Great Gain!

“But godliness with contentment is a great gain.” 1 Timothy 6:6

Several years ago we pastored a church within five miles of a gambling casino. An occasional attendee once said to me, “Pastor, I hope I win a million dollars at the casino. Wouldn’t the tithe on that help our little church!” As far as I knew, she had not given a tithe of her normal income. Ironically, a few years later, she won a $50,000 payout and it was reported in the areas newspapers. The church never received a penny.

It really didn’t matter to me whether she tithed from casino winnings or not. But, haven’t we all thought that way at one time or another? “I hope I get that promotion; then I can start giving the way I want to.” Or, “As soon as I get my degree and my career is on track, I can contribute to needy causes. Right now, I need every penny.”

And, in good faith, many who think that way do actually end up giving more once they have advanced to a certain income level. Yet, in this verse, the Apostle Paul is encouraging us to be content at any financial level. Our sense of wellbeing should not be tied to the size of our paycheck, but rather to something he calls “godliness”. This “godliness”, when tied to contentment is better than seeing our stock rise or receiving an unexpected bonus at the end of the year.

It seems strange, but I think we who live in first world or “developed” countries struggle with contentment more than those who have less. Perhaps it is because we have more options available to us. Or, maybe we see an endless ladder of achievement in our “land of opportunity”. Whatever the reasons, there is a payoff for the believer that is far greater than financial gain.

He has just rebuked people who think that “godliness is a way to material gain” (verse 5). False teachings abound that tell the Christian they deserve great material wealth and financial prosperity. There is even a sort of logic to it. “When you chose to follow Christ, you became a child of God. As God as Your Father, you can now be showered with everything God has at His disposal.” They will misuse passages describing us as “joint-heirs” with Christ. “Father God wouldn’t deny anything to you as a joint-heir of the Son of God, would He?”

Misreading Scripture, these people prey on the simple-minded. The logic seems inescapable. The problem is that these people leave out quite of bit of Scriptural teaching. Jesus Himself said, “The Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” And, though God may grant material prosperity, it is only the inner sort of “gain” which is guaranteed to those who follow Christ.

The world around us is full of the unknown. Today as I write a group of extreme “Muslim” forces called ISIS are driving Christians (and others) from their homelands and executing many of them. Uganda is on the verge of a possible bloody civil war with Russia ready to back the rebels. The Ebola virus, with a 50% fatality rate, is spreading rapidly, with a total of 20,000 cases per month possible.

Yes, those are half a world away, but for the Christian, they should seem as if they are at our front door. And, the last thing we should do is start declaring that these events are certain evidence that we are in the Last Days. Perhaps I am getting crankier in my old age, but I am sick and tired of hearing about the End of the World every time we hear of another disaster. The compassion of Christ would drive us to a first-response of compassion, not last-day left-behind secret-rapture “we knew it was Russia all along” apocalyptic hoohaw. Before Jesus ascended to the Father, He made it clear that the disciples were not to be concerned about when He was returning. Their mission was to take the Good News to all creation.

The Good News is that God sent His only Son to die for all the world’s sins. The new life, with its forgiveness and inner abundance is greater than all the stock options and lottery winnings anyone can imagine. And, if we happen to be among those with great financial blessings, let us learn to be content in the simplicity of the love of Christ.

To echo Paul, I have had years when I made a very good living, and times when finances were tight. Our family has been financially blessed, the few years our youngest daughter calls “when we were rich”. We have also lived through months when neither my wife nor I were employed. In all of it, Jesus and His contentment He provides have been the constant that never changed.

You see, “godliness” is a God-focused life. Anyone who knows the love of God the Father and the mercy of Jesus Christ have contentment available to them no matter the amount in their checking account. Indeed, it is an attitude we must practice. Sometimes, learning to do without a particular “toy” or “want”, and focusing on the blessing of God, yield great results.

We become freer to enjoy life’s simplicity. We play with our kids, take the dogs for walks, volunteer at the food bank, call our parents, or write a note to an old friend. Yes, a God-focused life combined with contentment is the greatest payout I can imagine.