discontentment in his message here in I Timothy 6:5. In fact, he asks us to withdraw from those who teach a gospel that promises health and material prosperity. He strongly implies that material gain is not godliness. True godliness is found in contentment. Verse 6 spells this out clearly: “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” This teaches us that we acquire true riches by who we are, not by what we possess.  

Godliness is the truest gain; therefore, you must seek it with all our heart, and you will find contentment. The highest good conceivable is to be like God in mercy, love, grace, goodness, and kindness. Then you are truly rich. Don’t contemplate much on how to be secure materially, but rather contemplate on how to enjoy life to the fullest without this false security of things and money. I have learned this lesson through painful experiences. We multiply our cares as we multiply our means. Men are rich in the things they can do without.  

Set your mind free from anxious care; this is gain. Set your heart free from the desire to impress others; this is gain. Now that you are free from that, you have time to enjoy the flowers at your feet and smile at the faces all around you. So, be content with simple pleasures. We are called to be content with very little: only food and raiment. We are to be content with a few simple meals a day and clothing. Is this radical? I don’t know, but it is Biblical. Come now, and let us be done forever with our love for money and its unhappy effects on our lives. “But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness” (1 Timothy 6:11). Then, all will be well with us. Amen. 

~James Baer