Godliness with Contentment

This world has rules to live by, and one of them is:

No Contentment Allowed.

Okay, maybe temporarily. We’re expected to savor the first paycheck, the first couple weeks on the new job, and the first month with the new car… and then we are off, angling toward a promotion, anticipating the accompanying compensation, and salivating over the new SUV’s. The only thing is this world that is allowed to live a contented life is… a cow.

I like cows. I like their great, calm eyes and their ambling gait and their generally non-aggressive personalities. But I think most of us cannot relate to them very well. We resonate better with… squirrels. Nervous, jerky, expending tremendous amounts of energy scuffling about in rotten leaves, taking hair-raising leaps in the treetops, and generally creating quite a flurry wherever they go. The only contented squirrels I’ve seen are the stuffed ones that decorate our house.

And too many of us Christians assume that that’s life. We are destined to race about like crazy amassing all the “acorns” we can (for God’s glory, of course), until one day it’s lights out and we can finally rest in contentment forever.

No, Paul says. Godliness with contentment here and now is great gain (1 Tim. 6:6). The Greek word for contentment means “inner sufficiency.” The Christian who is contented with what God has given him is not lazy, unmotivated, or a disgrace to society. He’s not living below his privileges or possibilities. He’s obeying Scripture, demonstrating faith in God as his Supplier, and standing firm in a powerful crosscurrent of worldly temptation.

Try it tonight when you go to bed. Close your eyes and tell the Lord, “Enough. I’m not asking You for anything right now. I thank you for supplying my needs today; I trust You to supply my needs tomorrow. I am contented in You.”

If there were tears in heaven, I think God might shed a few out of sheer happiness. Somebody acknowledges that He’s the Source. Somebody is satisfied with what He’s doing! Somebody actually gets it!

Somebody wants to be a cow, not a squirrel. That “somebody” will sleep contented tonight.