Many people today are searching for contentment. They do not realize that we can only find contentment when we are seeking for God with all our hearts. This daily devotional looks at godliness with contentment.
Nuggets
- Knowing God and being like God will be us contentment.
- We like to think that godliness and holiness are synonymous, but sometimes, we like to think those are just a short distance from sin.
- We won’t be content until we are under God’s standards.
Devotions in the Contentment Leads to Tranquility series
We all want to be content in our lives. What we sometimes don’t realize is that we can only find contentment through a relationship with God.
Sometimes, we lose our contentment because technology just doesn’t like us sometimes. At least, I still have access to the buttons, but this will look different. Hopefully, it won’t be quirky for as long as it was last time.
Let's Put It into Context
The Holman Bible Dictionary defines contentment as “an internal satisfaction which does not demand changes in external circumstances.”
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Godliness with Contentment
“But godliness with contentment is great gain” (I Tim. 6: 6 ESV)
Godliness, equated with the Old Testament term fear of the Lord, is an attitude of reverence that is promoted by walking in His Spirit. What this verse is saying is an attitude of reverence with internal satisfaction is an increase in wealth.
Champneys had an interesting definition of godliness. He thought it was frequently defined as the gospel. He wrote, “… the object of the revelation of Christ in the gospel is to show us the character of God in the person of a man, and thereby set us a pattern for us to copy — and by offering grace to all, by which they may be able to copy that pattern, to make them Godlike by making them like Christ.”
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I can see that. The gospels are showing us what our attitude is to be — God like.
Knowing God and being like God will be us contentment. How, you might be asking?
Think about Who God is. He is love (I Jn. 4: 8). He promotes order and harmony. That produces contentment.
When we add in God’s mercy, it takes that contentment up a notch. God’s mercy is the unexpected way God responds in love to our needs.
That mercy is played out when God — the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-seeing Deity — forgives sinful you and me. It is evident in how God provides for us.
Champneys also said that contentment is found when we truthfully rate our value compared to God’s. Sometimes, we like to think we are gods and goddesses, but we aren’t. When we get passed the feelings of entitlement, we realize the extent of His mercy and love in designing the plan of salvation for our restoration.
If you have not admitted that your relationship is not right with God,
have not asked Jesus to be your Lord and Savior,
and have not confessed your sins,
please read through the Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
Contentment is a fruit of godliness, as Champneys called it. It does have the power to bring the sinful world back into order as non-believers would want what we have.
We are going to meander a second, but we will hook back up with contentment. I promise.
Are Godliness and Holiness Synonymous with Sinfulness?
“But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, ‘You must be holy because I am holy’” (I Pet. 1: 15-16 NLT)
We like to think that godliness and holiness are synonymous. But sometimes, we like to think the same thing about sinfulness.
Holiness is the state of being pure. If we look at godliness as imitating the character of God, He is pure. That also makes godliness the state of being pure.
Godliness and holiness are synonymous.
But it doesn’t stop there. Sometimes, we like to think those are just a short distance from sin. That way we don’t have to change much in order to get right with God.
Wrong. Look how Tillotson explained it. He wrote, “A state of sin and holiness [and therefore godliness] are not like two ways that are just parted by a line, so as a man may step out of the one full into the other; but they are like two ways that lead to two very distant places, and consequently are at a good distance from one another; and the farther any man hath travelled in the one, the farther he is from the other; so that it requires time and pains to pass from the one to the other.”
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Think about it. Let’s frame this through the narrow and wide gates. “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Mt. 7: 13-14 ESV).
Glossary
I think, sometimes in our minds, we think of it as a series of gates instead of just two gates. We tooling along on the sanctification road, and a temptation pops up.
Sanctification is the transformation of mind, body, and soul beginning with regeneration and ending with perfected state of spiritual wholeness or completeness. Temptation is a suggestion in our mind that would lead us to sin rather than following God’s Will. It is also that period of time between conception and execution of doing what is sinful.
We think that the two gates are right in front of us — side by side. We have to choose right now which gate we are going to go through — the one that continues on the sanctification road or the one that leads to the exit ramp.
But I think we view the exit ramp as leading to the frontage road. It is going the same direction as we are going. The only difference is it is just running parallel.
Oh, no. It makes a quick u-turn and leads us back toward the sinful life we left when we ABCDed.
The ABCDs of Salvation
If you have not become a believer in Christ, please read through the
Plan of Salvation and prayerfully consider what God is asking you to do.
A – admit our sins
B – believe His Son Jesus is our Redeemer
C – confess God as Sovereign Lord
D – demonstrate that commitment by making any changes needed in our lives to
live the way in which God has called us
The Disciple’s Job Description
The narrow gate is the only entrance we want. It is the only entrance that will lead to God.
We cannot be on a parallel road and just be a good person and get to Heaven. We can’t only believe God exists.
To read a related devotion, click the appropriate button below.
We have to admit we are separated from God, believe that Jesus died so that separation could be rectified, confess and submit to God as Sovereign Lord, and demonstrate that commitment by leading godly, holy lives. That is the only way we will find contentment.
Why Can’t We be Content as Sinners?
“Actually all of us were like them and lived according to our natural desires, doing whatever suited the wishes of our own bodies and minds. In our natural condition we, like everyone else, were destined to suffer God's anger” (Eph. 2: 3 GNT)
It comes down to God’s standards verses Satan’s standards. Our contentment is based on which standards we follow. We won’t find contentment following Satan’s standards. We only find contentment with godliness.
But if we are good people doing good deeds, why can’t we be content? Oh, we might be content by the world’s standards.
We won’t be content until we are under God’s standards. If we are still sinners, we will be “… destined to suffer God’s anger” (Eph. 2: 3 GNT).
God wants all of us to turn back and obey Him. God is a Sovereign “who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (I Tim. 2: 4 NIV).
We have to make a conscious decision to ABCD. If we do not, we will perish. God doesn’t want that — but will sentence us to the judgment we have earned.
- “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6: 23 ESV).
- “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3: 3 ESV).
- “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (II Pet. 3: 9 ESV).
- “I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20: 12-15 NLT).
A life of sin does not lead to contentment. Worldview people may think so because they think they are calling their own shots.
Instead, they are slaves to Satan.
- “Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin’” (Jn. 8: 34 ESV).
- “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (I Jn. 3: 8 ESV)
Satan is the master of chaos, not contentment. “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (I Pet. 5: 8 ESV).
We can only find contentment by imitating God.
Making the Connections
It is logical that becoming more like God would bring contentment. We are and act in the ways He wants us to, rather than following Satan’s sinful ways.
God is love and peace. Satan is lies and chaos.
Making the Connections to Self-Discipline
If contentment comes by imitating God, we can only do that by knowing Who God is. We learn His character by following His laws and commandments.
But ooo, baby. That goes against our sinful nature. We have to discipline ourselves to follow Him.
How Do We Apply This?
We need to grow in grace and knowledge. We that by searching for and seeking God.
Luckily, we know that growing to be like God is a process. That process will take the rest of our lives. It is called sanctification.
God has promised to be with us every step of the way. We can do this — with our hand firmly in His.
Father. You have provided so much for us. Most importantly, You provide us salvation. You designed a way that our relationships with You could be mended. You ask that we change to become more like You. You even help us do that — because we would not be able to accomplish that on our own. Help us to keep our hand firmly in Yours. Correct us when we pull away toward the lure of this world. Keep bringing us back to the sanctification road so that we complete our journey at Your narrow gate. Amen.
What do you think?
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