Godly Contentment: A Learned Behavior

WEEKLY DEVOTIONAL BY PATRICE TSAGUE

Are you always in pursuit of more, or are you content in every circumstance?
Can you find satisfaction in God alone?
Do you know how to achieve Godly contentment?

Godly Contentment: A Learned Behavior

Since all entrepreneurs are looking for more business, more customers, and more money, contentment can be an interesting concept for an entrepreneur to grasp. How do I remain content in a world that rewards the pursuit of more, and that views being content with less as failure or defeat? We find ourselves in a marketplace environment that not only rewards the pursuit of more, but also does not care about the methods of that pursuit. 

The reality is that in order for me to understand Godly contentment, I must first change my paradigm of business. It is impossible for me to experience Godly contentment while practicing the world’s approach toward business, because the worldly approach uses discontent as a tool for motivating people to become innovative and productive.

A newly certified Biblical Entrepreneur teacher once told me a story about a company he worked for, where his supervisor took him to a dealership to finance a brand new car. The supervisor’s purpose in doing this was to motivate his employee to increase his sales. Television advertisements are filled with images that are designed to make us discontent with our current circumstances, so that we want and consume more and more.  

Contentment is not something we are born with – nor does it come automatically with salvation. It is a learned behavior.  

I read a story about a Quaker who put a sign on his house that read “I will give this house to any man who can prove to me that he is content.” Soon, someone came knocking at the door and said he saw the sign out front and wanted to claim the house. He said he was perfectly content.

The Quaker asked what he meant. He said, “I have everything I want, all the money I need, everything in life that could satisfy me. I am perfectly content.”  The Quaker said, “Friend, if thee is so content, what does thee want with my house?” Many of us are like this man; we claim to be content, but we do so while seeking more.

What does it really mean to be content? 

Contentment is the ability, given by the indwelling Holy Spirit, to accept God’s will for my life, regardless of the circumstances. It is a learned behavior that allows me to achieve great gains in Christ.  I love Ray C. Stedman’s definition of contentment: “only wanting what you have”.  The beauty of this definition is that it forces us to reverse our perspective and focus on what we already have.  

If you’re not content with what you have, you will not appreciate it; if you do not appreciate what you have, you will not take care of it; and if you do not take care of it, then you may eventually lose it.  On the other hand, if you want what you have, you will appreciate it, and, as a result, will also take care of it and may eventually have more.  The key then to contentment is “wanting” – that is, deeply appreciating – what you have in your hand.

As an entrepreneur, how can Godly contentment be achieved? How can we reach the point of being content with what we have, and no longer focused on trying to keep up with the Joneses or the Gates?

To achieve Godly contentment, you must keep the following seven points in mind:

1. Recognize that you have brought nothing into this world, and you will carry nothing out of it. 
   (1 Timothy 6:7, Job 1:21)
2. Recognize that God makes both the rich and the poor. 
   (1 Samuel 2:7, Proverbs 22:2)
3. When you are enduring the trial of lack, ensure that you learn and grow through it.
   (James 1:2-4)
4. Master the art of stewardship. 
   (1 Corinthians 4:2, Luke 16:1-13)
5. Learn to appreciate every blessing, no matter how great or how small. 
   (1 Thessalonians 5:18)
6. Put your trust in Christ, and not in your resources.
   (Matthew 6:33, I Timothy 6:17 -19, Colossians 3:1-11)
7. Guard against the love of money. 
   (1 Timothy 6:10, Luke 12:15-21)

Realize that implementing these things can not be done by your own effort but by the Spirit of God (Zechariah 4:6). You cannot “will” yourself to be content; Christ must empower you and give you the grace to achieve contentment.  

The dangers of ignoring this virtue are great. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 explains it best:

“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.”

Therefore, pursue contentment and godliness, and you are sure to avoid great failure and attain great gain in Christ.

My prayer for you today is that God will give you the grace to be content with what you have, to be fully satisfied in Him alone, and that you will appreciate His many blessings.