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“But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content” (1 Tim. 6:8). It’s good advice for a young pastor, isn’t it? This no-nonsense exhortation comes from Paul in his first letter to Timothy, where he warns his protégé to avoid certain men whose lives and teaching were threatening to harm the church—namely, false teachers who cared more about the size of their paychecks than the purity of their doctrine and life.
By this point in his ministry, Paul must have been well aware that becoming a respected man of God does not automatically eradicate the fleshly inclination toward greedy gain. He knew that Timothy was in danger of stumbling into the footsteps of those false teachers and falling headlong “into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (v. 9). Paul doesn’t stutter. Godliness is not the pathway to earthly gain, and death is the ultimate reality that overshadows this truth—every man will die, but no man will take a single possession with him (see v. 7).
Despite his firm words, it would be a mistake to think that Paul is anti-gain. In fact, it might even be accurate to say that his life and ministry were consumed with the pursuit of gain. And that is why Paul shares his secret with Timothy: “Godliness with contentment is great gain” (v. 6). Paul desired great gain. But the difference between Paul and the false teachers is that Paul was in hot pursuit of a gain that would outlive the fleeting years of his earthly life and ministry. He gladly suffered the loss of earthly gain so that he might gain the eternal treasure of life in, with, and for Christ (see Phil. 3:8–9). The issue is not the pursuit of gain but whether the acquired gain is imperishable and unfading, kept where moth and rust do not destroy.
This gain of the godly is for unwealthy pastors and prosperous businessmen alike (see 1 Tim. 6:17), because sin will deal both of these men the lie that happiness means having “just a little bit more,” as John D. Rockefeller famously (and sarcastically) quipped. And this is where contentment comes in. Growth in godliness will inevitably yield a sharper eye toward the certainty of heavenly realities and an earnest desire to be spent for that which will last—a life of love for God and people. Contentment is the virtue that propels those godly desires and intentions into real actions, good works of compassion and generosity that proclaim a hope in something more sure and satisfying than earthly goods.
Whether we possess much or little, discontentment distracts us and weighs us down as we pour out time and energy to acquire, maintain, or simply daydream about all that we desire to obtain this side of heaven. When we die, there’s nothing to show for it. Godliness with contentment, however, liberates us to live with open hands and a fixed gaze—and in the end leads to an unfathomable storehouse of eternal treasure.