Living A Contented Life
Heb. 13:5, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
Psa. 84:11, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."
Contentment - a state of mind in which one's desires are confined to his lot whatever it may be (1Ti 6:6; 2Co 9:8). It is opposed to envy (Jas 3:16), avarice (Heb. 13:5), ambition (Pr. 13:10), anxiety (Mt. 6:25,34), and repining (1Co. 10:10).
Many lives are ruined because they are seeking, money, and material things. Others are coveting position, power, and prestige. All of these things are based upon covetousness, which the Bible condemns many times. This lesson, if properly applied, will help the Christian to live a contented life.
I. Contentment is Christ Command
SEEK YE FIRST THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Matt. 6:33, "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." I John 2:15, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
DO NOT COVET POSSESSIONS, BUT BE CONTENT.Heb. 13:5, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
DO NOT SEEK POVERTY NOR RICHES. Prov. 30:8-9, "8 Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: 9 Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."
DO NOT STRIVE TO BE RICH. Prov. 23:4-5, "4 Labour not to be rich: cease from thine own wisdom. 5 Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not? for riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle toward heaven." Prov. 27:24, "For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?" (James 5:1-2)
Illustrative Story: Philip Parham tells the story of a rich industrialist who was disturbed to find a fisherman sitting lazily beside his boat. "Why aren't you out there fishing?" he asked.
"Because I've caught enough fish for today," said the fisherman.
"Why don't you catch more fish than you need?' the rich man asked.
"What would I do with them?"
"You could earn more money," came the impatient reply, "and buy a better boat so you could go deeper and catch more fish. You could purchase nylon nets, catch even more fish, and make more money. Soon you'd have a fleet of boats and be rich like me."
The fisherman asked, "Then what would I do?"
"You could sit down and enjoy life," said the industrialist.
"What do you think I'm doing now?" the fisherman replied as he looked placidly out to sea.
DO NOT SEEK TO BE THE GREATEST, AS THE DISCIPLES DID. Luke 22:24-26, "24 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25 And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. (Luke 9:46-48)
DO NOT ALLOW THE DECEITFULNESS OF RICHES TO CHOKE OUT THE WORD. Matt. 13:22, "He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."
WE ARE TO PUT COVETOUSNESS TO DEATH. Col. 3:5, "Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:" "Mortify" means "to put to death." "Members" refers to "limb, a member of the human body."
Rom. 6:6, "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
Gal. 5:24, "And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts."
CHRISTIANS ARE LAY UP HEAVENLY TREASURES, AND NOT EARTHLY TREASURES. Matt. 6:19-21, "19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."
YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND TREASURES AT THE SAME TIME. Matt. 6:24, "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.""Mammon" refers to "money or treasure."
II. Contentment is Great Gain
GODLINESS WITH CONTENTMENT IS GREAT GAIN. I Tim. 6:6, "But godliness with contentment is great gain."
Psa. 37:16, "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked." Psa. 84:11, "For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly."
WE ARE TO BE CONTENT REGARDLESS OF CIRCUMSTANCES. Phil. 4:11-13, "11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. 12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. 13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I Cor. 4:11-12, "11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; 12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it:"
Illustration: A typical supermarket in the United States in 1976 stocked 9,000 articles; today it carries 30,000. How many of them are absolutely essential? How many superfluous?
LIFE DOES NOT CONSIST OF WHAT ONE POSSESSES. Luke 12:15, "And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
Psa. 62:10, "Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them."
LIFE IS MORE THAN MATERIAL RICHES. (Luke 12:16-21)
III. Contentment Promotes Peace
GODLY CONTENTMENT PROMOTES PEACE. Prov. 17:1, "Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife." Prov. 37:16, "A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked."
THE LOVE OF MONEY BRINGS RUIN AND DESTRUCTION. I Tim. 6:7-10, "7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. 8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. 9 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. 10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." (Gen. 13:10)
Job 1:21, "And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
Illustration: There was one poor shoe mender who used to earn not more than four pence from his daily shoemending and was very happy and rendered songs of praise to God daily. He was satisfied with the little he had and was always rejoicing. Closer to the poor man’s house lived a rich man. This rich man had for long time noticed the joy of the poor shoe mender and he thought that if the poor man was given more he will be happier than he was.
One day, the rich man sent for the poor man and said, “Yes, I sent for you in order to give you some gifts”. He gave him a reasonable sum of money. They poor man collected the money with fear and thanked the rich man, and went back to his house. When he got back to his house, he kept the money at one corner of the house and sat down to think of what to do with it. Thoughts started flowing into his mind. The first thought that entered his mind was that he should build a better house which he saw as cardinal, but another thought also entered and suggested that he should marry a wife instead of building a house. Yet another thought suggested that he buy better clothes for himself. The fourth thought asked him to first go to the market and bring food stuff, cook and eat well before doing any thing. The poor men sat down thinking of what to do first with the money until it was night. He remained sitting at that point. He did not do anything that day, and he did not sing praise to God as was his tradition.
In the night, the poor man sat down and thought of whether he was going to keep the money under his bed but said no, thieves may find it. He dug a hole in the ground and buried it. Again he said no, thieves may find it when he is deep asleep. So he dug it out and kept it between his legs. Until dawn, he neither slept nor sang praises to God. The poor man became miserably sad and terribly uneasy. Very early in the morning, the poor man hurriedly took the money, went to the rich man’s house, knocked at the door and when the rich man opened the door, he threw the bag of money at his feet and said; “Please take back your money I do not want it, you have put me through so much trouble”. The poor man ran back to his house, feeling very free and resumed singing his songs of praise to God day and night according to his usual custom.
I. Contentment is Christ Command
II. Contentment is Great Gain
III. Contentment Promotes Peace
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