What the Bible says about Contentment
Content. What does that word mean to you? What is the image that fills your mind when you think about contentment? Good things?
And yet, contentment is a bit of a dirty word these days. You don’t see many advertisements selling contentment. The world would have us believe that being content is selling ourselves short. Rather, the message we receive is promoting discontent.
If you are discontent with your house, you will save to get a bigger one.
If you are discontent with your car, you will pay more for a newer one.
If you are discontent with your face, you will buy anti-aging cream and makeup, even surgery.
Being discontent with what you have and who you are is a powerful motivating force, and not always for good. Let’s look at contentment in the Bible.
Here are 8 passages about contentment in the Bible
1.
Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little, for I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.
—Philippians 4:11–13
“I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” This is a powerful verse we use all the time to remind us about the power of God. We can do everything! But look at this statement in its context. Paul is talking about contentment. Christ gives him the strength to be content, whether he has plenty or little.
2.
Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can’t take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.
—1 Timothy 6:6–8
Paul redefines wealth as godliness with contentment. If we have enough food and clothing, we can be content and chase after godliness, where true wealth is found.
3.
That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are?
So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.
—Matt 6:25–26, 31–33
I love what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount about worry and contentment. He knows what we need and promises to provide.
4.
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”—Hebrews 13:5
Isn’t this a beautiful promise? We can trust God. He will never abandon us.
5.
Then he said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”
—Luke 12:15
Does it feel like our lives are measured by what we own? I can certainly relate. I’m ashamed to admit I feel more successful when I own nice things, and I catch myself judging others by this false standard.
6.
Trust in the Lord and do good. Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.—Psalm 37:3–4
God made this beautiful promise to His people, and sadly they rejected it. Rather than trusting God, they worshipped other gods, and eventually, God punished them, sending the nation of Israel into exile. God calls us to delight in Him.
7.
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!—Habakkuk 3:17–18
The prophet Habakkuk warns the people about the consequences of gaining wealth by dishonesty and extortion. He concludes the book with this prayer of faith. Even though God promised to punish His people for their greed, Habakkuk sings a song of praise in the salvation of his God.
Habakkuk only has three chapters. It’s an interesting read.
8.
The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.
—Psalm 23:1
This familiar verse embodies contentment for me. I have all that I need.
Exhale.
My prayer:
“God, please help me not to be distracted by all the shiny things out there. Help me not to chase after useless things that do not matter. Help me, rather, to love You and love the people around me well. Help me to invest my life in things that truly matter, things that will last for eternity. Amen.”
