Godliness with Contentment
ICS Daily Devotions
Proverbs 22:7 (NKJV) The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is a servant to the lender.
Most people would agree that taking a loan to buy the first property is acceptable, but if we purchase a property whose mortgage is beyond our ability to service, we have become slaves to the lender. Likewise, if we get ourselves into a position where we are asset-rich but cash-poor because of all our investments, our marriage will be strained if one person is made redundant and fails to contribute to the monthly instalments.
Every time we take out a loan, we will have to work doubly hard, especially when it is taken from an overdraft or by using credit cards whose repayment interest can be as high as 25%. Therefore, a couple might want to decide after marriage not to live on credit but to pay off their credit card expenses every month.
1 Timothy 6:6-7 (NKJV) Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Because the world has given us a definition of success and self-worth, we can be caught in a rat race. There is a significant emphasis on lifestyle—restaurants where we eat, hotels where we stay, airlines and the classes that we fly—and our appearance, where youthfulness is pursued through aesthetic medicine or plastic surgery.
We can be Christians but live very discontented lives because of the wrong values indoctrinated by the world. Our discontentment can affect our families too if both parents become “little adults” by putting their wants before the needs of their children. Even though all our needs are met, we can be dissatisfied with our current financial situation, and some of these pursuits of significance have caused believers to live beyond their budgets.
Christian parents who want to influence their children positively must first renew their minds regarding their values. Otherwise, they will subtly place the pursuit of success above godliness, such that they and their children become no different from the people of the world. Sometimes, even when the business is struggling and a spouse has lost their job, the other spouse may demand the same lifestyle, straining the relationship. Such a couple has entered a disenchantment period because of creature comfort, contractual marriage, and carnality. Instead, when the going gets tough, a godly couple who views marriage as a covenant should sit down and rework their budgets, taking the opportunity to list out the needs and eliminate the wants.
When we live in contentment, the family will have peace, love, and joy. When we are convinced that we can never bring anything with us into eternity and put godliness above worldly goods and the world’s definition of self-worth, we will be willing to adjust our lifestyle when necessary. That is godliness with contentment.
Sermon Series：Before You Say I Do
