Godliness and Contentment
“But godliness with contentment is
great gain.”
– 1 Timothy 6:6 (KJV, NIV, ESV)
A friend sent me a question based on this verse:
This question was presented to me; “Can one
have godliness without contentment?”
Paul instructed Timothy that to have both is great gain. “... godliness with contentment is great
gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6). By this, one
could suppose that a godly Christian could also be one that is discontented,
however without the gain Paul spoke of.
Could contentment also be the result of ignorance or shallow minds? What about “Ignorance is bliss”? Someone also remarked that “the future is to
be discontented.” Isn’t it true that
many great achievements in this world have been the results of those who were
in a state of discontentment. What did
Paul mean by this?
I know I can give an answer by going to other books of
the Bible, but first we’ll consider the verse in question within its
context. This verse is within a passage
concerning false teachers and riches, 1 Timothy 6:3-10, 17-19:
3 If anyone teaches a different doctrine and
does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching
that accords with godliness, 4 he is puffed up with conceit and understands
nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about
words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, 5 and constant
friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth,
imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 But godliness with contentment
is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take
anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we
will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a
snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and
destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through
this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves
with many pangs.
17 As for
the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their
hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with
everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be
generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a
good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is
truly life.
Here is my condensed outline of the passage:
v. 3-5 Regarding certain false teachers
— They
disregard the truth
— They
are conceited but lack understanding
— They
are addicted to arguing and controversy
— They
incite friction and division among those who are
–
Depraved in mind
–
Deprived of truth
–
Imagining that godliness is the way to [financial, worldly] gain
v. 6-8 The
real value of godliness and contentment
— It
brings great gain
— We do
not bring wealth into this world, and we can’t take it with us
— We
should be content with having what we really need: food and covering
v. 9-10 Warning
against covetousness
— It
opens us to temptation, which leads to ruin
— The love of money is the root of all kinds
of evil
— It
destroys people’s faith
v. 17-19 Advice
for the rich:
— Don’t
be haughty [arrogant, proud, boastful]
— Don’t
trust your riches, but trust God
— Do
good [put your riches to work]
— Be
generous [the best way to invest your riches]
First of all, we see that the notion that godliness
produces worldly gain is promoted by false teachers, very much like today’s
“Prosperity Gospel” (a.k.a. “Health and Wealth”). Those who fall for this are pictured as
undiscerning, ignorant, and gullible, while the promoters are self-centered,
self-promoting, and greedy.
When accompanied by contentment, godliness brings great gain. Notice that this gain is great, which puts it into contrast with [mere] gain which some
assume godliness produces (v. 5). This
is a contrast which is primarily of kind. The [mere] gain is worldly – material
possessions, sensual pleasure, social position, power over people, worldly
prestige – and the great gain of
godliness with contentment is spiritual – possession of salvation, pleasure of
God’s approval & fellowship, position as a child of God, power over sin,
the prestige of knowing [and being known by] God. *
The advice to the rich assumes that these are rich
Christians. Paul indicated in verse 7
that riches are provided by God, and they are not permanent. And in verse 8 he said to be content with
that which supports life itself. Now he
treats riches as a stewardship, given by God to be administered for Him. In this, he accords with the teaching of the
other apostles and of Jesus Himself. He
does not preach against having much and being rich, but addresses our attitude
toward whatever we have in light of our relationship to God.
As to contentment itself, Paul had earlier written
from his rented house in Rome (Acts 28:30) that he had learned to be content
whether he had much or little (Phil.
4:12). Therefore, true contentment is
not dependent on abundance or circumstances.
The Gospels and Acts show Jesus and the Apostles associating with and
ministering to both the rich and the
poor. In fact, wealthy believers
supported the spread of the Gospel, provided places for the church to meet, and
contributed to the needs of the poor.
Now, as to the question of whether a Christian can be
godly without contentment, what kind of contentment are we talking about? It appears from the context that the
contentment Paul addresses is the opposite of covetousness and greed. Note the description of the false teachers. They are “puffed up” and crave “controversy
and ... quarrels,” which lead directly to their followers equating these
teachers’ brand of “godliness” with the road to riches, indicating that the
duped are imitating the dupers. Peter
wrote that Christian elders are not to be in it for the money (1 Pet.
5:2). And Paul listed as qualifications
for leaders in the local church that they are to be “not a lover of money” (1
Tim 3:3), “not greedy for dishonest gain” (3:8), and “not . . . greedy for
gain” (Tit. 1:7). But before this, Jesus
said, “Be on your guard against covetousness” (Luke 12:14), and “Ye cannot
serve God and Mammon” (Matt. 6:24 and Luke 16:13). So one cannot be godly and covetous, for they
are incompatible. If by contentment we
mean the opposite of greed, then we can’t have godliness without that kind of
contentment.
As to contentment being “the result of ignorance or
shallow minds,” that sounds more like complacency. The contentment Paul learned to have was born
not of ignorance, but of knowledge and experience. He willed
himself to be content, whatever the circumstances of his life. He knew who he was and where he was
going. Therefore, he put everything
experienced in this life into an eternal perspective.
But this is not to say we shouldn’t make things better
if we can, and it is in the will of God.
But don’t check your godly motivations at the door. The most obviously good thing is making
things better for other people. But we
have to have enough to be able to do this (Paul says in Ephesians 4:28 that the
thief should cease stealing and become a producer so he can help others, an
echo of Prov. 21:26). Paul calls on us
to serve God in our current circumstances (1 Cor. 7:17-24), but within this he gives
room for betterment in verse 21: “Were
you a slave when called? Do not be
concerned about it. (But if you can gain
your freedom, avail yourself of the opportunity.)” Paul is not advising against invention and
innovation. He himself was an innovator
in spreading the Gospel. Furthermore, he
approved of what can be called a “holy ambition” — “If anyone aspires to the
office of overseer, he desires a good thing” (1 Tim. 3:1).
I agree with those who say that godly contentment is
not the same as complacency or apathy.
In fact, a certain discontent is spiritually healthy. We should not be content to remain where we
are spiritually, but aspire to grow in faith, in maturity, in good works, in
love toward God and others. In this way,
godliness with contentment is great gain.
* Comparison of
Worldly Gain with Godly Gain
|
Category of
Gain |
Worldly
Gain |
Godly Gain |
|
Possession |
Material |
Salvation |
|
Pleasure |
Sensual |
God’s approval & fellowship |
|
Position |
Social |
Child of God (sonship) |
|
Power |
Over people |
Over sin |
|
Prestige |
Prideful, worldly |
Knowing and being known by God |
~Wesley G. Vaughn,
Dover, OH
Scriptures from ESV
The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News
Publishers.
