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Choose the Path of Contentment

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

─ 1 Timothy 6:6-7 ESV


Loving an Emotionally Weak Person

You are called to live a life of contentment as a child of God. It’s highly likely you know discontented Christians, and possibly struggle with it yourself.

Paul penned our verses for today in a letter to Timothy, encouraging him to make a decision to live a life of contentment. Bible scholars believe Paul wrote these words to his son in the faith right before his final Roman imprisonment.

As you read Paul’s writings in Scripture, it doesn’t appear he was just naturally a content person. He spent lots of time in difficult places: in prison, shipwrecked, ostracized by those who once respected him as Jewish leaders. No doubt these uncomfortable places left him agitated, frustrated, hurt and in physical and emotional pain. But Paul, at some point, made a decision for contentment in his life.

The Holy Spirit is clearly foundational to Paul’s contentment, and to yours.

In addition to that, here are two important things to know about contentment:

  1. Contentment is a decision.

    Contentment is a decision you make every day – sometimes several times a day – in spite of how you feel. If you want contentment in your life, with everything going on today, you have to make a decision for it. It’s not going to just happen to you.

  2. Contentment is learnable.

    Paul learned to be content. Life beat him up, but God picked him up. His God-given purpose pumped him up, and that set him up to choose to be content.

Today’s One Thing

Make a decision today to be content, and ask the Lord to show you the path to take toward contentment when you’re tempted to allow your emotions to lead you toward discontent.

Additional Reading

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