Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the Faith in their greediness and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
In the 1990’s, I worked as a lifeguard at the local municipal pool. I am pleased to report that no major injury (or worse) happened while I surveilled the waters, and I even had one rescue! The vanity plate on the car of a fellow lifeguard read “NEVRENUF” and I asked him about this. He committed to living life to the fullest and never settling. There was “never enough” adventure, excitement, or adrenaline to satisfy him. His bucket list required the biggest bucket available. Many apply this to a “prepper” lifestyle where self-reliance and a sense of security reign supreme. There is never enough silver, ammo, or tuna fish in the cupboards.
Paul, in the verse above, warns Timothy (his beloved son in the Faith)1 about the snare of self-sufficiency. Those who commit to a “never enough” approach to life keep moving the objective further away from the starting point. No matter how much is in the pantry or in the bank, the quest for more is insatiable. When ten thousand steps are made toward a goal, the goal is then twenty thousand steps further than before. You may have heard the following story. A church member approached the pastor to explain his dilemma. What I made a small income tithing was easy. Now that I make a larger income, tithing so much money is difficult. The pastor took the member’s hand and said, “Let’s pray.” With every eye closed and both heads bowed, the pastor prayed, “Lord, reduce my brother’s income to its former amount so that he can honor You with his tithe. Amen.” Whenever I share this from the pulpit, I get uncomfortable laughs from around the congregation, and I hope it puts a smile on your face too.
Our hearts get hardened when we are never satisfied. The Israelites grumbled about manna. (Exodus 16:1-3) Adam grumbled about his wife. (Genesis 3:12) The congregation grumbled for a king (1 Samuel 8:6-7). I wonder why I am collecting Bible stories since we are all guilty of grumbling. We grumble about traffic, taxes, tariffs, and temperature. We grumble about diseases, destruction, and deterioration. We even grumble about each other! Paul exhorts the church at Ephesus to maintain the unity of the Spirit while striving to attain the unity of the Faith.
(E)ndeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace ... till we all come to the unity of the Faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
Ephesians 4:3, 13
In our relationship with God and with His family, we never settle. Each day, I pray to make progress as Paul exhorted:
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Philippians 3:13-15
Press upward. Heavenward. Against gravity and toward the source of Light. The sign of maturity is to realize there is more to be done, to be reached, to obtain. We sing the song “I want more of JESUS, more and more and more. I want more of JESUS than I ever had before. I want more of His great love, so rich and full and free. I want more of JESUS, so I give Him more of me.” We reach for godliness. For God. For Godly living. For Godly loving. For Godly learning. In these things, we say NEVER ENOUGH!
Godliness with contentment is great gain. In a time when the world offers neither, we guard our hearts and minds by heeding Paul’s advice to Timothy.
The author invites comments and suggestions through email to
chrisc@khouse.org.
Notes:
1. 1 Timothy 1:2 and 2 Timothy 1:2. Unrelated to this article, I offer the following observation. Paul writes 1 Timothy as a handbook of ministry to Timothy. He writes 2 Timothy as a heartfelt farewell, knowing that his days are short in this world. From the practical to the personal, we see a dynamic in ministry that I share with only one or two other co-laborers and “under-rowers.” (see 1 Corinthians 4:1-2 and also Ron Matsen’s unforgettable article, The Under Rower of Christ | Koinonia House or https://khouse.org/personal_update/articles/2015/under-rower-christ.) As a final thought, if this footnote sounds like the beginning of an interesting article, let me know by emailing me at the address found at the end of the main article.
