Word of the Week - Contentment

But godliness with contentment is great gain.  For we brought nothing into this world, and we can taking nothing out of it….But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  1 Tim 6:6-12

Definition of ContentmentSo what is contentment?  The world generally defines contentment as a quality or state of being satisfied with your portion and condition in life.  This definition is mostly geared towards the physical or material state of being.  The biblical definition of contentment goes beyond the physical realm and focuses on our internal condition and perspective.  Godly contentment is much more focused on the condition of our heart and soul.  Are we at peace with God and our eternal condition?Contentment in all Circumstances Saint Paul spoke clearly about his amazing contentment in the face of many external trials and challenges in Philippians 4:11-12 “For I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.  I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty.  I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want“.  I am convinced that if we receive the gift of internal contentment through our hope and trust in God, it will permeate into our external lives allowing us to find contentment in all things and situations, which is truly a blessing that we all desire.  That being said, our Western values and self-focused culture of materialism and social media makes it very easy for us to get sucked into the swamp of envy and discontentment, which at its core leads to discontentment.  It is clear that God has called His people to a life marked by contentment.  So how do we gain godly contentment and extricate ourselves from the pervasive appeals of our materialistic culture?Divine order leads to divine blessing which produces Contentment First and foremost, godly contentment comes from having the priority of godliness over personal gain, we have to get the order correct.  “Seek first the Kingdom and His righteousness and all things will be added unto you” Matthew 6:33.  This is a condition of the heart and is the miracle that comes when we truly give our hearts and lives to God and become transformed to new beings in Christ.  The old is gone and the new has come, which means that we now have a different perspective on life than our non-believing brothers and sisters.  Our values and priorities in life change because we understand that our life is no longer ours but has been bought with the blood of Christ.  We live with a new and greater purpose and mission in life, which leads to the second key point.  Godly contentment comes from having the perspective of eternal over the temporal.  Jim Elliot a famous missionary who was martyred at the early age of 28 spreading the gospel has a wonderful quote that so clearly portrays the concept of godly contentment, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he can never lose.”  We cannot keep the materials things of this world, but we will never lose the kingdom investments we make in the short time we have on this earth.  Let’s continue to work out our salvation by ordering our lives in line with the God’s truth, which leads to godly contentment.More to come next week on how to walk this out in the area of our personal finances.Have a great week…-Duane