1 Timothy 6:6-10.                             Godliness with contentment??                                 15/2/15

⁶ But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Today as we celebrate Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday and give thanks to God for the blessings that he has so richly provided for us, we are here given a sobering reminder. This is an important word for our present day society that is far from content when it comes to what we have. This is despite the fact that we have way in excess of what we really need and often results in others less fortunate than us having to go without.

In this regard we are living at a difficult time, with a society that so obsessed by gaining and having an obscene array of material wealth and goods. This western society is continually bombarded with the view that it is I, me and myself and my happiness alone is all that matters. Along with that it over actively promotes that it is the accumulation of wealth and material goods that is what is going to make us happy.

Despite the evidence to the contrary, our western economic culture continues to expand the peddling of this message, that this is the way for us to go. In fact it is made to seem that it is only with the continual growing of our economies that we will be truly happy and blest. Yet we are seeing in epidemic proportions the destruction that this approach is having in people’s lives and happiness – even, and perhaps especially on those who are wealthy and have plenty.  Yet at the same time we have many of the poor getting even poorer.

I know that most people don’t want to hear this truth, for there seems to be no other way. Certainly our all-powerful corporations and economic gurus are doing their utmost to maintain this philosophy. Yet surely the degradation of our society should be sending alarm bells ringing loudly. This surely can be seen with only a cursory look at a practical and shallow level across people’s lives around us: even without scratching very deeply into the reality of what is going on inside people’s lives.

There is definitely a huge lack of peace and content in most people’s lives, despite the fact that they have way in excess of what they need. The broken relationships, depression, suicide and much more is clear evidence that the current views are not only not working, but are actually working against what we are promised will happen. This is without even taking into consideration the spiritual aspect of our lives and what God himself has to say in this regard.

So with all of this in mind then, this text here, as well as many others in the Bible, are all giving us a good healthy wake up call. Especially we as the people of God need to take careful note of the message that he is giving us here. I believe we all can see the truth of what is said here, in the lives of many people that we know.

So with that in mind let us consider carefully what he is telling us here in this reading. So let us hear again what is said.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. ⁷ For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. ⁸ But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. ⁹ Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

So if we want to have and gain something that is good, meaningful and satisfying then we are encouraged to approach life in a completely different way. Instead of trying to find satisfaction in the accumulation of wealth and material assets we are encouraged to seek after godliness with contentment.

Now this is going to be a difficult thing for us to get our head around, for our

society has very much programmed us to think that it is money and things which will give us what is important in life. Together with that, our sinful human nature wants to focus on me and what I want as that which is good and right for us.

Yet we are reminded that it is this godliness with contentment however that is where we will find our great gain – in other words, what is truly good and lasting and satisfying and all that. Now before we look at what this godliness with contentment is all about, we are reminded of a few basic truths about life that we need to keep in mind.

Firstly remember this basic reality: we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. We cannot take our million dollar bank balance and two story mansion with us when we die. It will be of no value to us when we die and stand before the great Judge.  Along with this remember that we only live on this earth for only roughly eighty years, which is nothing compared to eternity. So what we accumulate here has no great lasting value.

Secondly we are told: if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. So when we get the godliness with contentment right, we will find that we will be content with having food in our stomach, clothes on our back and a roof over our head. Caviar, designer clothes, and a six bedroom mansion are not necessary for happiness and fulfilment. When we have godliness with contentment how little or how much we have will not be important or valuable.

Thirdly we are reminded of another basic reality in life throughout the ages: Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. We don’t need to look very hard to find evidence of this truth. Those who chase after riches so often come unstuck in one way or another. They may lose their wealth because they took too big a risk; or are taken down by another more ruthless or shady person than themselves; their lack of morality catches them out; or any number of other ways. But in the end they are left broken and shattered; their dreams have come to nought.

Fourthly: For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. We today have been well trained in understanding it is money which will give you most of your wants and desires. Not your needs, but your wants and desires. Our whole society is built around money and what it can achieve., and so it leads to many, many evils.

Then perhaps most importantly of all: Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. When money and the accumulation of it is the main focus in one’s life, we have seen again and again how it has led many away from their faith in Jesus Christ. The flow on from that has brought all kinds of grief into that person’s life.

So there in those few verses  we are pointed to some basic realities which remind us that the ways of our present society are truly disastrous.  The everyday realities that we can see in our world around us today are backed up by God’s word itself. Our focus on gaining and accumulation wealth and materialism will and is creating all kinds of ruin and griefs. God’s Word and life both tell us this.

So then, we need to return again to that which is a great gain for us: to godliness with contentment. As we focus on what is acceptable to God we will be content with what we have: in fact we will find great peace, contentment and satisfaction. We suddenly find that it is not connected to wealth and the things we have, but in who we are as we are connected to Jesus Christ and all that he has done for us through his death on the cross, that makes for life.

So as we look to and believe in Jesus Christ and the cross we find this godliness that gives our lives that which we cannot find anywhere else. We also find that it is given to us freely as result of what Jesus achieved for us through the cross. So now we can know for sure that we are loved, forgiven, and have the assurance of eternal life with God in heaven. We know that he will use every bad situation in our life for good. And we can be sure that nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.   

So we can be content in the midst of plenty or little. We can go forward knowing that it is all there for us, without us having to work and strive achieve it. Life in all of its fullness is there for us as we stay connected to Jesus Christ.

So yes today we can give thanks to God for the many wonderful material blessings he has given us. But we also and especially give thanks to him for the godliness that he extends to us so that we can be content whether we have much material blessings or not. For we know that his blessings of godliness with contentment is what is of great gain. There in Jesus Christ and the cross we have that which gives us that which need to have a life that truly satisfies. So to him alone, again then, be all glory and honour now and always.

Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish