Godliness and Contentment

 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.