But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 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. 1 Timothy 6:6-9
“It may be said of one who is contented in a Christian way that he is the most contented man in the world, and yet the most unsatisfied man in the world; these two together must needs be mysterious. I say, a contented man, just as he is the most contented, so he is the most unsatisfied man in the world.
You never learned the mystery of contentment unless it may be said of you that, just as you are the most contented man, so you are also the most unsatisfied man in the world. You will say, ‘How is that?’ A man who has learned the art of contentment is the most contented with any low condition that he has in the world, and yet he cannot be satisfied with the enjoyment of all the world.
He is contented if he has but a crust, but bread and water, that is, if God disposes of him, for the things of the world, to have but bread and water for his present condition, he can be satisfied with God’s disposal in that; yet if God should give unto him Kingdoms and Empires, all the world to rule, if he should give it him for his portion, he would not be satisfied with that.
Here is the mystery of it: though his heart is so enlarged that the enjoyment of all the world and ten thousand worlds cannot satisfy him for his portion; yet he has a heart quieted under God’s disposal, if he gives him but bread and water. To join these two together must needs be a great art and mystery.”
Jeremiah Burroughs (1600-1646) in The Rare Jewel Of Christian Contentment (Preach the Word) 23-24.
People who try to pursue godliness without contentment do not gain, they lose. They try to get rich, and in so doing, choose a path that leads to all manner of troubles.
It is needful to grasp this mystery. Godliness with contentment is great gain. The one who is content with Christ has everything he or she needs to navigate life.
Simultaneously, nothing on this earth can satisfy a person. This reminds me of a previous meditation from C.S. Lewis in his classic work, Mere Christianity.
“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.” Do you see it? That’s why nothing in this world can satisfy us.
We were made for heaven. Though some try to find satisfaction with the enjoyment of the world, the famous Rolling Stones song suggests otherwise: “I can’t get no satisfaction.”
Today’s Scripture provides the answer. Aiming at getting rich will only leave a person unsatisfied. Alternatively, aiming at godliness with contentment marks the way to life.
Such people use money in ways that bless others because they know they cannot take it with them when they die, but they can send it ahead to heaven through giving.
What about you? Are you content but never satisfied? Once you get to this place, generosity comes into view as your purpose and the reason God has placed you on this planet.