A Book with a Table of Contentment

 

A Book with a Table of Contentment

 

1 Timothy 6:6-19

Pursuing God's justice 

 

6:6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment,

 

6:7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it,

 

6:8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.

 

6:9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.

 

6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

 

6:11 But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.

 

6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

 

6:13 In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you

 

6:14 to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

6:15 which he will bring about at the right time--he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

 

6:16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

 

6:17 As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

 

6:18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share,

 

6:19 thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

 

Have you ever thought much about contentment? What does it mean to BE content? “Godliness combined with contentment” are the first-verse watchwords in today’s scripture passage from I Timothy. Is the apostle really serious, that we should seek contentment, especially when there is so much yet undone in the “mission” of the church, and that needs repaired in the world? Today’s message is entitled “Table of Contentment,” as a teasing allusion to the table of contents found in most books. Books are something that brings me contentment, so there you have it. Let’s spend some time exploring “contentment.”

 

The apostle, writing in Philippians 4, tells us we should “learn to be content in what state we may find ourselves,” so I guess he’s pretty serious about God’s people finding it! Poking around online, here are a few things I found regarding “contentment,” with a little help from Google and A.I.:

 

·     Quiet Joy: It’s a calm, sustained feeling off pleasure and happiness.

·     Satisfaction: It involves being happy and satisfied with your current life and situation.

·     Ease of Mind: Contentment brings a peaceful state of mind, free from disquiet or worry.

·     Harmony: It’s about being in tune with yourself and your surroundings.

·     “Low” Desire: Unlike intense happiness, contentment doesn’t require the “urge to savor and integrate” or feel the need to push for more.

 

Anyone who has been in therapy or has learned much about self-awareness should recognize these traits of contentment. Ever encounter someone who is 180 degrees from this: Loud, with little evidence of joy; never satisfied, regardless of how high they may rise; a mind that is never at ease, always scheming or plotting; almost driven to create division and tension; and relentlessly “pushing for more”? If you read the daily news, it should sound familiar…sorry…I couldn’t resist. However, we SHOULD quickly diagnose elements of this “opposite” trend in ourselves, any time we find ourselves discontented. This is precisely why the apostle begins with this assertion. Finding and maintaining some state of contentment not only points us in the direction of the joy and abundance Jesus offers his followers, but it blunts the stresses that can harm us, our plans, and those in the “orbit” of our lives!

 

Personally, I have somehow learned this inner contentment, and practice it daily. I know, those of you who know me might not see the evidence of it, as I have often been driven to accomplish many and various goals in my career, and in this fractured and highly-charged political place we find ourselves in, I can be as acerbic and combative as the next person (although I do try to temper it with humor). But I can honestly say I experience an inner contentment that energizes me, keeps me sane, and gives me a peaceful place to retreat to. It also keeps me from ever being bored. (It kind of drives my wife crazy, I think, that I’m never really bored; maybe I’m just easily amused?) I don’t say these things to boast, but to expose the forensics as to why this is so. I give credit to three things in life for my “easy” contentment:

 

·     Parents: I’m not sure how they did it, but while they wanted the best from “their boys,” they really didn’t pressure us, or expect more of us than we did of ourselves. They did the best within their limited budget to provide opportunities for us, but didn’t “freak out” of we tried something and decided it “wasn’t our thing.” Both parents also modeled a curiosity about life, the universe, and everything, without being obsessed with control of any of it. They also modeled gratitude for whatever we had, and wherever we found ourselves. Sound like the ingredients of contentment?

 

·     Partner: I’ve been privileged to spend over 48 years with a person who encourages me, critiques me gently, and doesn’t try to change me, even when my “opposite” personality totally chafes her the wrong way. On top of that, she maintains her own unrelenting pursuit of contentment, personal excellence, and inner peace. She is a person of such deep faith, I am in awe of her, and every single day of our 48-plus years has provided both a freshness and a welcome challenge to life. Stagnation is never an issue for us; homicide, maybe!

 

·     Faith: My parents had a simple, yet ever-present belief, both that God was always with us, and that God wanted more for us in life, which invoked a sense of what they might call in the business world, “continuous quality improvement.” They were never afraid to publicly call themselves Christians, not fearing that others would have evidence to judge them otherwise, based on their deportment, and even when times were tough, they never eschewed weekly church attendance, and that meant worship AND Sunday School, for all five of us. [I will never forget how they handled the situation with my middle brother, who, while navigating his own adolescent development, decided he didn’t believe in God, and inquired about refraining from church attendance. Our parents told him that, when he turned 13, he could stay home on Sundays, but he had to STAY home. He did. And while I know it really bothered our mother, she held to that bargain, and I fully believe this act of parental integrity sowed the seeds of not only a Christian faith commitment, but a call to the ordained ministry, that eventually blossomed in my brother. And if you know Pastor Jay, his roots go really deep!

 

In this passage, the Apostle Paul pairs contentment with “godliness,” which, as it turns out, is even harder to define. Jesus kept it simple: Love God, love neighbor, serve others. Paul models for us the highs and lows of trying to actually DO this. And ever since following Jesus became a thing, we have all been on the quest to both define “godliness” and to live it. Godly people probably get that “I’m third” thing right: God first; others second, I’m third. Godly people try to bring love, grace and harmony to conflicted situations, but without compromising principles and justice. Godly people forgive like WE have been forgiven by Jesus. As Jimmy Kimmel highlighted in his “return” monologue the other night, Ericka Kirk, widow of slain conservative influencer, Charlie Kirk, did the truly “Christian” thing by forgiving the man who killed her husband. History is rife with such examples: Elie Wiesel, forgiving the German prison camp guards; Nelson Mandela, forgiving the jailers who imprisoned him unjustly for 27 years; and Pope John Paul II not only offering absolution to the man who shot him, but visiting him in prison, as well.

 

However, “godliness” doesn’t have to be harder that what Jesus taught us. Love God, love our neighbor, serve others. Even these simple steps, when married to our quest for contentment, can qualify as godliness. Each of us may have other things to tack on our godliness inventory, based on our family heritage, personal values and appropriation of how we understand scripture, and church teachings. It is important, though, to acknowledge that, beyond what we get from Jesus, these codicils to our definition of godliness are ours, and we would be wise to not hold others to them. If the church has made grievous errors in this regard, it has happened when it codified these “convictions” into doctrines and dogmas. In then attempting to apply them broadly, it has violated many folks’ personal journeys to the degree that they have opted out of church life, and have found refuge in their own DIY religion. Even when Paul is at his most critical in attempting to define godliness and contentment, he is careful not to judge the people who ARE the church, and who—like all of us—are a work in progress.

 

There are those who believe that more rigid rules and purer doctrines will grow the church back to prosperity, but I don’t see it. Maybe this idea of helping people find contentment is a better idea? Who doesn’t want inner peace? Who doesn’t want to walk a path of self-improvement that connects with other pilgrims on the way? Who doesn’t want more light to healing and strengthening relationships? If we are honest, and spend time with passages such as this one from First Timothy, we may see that the secret to relevance for the church has been right before our eyes all along! Shalom!