Contentment in life

In a meeting for the teachers of a missionary training Institution, a preacher asked the question, ‘What is the opposite of contentment?” Nobody answered immediately. The topic selected for discussion for that day was ‘Contentment in life’. After sometime one brother answered. “The opposite of contentment is greediness”. Yes. Contentment is opposite of greed, murmuring, envy and worry. It is an uncomplaining acceptance of one’s share. St. Paul wrote in Phil. 4:11,12 that he had learnt the secret of contentment, “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need”. Contentment is being satisfied with what we have. We are living in the world of discontentment. As believers we long to be content with what we have. What are the areas in which one has to be content?  

1. Be content with your income: Once I travelled with a missionary from Nagpur to a big company. Ten years ago, he resigned his job and joined a mission organisation. He told me in the train. “Brother, when I joined the mission organisation, after resigning my job, I received one tenth of what I received in the company. But the Lord has been good to me so far. He had met all my needs”. The missionary was content with his income, even though it was very low. John the Baptist instructed the soldiers to be content with their income, ‘Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages” Luke 3:14. It is very important for us to be content with our income, otherwise it will lead to depression and worry.

 

2. Be content with your possessions: Once I attended a family conference as a family. The devotional preacher was formerly in a good job. He left everything and became a Bible teacher. While talking about material possessions, he quoted Luke 16: 15, “For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” Then he said, “This verse says that money which is highly esteemed among men, is an abomination to God. People consider money as very valuable. But God considers money as an abomination. Do you know what abomination is? If somebody vomits here, the vomit is an abomination for us. So for God, the money and material possessions are abomination like vomiting”. In this world the worldly people run after money. But as children of God, we are called to be content with our possessions. For the Bible says, ”Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have: For He Himself has said ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you” Heb. 13:5.


3. Be content with the basic needs- food and clothing : The Bible says “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” 1 Tim. 6:6-8. In this passage the Bible says that we have to be content with our basic needs like food and clothing. More than 60% of people in our country do not have all the basic needs that we have in our lives. The Bible also says, “But you, O man of God, flee from these things (riches) and pursue righteousness, godliness faith, love, patience, gentleness” 1 Tim.6: 11. Once I met a friend, who was an evangelist and preacher, in a camp in a hill station. I thought that he had come to the camp as a speaker. But when I spent time with him, I found that he had come there to take rest after a severe heart attack. He told me that he was involving in business for two years to earn money and support the ministry. He accumulated millions of rupees and invested the money in a multinational company. He lost everything. His friends forsook him. In the shock, he had a severe heart attack. Depressed he came to the camp. In one of the meetings in the camp, the preacher preached on the riches and its uselessness. He sang a Tamil song Mannukaka Manickathai Vittida matten (I will not leave the diamond (Jesus) for the world). After the meeting, when I went to my friend’s room, I found my friend on his knees singing the same song. He has learnt, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Tim.6:7,8). May the Lord help us to learn the secret of being content with what we have, like St. Paul.

(Dr. C Barnabas, Translated from True Discipleship May 1999)