Before Paul says the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil, he says, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:8).
A Google search on contentment in the Bible will lead to Bible Money Matters by Peter Anderson. “Contentment can’t be found in God’s creation or in things like people, possessions, or money.”
Is it any wonder why Christians teach it’s better to be poor? We fail to realize two things. First, contentment means to be in a state of peaceful happiness. Two, Paul’s teaching shows us we’re unable to reach a state of peaceful happiness with worldly wealth, and those trying to be happy through obtaining money can and will fall.
Contentment doesn’t mean settling with what we have and staying stagnant. It means having peaceful happiness in any situation, but we should always strive to be better than the person we were yesterday. It’s the constant pursuit of progress that keeps us living. Ever notice that after retirement, there is a faster rate of decline? The average lifespan of a person in a nursing home is eight months. Can you believe that? Ever wonder why? Because all progress stops.
My grandfather was a hard-working man all his life. After his retirement, there was a time he lived with my parents, and you could not see the man sitting down. He was always doing something. As he got older, everyone told him to stop working so much. He finally listened and started getting sick and was placed in a nursing home. Shortly thereafter, he passed away. While he was working, there was progress and momentum; he was strong and kept going. In the famous words of Tom Petty, “You never slow down, you never grow old.” Once he slowed down, everything else did too.
We are supposed to grow and stretch to our limits; it’s okay to want to have a good and prosperous future. It’s what keeps moving us forward. Jeremiah 29:11 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
