‘……….But Godliness with Contentment is great gain” 1Timothy 6:6
Contentment means a state of being happy and satisfied with who you are and what you have. Contentment will help you distinguish between wants and needs. When you are content, the abundance of the present is enough to lead a happy and healthy life. Contentment often leads to the realization that joy doesn’t come from material things. Instead, joy comes from God. Lack of contentment will rob you of Joy and Happiness, you will not be able to see and enjoy the many blessings God has blessed you with. I know women who after having a child had delay in getting pregnant again because of medical reasons. Instead of them to enjoy the blessing of the child God has blessed them with, they end up getting choked up with anxiety and therefore lose their joy. Contentment will allow you to enjoy the blessings of the present while believing God for better things. If you are married and you are trusting God for a child, enjoy your marriage and your husband in the process. Don’t let the devil rob you of your joy.
Apostle Paul once wrote, “I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.”Most of us aren’t content with relatively good circumstances, let alone circumstances like those Paul mentions. What was the source of his contentment? Perhaps if we can understand how Paul could be content in his situation, we can learn to be content in ours. Paul’s contentment came from a knowledge that God will cause all things to work together for his good no matter the present circumstances. A godly woman is contented. Contentment does not mean settling for a life of mediocrity, it does not mean being lazy and lackadaisical about life. Contentment is a state of mind of being at peace with where you are while you are on your way to a better place.
In the beginning, man was perfectly content because man was in perfect communion with God. The story of God’s creation of mankind is found in the first two chapters of the Bible; by the third chapter, discontentment has entered the picture. Adam and Eve believed the lie that they could become like God. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator. In reality, Adam’s problem had nothing to do with what he actually lacked; it was about what Adam perceived he lacked. Often times, your dissatisfaction has nothing to do with what you lack but what you think you lack. Jealously, comparison, restlessness, depression, and aggression are the major factors of discontentment. Discontentment leaves deep scars on your soul and sometimes damages life in such a way that the damage is irreparable. Ask God today to help you to be content with where you are while you are on your way to where He has destined for you.
Contentment is not same as settling for a life of mediocrity; you must always desire to be better than where you are currently at. While on your way to a better place, be at peace and grateful for where you are as you journey to a better place!