Contentment

Reading: 1 Timothy 6:6-11; 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great gain. (1 Timothy 6 NLT)

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! (1 Corinthians 9:24 NLT)

Well I did it! I joined a gym! They told me I could lose 20 pounds and be as fit as a 80-year-old can be in no time. But I should have known, it’s a scam! I can already see it isn’t going to work. Apparently you have to actually go there and work out!

Since January 1, my email inbox, my social media streams, and the articles that come my way are filled with admonitions: To do better. To set bigger goals. To change my thinking. To achieve more. To make more money. To fulfill my God-given purpose. To think and act in such a way that I’ll feel better about myself at the end of 2024 than I do now. Those are good things, friends!

It seems odd to write some devotionals with an emphasis on contentment at year’s beginning when everyone else is challenging us to make resolutions, set goals, make plans, and conquer the world! But I have some questions!

• How do I reconcile the things the Bible says about contentment, with the things the Bible says about achieving and prospering and getting better?
• How do I reconcile what the Bible says about contentment, with the pressure I feel from everywhere else to want more, to achieve more, to be thinner, fitter, more disciplined, harder working, more successful, a better version of me!

We want The Truth to be either-or, this-not-that, so we can dehydrate it into a set of rules where one size fits all, all the time, in all situations. The Truth about Truth is that it most often exists in the tension between two extremes.

Christian Discipleship is learning to manage the tension. It’s born again children of the Father, living, learning, and growing in community with other children of the Father, depending on the Holy Spirit for guidance and growth.

Let’s talk more about this tomorrow!

Prayer:

Father, You know how we are! We want it clear, simple, and easy! Please help us cooperate with your Holy Spirit to learn to manage the Truth-tension between two sometimes-opposing things that are both good! Give us wisdom and grace as we go forward in this faith journey! Amen!