“But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Tim. 6:6)

Many years ago, when Bro. Foy Smith was the preacher here at Highland, he used to present lessons based upon a word found in the Bible.  I liked that method of lesson development then and still do today.  So, having said that, I’m going to use Foy’s method for our lesson today only I’m going to go him one better.  However, instead of looking at one word, I’m going to use two of them for you to consider.

        “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”   (1 Tim. 6:6)

Our first word to be studied today is “contentment.”   In essence, it will also be a lesson on “priorities” which I think will come out as we look at some thoughts on “contentment.”  I’ll start this effort off by opining that not many people today, percentage-wise, are content.  I say that because it seems to me that too many people are overly concerned with the obtaining or amassing of the worlds “goodies” to the extent that, no matter how much they accumulate, they’re not content with what they have.  They’ve gotta have more. 

Here’s where we get into the realm of “priorities.”  If your main goal is the “getting of the goodies,” then your “priorities” are in the wrong place.   Now I want you to know that I’m not the first, or the only one, to have this opinion.  Notice something the apostle Paul said about “priorities”:  “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.”  (1Tim. 6:9-10)

What Paul is saying there correlates to an old axiom with which we’re all familiar - “putting the cart before the horse.”  Why I can know that this is what he’s talking about is what he said just previous to his warning seen in the above paragraph.  In verse 6 he wrote:  “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” 

The lesson thought is, if we have our “priorities” straight and we’re seeking to be pleasing to God first and material gain somewhere else afterward we’ll find ourselves befitting the words of Heb. 13:5 “But let your conversation (manner of life) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for He hath said, I will never leave thee, not forsake thee.”  However, that doesn’t preclude the fact that, should we live our lives with the “priority” of worldly gain before “godliness,” we’ll not be “content” and we will have left God.

Not only did God, through the hand of Paul, write profitable things about “contentment” so did the German poet/philosopher Goethe when he penned these words: “There are nine requisites for contented living: HEALTH enough to make work a pleasure; WEALTH enough to support your needs; STRENGTH enough to confess your sins and overcome them; PATIENCE enough to toil until some good is accomplished; CHARITY enough to see some good in your neighbor; LOVE enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others; FAITH enough to make real the things of God; HOPE enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.” I just add my AMEN to that.

 

          “Worry is the interest paid by those who borrow trouble.”  (George W. Lyon)

Well, let’s go on to our second study word for today and that will be - “worry.”  When you think about it, isn’t that almost the antithesis of “contentment?”  What a burden “worry” is in our lives.  It can get to be like a “millstone” hanging around our necks, can’t it?   “Worry” can just break us down if we don’t get rid of it.

You know what I see as ironic about “worry?”  That at times we tend to “worry” about things that don’t amount to two hoots and a hollar.   That we “worry” about things that don’t amount to the proverbial “hill of beans.”   I’ve even known people who “worry” because things are going good for them.  It’s like they “worry” about not having something to “worry” about.  Figure that one out!

Do you know what we’re doing when we “worry” about things that we have no business worrying about?  We are just “borrowing trouble” and Jesus warned us not to do this when He told us to “...not be anxious (worry) about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.  Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  (Mt. 6:34 ESV) Tomorrow will have its own “worries.”  You don’t have to add them to today’s.

But don’t a lot of us do exactly that?  I mean, we haven’t even gotten through today and we’re already “worrying” about what’s going to happen tomorrow.  A preacher named Robert Jones Burdette once said some words fitting to this thought.  He said: “There are two days in the week about which and upon which I never worry.  Two carefree days, kept sacredly free from fear and apprehension.  One of those days is Yesterday....and the other day I do not worry about is Tomorrow.”

Another thing pertaining to “worry” that bugs me about us “human beans” is that many, many times we “worry” about things over which we have absolutely no control.   Think about it - if it was a situation over which you had control, then do something about it instead of worrying.  Here again, “worrying” about things over which we exercise no control is “borrowing trouble.”

Yes, there are times in life when we need to “worry” about something.  To be concerned about and will no doubt need attention paid to it.  I believe that if we take a moment, step back and really consider the situation and the effect that “worrying” has on us, many times we’ll come to the realization that our “worry” isn’t warranted.  That we’re just “borrowing trouble” and putting a lot of undue stress on ourselves in doing so.

In following the advice of Solomon (Prov. 17:22) I’m going to close with a couple of thoughts on “worry” presented in a “lighter vein.”  One humorist put it this way: “You need to start worrying about your health if you can’t sleep when it’s time to get up.”

Another one said: “We worry about all the people who can’t read or write in the underdeveloped nations, but it’s no comfort to know that the educated people got us into our present mess.”  I’m sorry, but I have to give a loud AMEN to that one too.   For my “real” closing today, let me leave you with some most beautiful and encouraging words from God’s Word. 

   “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”  (Jesus to His disciples in John 14:27 ESV)

    “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”   (Phil. 4:6-7 ESV)

Ron Covey