Destroyers of Contentment

Week 20, Wednesday

Cathy Horner

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. . . . People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. 1 Timothy 6:6-7,9

I had a spot in my garden where nothing would grow. Every plant I put there would begin to look sickly. No blossoms would form and leaves would begin to drop, no matter how carefully I tended it. One day I discovered that a huge ant colony was located just under the hole I had dug. The ants were crawling over the plants’ roots, eating and stunting all growth. What a picture those ants presented of the disquieting thoughts that crawl through my mind, eat at my soul’s contentment, and obstruct my goal to put down deep roots in the Lord Jesus.

In his letter to Timothy, Paul encouraged his young protégé to strive for contentment as a worthy goal, or “great gain.” Then he warned about the spiritual dangers of the pursuit of riches, for it foments “foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” We see this downward spiral in lives all around us. Daily, news articles reveal more souls whose idols of money and power have lured them into desperate financial straits and dark spiritual deadness.

Paul’s antidote: “Flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11). As a follower of Christ, I must be intentional about pursuing satisfaction in Christ alone. There are practical steps I have learned that help conquer those silent, creeping thoughts that eat at the roots of my contentment.

I try not to picture myself in other circumstances or someplace else. Early in our marriage, I analyzed my daydreams and saw that I wasted a lot of time and self-pity wishing I lived with something other than nicked and worn “early attic” furnishings. However, new furnishings were simply not practical, especially with three small boys. So I fled from what tempted me to harbor discontented thoughts—I stopped looking at decorating magazines. I took to heart Jesus’ teaching that earthly treasures eventually end up owning you because you have to expend resources and time maintaining and protecting them (see Matthew 6:19-21). Then I turned my mental energy toward pursuing things that have eternal value—deepening my relationship with Christ, rearing godly children, and ministering to the lost and truly needy.

What do you daydream and obsess about? Real contentment lies not in what we have or what positions we hold, but in whose we are. As Paul reminded Timothy, we take nothing from this world when we die. So cultivate eternal treasures, friend.

Dear Jesus, any good that has come into my life is a result of Your mercy and grace toward me. The value of Your love is inestimable. Please forgive my wandering mind and heart. I will find my satisfaction by living for You. Amen.