Now let’s consider our “room.” The word in verse 8 is “covering.” Just covering—that’s all we need for great gain. Not multiple outfits with matching shoes. Not a three-thousand-square-foot home with central air and plans for a summer home. Just shelter to protect our heads, and clothes to help warm our bodies.
I’m not saying a larger home or a second home is wrong. I’m just saying you don’t have to have it, and the pursuit of it often leads to misery! You just need food and covering. That’s enough. There’s a Roman proverb, “Money is like seawater; the more you drink, the thirstier you get.” Well, contentment is breaking that cycle of thirst and being able to say, “I don’t need anymore.” “If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:8). Content. That’s saying: “I have enough.”
CONTENTMENT STEP THREE: LEARN BY EXAMPLE
Beyond thinking about eternity and letting enough be enough, here’s the third step for contentment: Learn by example. The craziest thing about the human race is that we think we have to learn everything on our own. How dumb is that? Why can’t we learn from other people? We’re not the first people to talk about contentment, right? And we’re not the first ones to struggle with covetousness or experience its fallout and devastation.
Indeed, thousands and thousands of people ore us have already figured this lesson out. Most of them found out too late. (That’s what this book is all about: Lord, Change My Attitude [Before It’s Too Late.] )John D. Rockefeller said, “I have made millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” Cornelius Vanderbilt said, “The care of millions is too great a load. There is no pleasure in it.” John Jacob Astor, who acquired immense wealth in his lifetime, said, “I am the most miserable man on earth.” Though he owned a luxurious estate, Henry Ford said at the end of his life, “I was happier as a boy working in a mechanic’s shop, though we had nothing.” Why not take these examples seriously and avoid their mistake?
DANGER, DANGER, DANGER
I wonder if any of those men ever read 1 Timothy 6:9: “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare” ? That word want is from a Greek word that means, not a momentary emotional desire, but a “settled desire born of reason.” Does this sound familiar? “I’ve thought it through, and this is what my life will be about—money. I’m going to make as much as I can. I’m going to get some things. I’m going to build something. I’m going to stand on top of it and say, ‘Look what I did.’” That’s a very bad plan. We’ve got God’s Word on it, which warns, “Those who want to get rich” are easily ensnared.
Note the word temptation. Money allows you to go places and do things and experience pressures to sin that someone in poverty will never know. With money comes amplified temptation. “Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare.” The word snare there can also be translated trap. Money traps people. How often I have heard people say:
“I want to serve God, but I would have to sell this big house of mine.” Trapped!
“I want to spend more time with my family and pursue eternal priorities, but I’m working at this company where everyone at my level works sixty hours a week. If I don’t keep working the way everybody else is working, I’m going to lose my career.” Trapped!
“I don’t want to spend so much money on clothing and on cars, but everybody on our street does the same thing.” Trapped!
“I don’t want my kids to feel foolish going to school in discount clothes or hand-me-downs.” Trapped!
That’s the thinking of those who want to get rich as their objective in life. They fall into temptation and a snare.
You say, “I don’t want to miss church as much as we have, but we have this membership at the club and we have to be there. I hate to miss church, but we bought a boat. I don’t want to waste the money, so since we bought the boat, we have to be on the boat.” Are you having fun yet? “Well, I’m trying to . . .” It gets worse: “and many foolish and harmful desires . . .” A fool is a person who has no discernment. “I think that will make us happy. Maybe if we get that we’ll be happy.” Not all our desires are innocent. Some are very harmful. Some wants bring devastation to our lives long before we acquire the thing itself. They have already done their damage at the desire stage.
And then, the ultimate consequences:“...ruin and destruction.” Living for my desires over a lifetime brings far more than damage; it brings devastation. The eternal results of a lifetime of living for my own desires is destruction. That’s why Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God” (Mar k 10:25). He explained: “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). If you live for things and for self and for your own satisfaction, then you ought not to be surprised when you hear the Lord say at the very end, “I never knew you; depart from Me” (Matthew 7:23). You might be able to fool others, but God knows the truth.
First Timothy 6:10 brings Paul to his conclusion, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil.” How many times have you heard that misquoted? People always say, “Money is the root of evil.” But that’s not what it says. There isn’t anything inherently evil or unrighteous about money. Money is just a currency, a commodity. Money is no more evil than chocolate chip cookies. The problem is the love of money. Loving it! Wanting it! Living for it! Believing that “Money will make me happy.”
Notice also that loving money is not the root of evil but a root of evil. All evil is not rooted in money. What Paul is saying is that loving money is just one of many roots that feed the tree of evil in this world.
TWO UGLY PICTURES
Paul added two ugly pictures to conclude the warning in verse 10. First, “Some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith.” Do you know anybody like that who used to seek and worship the Lord? They used to love Him with their whole hearts, but now they just love money. They adore the “almighty dollar.” They have to have more, because they love it! Do you know anybody like that who has wandered away from the faith?
Here’s the second, even sadder, picture. Those who have longed for it have “pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (NKJV). Pierced themselves. How ugly is the picture of a person stabbing themselves? Imagine the dialogue:
“What are you doing?”
“I’m stabbing myself.”
“Why do you keep doing that?”
“Well, because I love money.”
That’s so stupid it would be funny, if it wasn’t totally sad! Loving money is piercing yourself through with many sorrows.
No matter what it looks like on the outside, loving money does damage on the inside—soul damage. If it persists, it’s taking you to a place where there is no contentment. But there’s a better way: Godliness plus contentment is great gain.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL
The phone rang recently. A new buddy of mine from Michigan was on the line. He knows I love to golf, and that’s my favorite thing. He asked, “What are you doing December 4?” “I don’t know.”
“I’ve just made a donation, and I’m going to be playing in the Second Annual Payne Stewart Memorial Tournament in Orlando. Would you like to come and play with me?” I’m like, “Yeeahhh. That would be great. I’d love to do that.”
“Well, excellent.” Then he adds, like a sly afterthought, “The thing that’s amazing is I’ve made the second highest donation. So I get to pick who I want to play with.”
I asked, “Who will we be playing with?”
He says in an offhanded way, “It will be me and you, another guy named Frank, and Tiger Woods. So check your calendar.”
“I’ll check right now.” I eagerly flipped open my calendar. “Stink!” I almost shouted. “I’m going to be in Israel.”
I have to tell you, my attitude took a little dip! For a couple of hours I was like, “Stupid Israel trip. I cannot believe it!” In fact, my attitude got so bad that by the time I got home and was watching the nightly new
s about all the violence in Israel, I was thinking, “Maybe it’ll get worse and I won’t have to go!” That’s bad! Now just to encourage ur heart about this buddy, no sooner had I thought that than the Lord rebuked me and said, “You’ve got a rotten attitude.”
I had to choose a different attitude. And ever since then I’ve been, “That’s right. I’m going to Israel. I’m going to go where Jesus walked. I’m going to see things that people long to see. It’s going to be a spiritual highlight of my whole life! Stinking golf tournament. Forget that!” (As it turned out, the trip to Israel was canceled due to the Middle East conflict, and Tiger Woods backed out of the tournament. I realized that being content is best of all, no matter what.)
That experience reinforced in my mind this truth: We have so many options in life. Contentment is choosing to be satisfied in what I do have and not expending my best energies pressing for more.
LET’S TALK SOLUTION
You say, “You convinced me! I want that sense of contentment.” Then make a note of these three choices that will help you make progress in replacing covetousness with contentment— genuine, biblical, lasting contentment.
1. Seek it. Seek contentment as a lifestyle, as a choice. Make it your aim to come to the place where you really believe that more does not equal happier. Acknowledge that you would not be happier with more. You wouldn’t be. As we saw in the warnings from God’s Word, often you’d be more miserable.
2. Say it. Cultivate the capacity to say, “I have enough.” Let the words “I have enough” ring from your home. Push yourself back from the table early and say, “I have had enough.” After work, stand with the surprise bonus in your hand considering what you might buy, and resist by saying, “I have enough” or by even praying, “Lord, how can I use this for You?”
In fact, why not begin right now and say by faith out loud, “I have enough.” I know we don’t say that very often, and it’s so contrary to the culture. But there is victory here. So even if you don’t believe it yet—even if you haven’t seen it yet—decide to trust God’s provision and say, “I have enough.” The trust of contentment is just like the trust we exercise at conversion: “I don’t know if this will change my life, but my thing is not working. Lord, if You’re real, come into my life and forgive my sins.” That’s a salvation breakthrough. Have a sanctification breakthrough and say by faith, “I have enough.” Say it. “God, I have enough.” Let those words ring from our cars and our churches and our times at the mall.
3. Settle it. Psalm 62:10 says, “If riches increase, do not set your heart upon them.” I would challenge you to choose a lifestyle. Don’t let your income dictate your lifestyle. Choose a comfortable level of living that you need, and do not compromise that with more spending when more income arrives. If you don’t choose a lifestyle, this culture will choose one for you, and it will be the lifestyle of living beyond your means. Be countercultural and radical! Let your lifestyle be biblically based. Eternally focused. Others-oriented. Let enough be enough. Learn from the example of others. If you do, you will save yourself a world of hurt and know the joy of a truly contented attitude.
START HERE
Don’t miss the chance to have God speak to your heart about the following questions.
Am I a contented person?
I know some will say, “Look to eternity? Yeah, I guess I think about death once in a while, but what does it mean to think eternal thoughts? What’s that?” Well, here’s an example: If all the grains of sand on all the beaches in all the world reprsent eternity, then you could say that one grain of sand represents life on this earth. And all the rest of the grains of sand on all the beaches in all the world represent that same amount of time in eternity. We’re over here grinding this one grain of sand, our time on earth, to get everything out of it (and failing miserably)! But too often we ignore all the rest God has in store for us. To be content, focus on eternity. Let enough be enough. Learn by example. Get to the place where you can say yes to the question, “Am I a contented person?”
Am I seeing the blessings of contentment in my life?
Contentment brings blessings. Blessings such as joy in the present, and health and satisfaction in the simple things of life. Contentment brings a settled sense of sufficiency and a peaceful pace that proves “more” is not the focus of your thinking. You have life. What a privilege to be alive in this world! Contentment brings joy in the present.
Contentment also builds our capacity to enjoy ordinary pleasures. If you’re content, simple stuff makes you happy. Like a nice walk. Go for a walk today with a member of your family, and hold his or her hand. Talk about important things. Enjoy a simple pleasure; for example, a loving conversation or a good meal without racing to your next appointment. Simple things: a nice piece of music savored. Cultivate your capacity to enjoy ordinary pleasures.
Contentment also promotes true joy in eternal things. You know, the angels have a party when one sinner is saved (see Luke 15:10). How phenomenal is that? They know how to have a good time!
If you anticipate picking up your Bible and can’t wait to hear God speak, that’s contentment. If you can sit quietly rejoicing in a simple pleasure and not need to think of what you will do next, that’s contentment.
Am I choosing contentment over covetousness moment by moment?
Contentment is a choice. When you choose contentment repeatedly, you create a lifestyle. Don’t expect to replace covetousness with contentment in a moment. You don’t wake up in the morning and say, “Wow, I think I got contentment last night. It just happened. This is so cool—.” No; contentment begins with a choice. And then another choice. And then another. It happens moment by moment.
Put off covetousness; put on contentment. It’s a choice. Thus, a desire for something comes into my mind. “Not necessary,” I respond. “I have enough.” That’s contentment.
Paul said in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Contentment is something you learn. You can practice it. God wants us to improve at this every day we live. Contentment is what replaces wilderness attitude number two. Take a moment to pray about that.
Look Up
Father, thank You again today for the truth of Your Word. Lord, I’ve learned by experience that hearing Your Word is not enough. I know I need to act upon Your Word. It’s doing what it says that brings results! Lord, don’t let me deceive myself today into thinking that I am changed because of what I have read. Let me be changed because of what I do in response to what I have read. Let my home and my place of work and my life this week be filled with contentment.
Lord, I do have enough—I have You. I have Your promises. I have Your faithfulness. I have Your strength and wisdom to pursue change in the hurtful areas of my life. I know I can trust You with my burdens. Forgive me for thinking that my happiness is in anything external. Help me to embrace the truth that godliness with contentment is great gain. All that I pray, I pray in the name of Jesus, who is my ultimate example of true contentment. Amen.
NOTE
1. 1. Randy Frame, “Same Old Benny Hinn, Critics Say,” Christianity Today , 5 October 1992, 52.
CHAPTER 5:
REPLACE A CRITICAL ATTITUDE...
NUMBERS 12:1–12
SAY IT IN A SENTENCE:
A continuously critical attitude toward those around me will consume all that is healthy and joy-producing in my life.
A farmer stood by the road one day and observed a large wagon filled with household goods moving toward him. Dust flew as the wagon pulled to a stop and the driver shouted, “We’re moving from Brownsville to Jonestown. How much farther is it?”
“About thirty miles,” said the farmer.
“And what kind of people shall we expect to find there?” asked the traveler.
“Well, what kind of people did you leave behind in Brownsville?”
“Oh, they were so negative and so cheerless, so deceptive and so ungrateful, just a godless bunch, all of them. That’s
the main reason we are moving. What kind of people will we find in Jonestown?”
“The very same kind, I’m sorry to say,” said the farmer.
And he was right. He knew the traveler would find in the next town the same kind of people he perceived lived in Brownsville. Far more often than we care to admit, outlook determines outcome. The way that we look at a matter, the attitude that we choose, has direct bearing on how we experience reality. Two people can look at the very same circumstance and experience it entirely differently based upon the attitude they choose—the patterns of thinking that they have formed over a long period of time.
THE SPECK AND LOG SYNDROME
Are you familiar with the words of Christ regarding a critical attitude? He asked His followers during the Sermon on the Mount: “Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).
I have made a pretty big deal thus far focusing on the truth that we choose our attitudes. I have focused upon that because it is true and because until we accept responsibility for our attitudes, we will never be able to change. However, that concept of personal responsibility is in no way intended to ignore the role of background on our attitude. Some of us struggle more with certain attitudes because of the cultures we are from, the kind of homes we grew up in, or the kind of churches we attended during our formative years. Those factors have certainly influenced my tendency toward certain attitudes.
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