“But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (1 Timothy 6:6-7)
If you look at the English dictionary, it will define godliness between these lines: the quality or practice of conforming to the laws and wishes of God, devoutness, and moral uprightness. According to The New Bible Dictionary, “godliness is a personal attitude to God rather than a right belief, and the action is not parallel to that attitude but springs directly from it.” In other words, being godly means seeking conformity to the character of God in your thoughts, feelings, desires, and actions.
In 2 Peter 1:3, the apostle tells us, “God has granted us all things pertaining to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” Notice that Peter says that God has given to his people everything (not just some things) related to life and godliness. How? By coming to know Jesus, who called us to himself.
This is relevant for our meditation on the topic of contentment because, for Paul, these things are intrinsically linked: godliness and contentment. Knowing Jesus and growing in Christlikeness is the path to a content and satisfied life. And because godliness is the work of the grace in the inner being and not the result of an ascetic or disciplined life (Eph. 2:8-9), we can conclude that contentment is not based on exterior circumstances but emanates from and is found in God.
I like this definition: “Contentment is the inward, gracious, quiet spirit that joyfully rests in God’s providence.” (Erik Johnson, author of “Chasing Contentment”)
Living in a discontent age, reflecting on this topic is not only necessary but crucial, and we should ask ourselves, am I content in my current situation? If not, why not?
Discontentment is common to all of us, whether rich or poor, healthy or unhealthy, married or single. The problem with being discontent is that it robs us of our joy in the present and blinds us to see that we have everything we need in God.
Another important observation to be made is that contentment is learned, as Paul explains to Philippians 4:10-13. We learn contentment as we rest in God’s providence in seasons of plenty or hunger, abundance or lack, and in good health or poor health. Contentment is nurtured by our relationship with God and his word, which reminds us that nothing that we owe in this world we are going to take with us after death.
Godliness leads us to true contentment, which is a great gain for the present life and the one to come.