Godliness with Contentment
June 27, 2024 | by: Dale Thiele | 0 Comments
Posted in: Pastoral Encouragement
This is part six of a six-part study series on Paul’s first letter to Timothy. This personal letter gives us clear teaching on how the gospel transforms our lives and the church. I encourage you to read through 1 Timothy with this series. Today we are looking at chapter 6.
As Paul wraps up his first letter to Timothy, he returns to the focus of false teachers that he addressed in chapter 1. Not only do their teachings “promote speculations rather than the stewardship from God that is by faith” (1:4), but also the teaching does not “accord with godliness” (6:3). False teaching, holding onto beliefs that do not agree with the sound words of Jesus, is not harmless. It nurtures ungodliness. Paul says it produces “envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people” (6:4-5). All this highlights the teaching of Scripture: what we believe shapes how we live. If we cling to the sound words of Jesus, our living will be conformed more and more to the sound living of Christ.
Nowhere is this seen more clearly than in the area of contentment. This is what Paul focuses on in chapter 6 as he contrasts true godliness with the ruin of the false teaching. The foundation of contentment is valuing that which is truly eternal. Paul explains in verse 7, “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.” In other words, the things of this world are temporary. They should not hold primary place in out hearts. A content heart is one that treasures Christ and all that he has for us above anything in this world. Paul contrasts contentment with an ungodly love for this world and the things of the world. “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil” (6:9-10). Lack of contentment in Christ is the source of all sorts of misery.
To end his letter, Paul gives Timothy several specific commands to cultivate a life of godliness with contentment. They can be summarized under two categories: flee and pursue.
- Flee the Love of This World. In verse 11, Paul commands Timothy to “flee these things.” This includes the temptation to be rich and the love of money. This command applies to all Christians. If we desire to follow Christ and grow in Christ, we must flee the desire to be content with the things of this world. This path only leads to “ruin and destruction.” Paul gives a very practical guideline in verse 18 on how to flee the love of this world. “They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” Nothing frees your heart from loving something like giving it away. Tithing to the church is one means of fleeing the love of this world. Serving others is another means. Financial hardship, usually not looked for, can be used by God to wean our hearts from the love of this world. To flee is an active choice. We never flee something passively. In what ways are you deciding to flee the love of this world today?
- Pursue the Things of God. The Bible never directs us to empty our hearts and remain empty. The Bible directs us to dethrone the idols of our hearts and replace them with one who is by far more superior and satisfying. So, right after saying “flee these things,” Paul commands “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” These are all gifts and blessings that God grows in us as we grow in him. Paul essentially is telling Timothy, and us, that there is something far more valuable than what this world has to offer, namely, God himself. To emphasize the superiority of God, Paul describes him as “he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (v. 15-16). Why does Paul break into this doxological praise in the middle of his instruction about contentment and fleeing the love of money? Because he wants his readers know that we lose nothing and gain everything when we set our hopes on God and not on the uncertainty of riches (v. 17).
Flee and pursue. This is the prescribed duty of Christians living in a world that is fraught with temptations to pursue life apart from God. Perhaps you notice the parallel with the theological terms “repent and believe.” The Christian life, how one “ought to behave in the household of God,” boils down to these two activities. Repent of sin and the temptations to sin. Believe in Christ, resting in him more and more as all satisfying. You will be stagnant in your Christian faith if you do not actively flee and pursue, repent and believe. So, I urge you, with the apostle Paul, flee the love of this world and pursue God. You will be blessed and know true contentment.
