PHILIPPIANS 4:10-13; 1 TIMOTHY 6:6-11

Nowhere does the Bible suggest that we should be content with unsatisfactory conditions. But because of our personal relationship with Christ we can be content in them. As different situations arise and we learn our lessons one after another, we will also find it possible to be content in every situation.

Contentment is one of those concepts that is easier to define than to experience. This is probably because the tendency is to seek contentment in possessions rather than in a person. We assume that contentment comes from having things, but it is possible to have deep contentment without things.

So often we think contentment would be ours if we were promoted to the next highest position or if we were able to buy that object we think we need so much or if we could be accepted in a certain circle of friends. But as we advance in these areas, we discover that contentment is elusive because we are seeking it in the wrong places and in the wrong way.

Contentment does not depend on what we have; it depends on who we are. It is a spiritual attainment, not something that results from purchasing power. As someone has said, “Contentment is a state of heart rather than a statement of account.”

Godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Tim. 6:6).

Theodore Epp
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