Let’s talk about money today. This might be the most common source of discontentment in our world or, oppositely, our most common source of false contentment. Quite often, being content is defined as having enough money or possessions. The world says money and things equal success and that you can never have enough money or things! This plants the subconscious seed that money and things truly do make us most content, and without them we will be incredibly discontent. We have all fallen into this trap of belief at some point.
Pull up your Bible app and read 1 Timothy 6:6-10. This truth hits us hard: “…we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it…” This sentence in itself shows that there is no contentment found in the possessions of this world. It reminds us that money is actually only paper that will be ripped up and thrown away one day, that a house is just some pieces of wood screwed together that will be torn down eventually, that even a hot meal on the table will leave us just as quickly as it goes in.
When we seek contentment in the things the world has created, we are left feeling empty. But, when we seek contentment in the Creator, we are brought to a contentment that is deeper than simply “having enough.”
Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but [Jesus’] words will never pass away.” Do you know what Jesus used His words for? Creating you. Creating the earth. Speaking promises of abundant life for you right now and for eternity. Our contentment should be in this Creator, whose words last forever and give us hope; not the possessions of this earth that fade away and leave us only emptier! We can be content whether or not we have money or possessions because God is Creator!
Action: Go back to the list you created on Monday and highlight all the items that fall under the “money and possessions” category (if you’re like me, there are a lot). Now, reflect on the italicized sentence above. How does that change your contentment regarding what you do or do not have?
Let us know! What possession has the Lord revealed to you that you find your contentment in?
Author: Hannah-Grace Hedgecoth