God and Money: Five Principles for Handling Our Possessions (Seek Contentment)

As we leave this holiday season, a lot of people find themselves facing some finance stress as they enter the new year. And for that reason, we’ve started a five-week sermon series entitled God and Money: Five Principles for Handling Our Possessions. Using the Bible as a  guide, we’ll focus on the following actions that God calls us to take as we consider the material possessions he’s given us. 

• January 14 - Offer Thanks
• January 21 - Give Generously
• January 28 - Seek Contentment
• February 4 - Work Hard
• February 11 - Stay Humble

During the third service, we talked about why and how we can seek contentment. The text and recording of the sermon is below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EST)

Seeking Contentment

A couple of weeks ago, we started a sermon series entitled God and Money: Five Principles for Handling Our Possessions. Now, at the time, I thought that was a pretty good idea. I mean, not only is this something that I think we can all apply, but since we were coming out of the Christmas season and let’s face it, bills and debt are a couple of the gifts that just keep on giving, since all that’s true, personally I believe getting a handle on our finances might be more than helpful. And as y’all remember, a couple of weeks ago, we started by talking about offering thanks, you know, something we can do through the words we use and the work we do. And then last week, we focused on giving generously, something that’s possible as soon as we accept that what we have is really a gift we’ve been given and a tool we can use. Now, that’s what we’ve covered thus far.

And this morning we’re going to continue this by looking at what I consider principle number three: seeking contentment, and I’m talking about being content with all the stuff for which we can offer thanks and from which we can give generously. And you know, it’s interesting; as I was starting to work on this message Friday afternoon, I was listening to the Broadway musical, Hamilton. Now, if you don’t already know, it’s about one of our founding fathers, Alexander Hamilton, you know, the guy on the ten dollar bill. And one of the themes that sort of runs through the whole musical involves satisfaction. You see, right from the beginning, Hamilton recognizes something about himself, that he will never be satisfied. In other words, for him, there’s always something more, you know, another battle to fight or another structure to design or another essay to write. You see, he could never be content with the way things were, and so he was constantly pushing. And even though it led to enormous success both for himself and his country, it came at a cost, and I’m talking about almost destroying his marriage and the death of his son and ultimately him being shot by Aaron Burr. You see, in the musical, his lack of satisfaction had enormous consequences. And I’ll tell you, I think the same can be said for us. And even though I certainly hope it doesn’t cost anyone here their lives, I believe this constant desire for more can surely damage our relationships, both with the people we love and the God we trust.

And I’ll tell you, that’s the reason we’ll be talking about seeking contentment this morning. And as we’ve done with offering thanks and giving generously, we’ll look at why, why it’s important for us to seek as much contentment as possible. And then, we’ll spend a little time focused on how, you know, how we might become more content as we go about living our lives. Now that’s the plan for today.

And as I just said, we’re going to start by looking at why, why seeking contentment should be important for all Christians but particularly for believers who’ve been blessed with a little bit more than most. In other words, why might a sense of satisfaction be important? Now, as I’ve said before, I think that’s a pretty good question. And I’ll tell you, when we look at Scripture, I think we can find a couple of pretty good answers.

You see, first, I think contentment can help us control the distractions. I mean, it can enable us to see past, all that stuff we’d like to do and all those things we’d like to own. Put another way, the more satisfied we are, the more I think we’re able to put all these potential distractions aside so that they don’t become a jumble, cluttering up our minds and confusing our vision. 

And I’ll tell you, I think that was what Jesus was getting at when he offered a parable about a very distracted farmer.

So Jesus told them this story:

A rich man’s farm produced a big crop, and he said to himself, “What can I do? I don’t have a place large enough to store everything.”

Later, he said, “Now I know what I’ll do. I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. Then I’ll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’”

But God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?”

“This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.” [Luke 12:16-21]

Now that’s what Jesus said. And just think about what it means. You see, in the story, the farmer’s desire to sort of secure his life by storing up all his grain actually distracted him from doing some things that, in the vast scheme of things, were far more important and far more lasting than building bigger barns to lock in a better future that he’d never see. But you know, that wasn’t the only thing Jesus said about the importance of putting all the distractions in their place. In fact, a little later in this same chapter...

Jesus said to his disciples:

I tell you not to worry about your life! Don’t worry about having something to eat or wear. Life is more than food or clothing. Look at the crows! They don’t plant or harvest, and they don’t have storehouses or barns. But God takes care of them. You are much more important than any birds. Can worry make you live longer? If you don’t have power over small things, why worry about everything else? [Luke 12:22-26, CEV]

You see, according to Jesus, when it comes to how we view our material possessions, the fear of what might happen if we don’t have enough can be just as problematic as the dilemma of what we should do when we have more than we need. In other words, both genuine worry and unrealistic assumptions can distract us from what may be most important. But if we’re able to find a balance, a place of satisfaction, a sense of happiness in our own lives right now, well, maybe if we can do that, those distractions might lose some of their power. And for me, that’s one reason why seeking contentment is important.

And second, I also think being content can help us maintain our focus. You see, when we’re able to be satisfied with our lives as they are, even if they’re not what we’d like, then I believe we’ll be in a better position to see what both that farmer and that worrywart missed, and I’m talking about the love and the grace and the mercy of God. And I’ll tell you, I think this was something that Paul must have experienced when he wrote this:

Three times I begged the Lord to make this suffering go away. But he replied, “My gift of undeserved grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.” So if Christ keeps giving me his power, I will gladly brag about how weak I am. Yes, I am glad to be weak or insulted or mistreated or to have troubles and sufferings, if it is for Christ. Because when I am weak, I am strong. [2 Corinthians 12:8-10, CEV]

Now, that’s what I call both satisfaction and focus. But we really shouldn’t be surprised that Paul expressed this. I mean, just listen to what he wrote the Philippians:

The Lord has made me very grateful that at last you have thought about me once again. Actually, you were thinking about me all along, but you didn’t have any chance to show it. I am not complaining about having too little. I have learned to be satisfied with whatever I have. I know what it is to be poor or to have plenty, and I have lived under all kinds of conditions. I know what it means to be full or to be hungry, to have too much or too little. Christ gives me the strength to face anything. [Philippians 4:10-13, CEV]

You see, regardless of what Paul encountered he wasn’t distracted by his weakness or his suffering or his hunger. Instead he found a sense of satisfaction regardless of what was happening to him. And this enabled him and I’ll tell you, it can enable us to focus on the strength and the hope that’s always there in Jesus Christ. And for me, along with helping us control the distractions, seeking contentment helps us maintain our focus. And that’s why it’s important as we try to figure out what to do with all the stuff we have.

And as to how we can do it, you know, how Christians can actually seek and find contentment and satisfaction with what they have, well, I think it comes down to us intentionally doing three things. 

You see, first, if we’re serious about being more content, I think we need to appreciate what we have. It’s like the writer to the Hebrews said,

Don’t fall in love with money. Be satisfied with what you have. The Lord has promised that he will not leave us or desert us. This should make you feel like saying,

“The Lord helps me!

Why should I be afraid

    of what people

    can do to me?” [Hebrews 13:5-6, CEV]

Or, as the Apostle Paul wrote to his protégé Timothy,

And religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have. We didn’t bring anything into this world, and we won’t take anything with us when we leave. So we should be satisfied just to have food and clothes. People who want to be rich fall into all sorts of temptations and traps. They are caught by foolish and harmful desires that drag them down and destroy them. The love of money causes all kinds of trouble. Some people want money so much they have given up their faith and caused themselves a lot of pain. [1 Timothy 6:6–10, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote. And I’ll tell you, I think it’s true. If we want to be more content, we really need to recognize we’re been given an awful lot. My gosh, as Americans, in reality, we may have far more than we actually need, and that’s why we’re able to waste about 30 to 40% of our food. That’s about 20 pounds of food per person each month. And that’s just what we eat. Although we may complain a lot, as Americans, we’ve been blessed; therefore, we have all kinds of reasons for being satisfied. And as Christians, man, we have even more. Good night nurse, we can trust in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and we can trust the love of God the Father and we can trust the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. I’m telling you, if we want to be more content, we can start by appreciating what we have. That’s one.

And second, we can also use what we’ve got. And even though we’re going to talk about the importance of hard work next week, I think it’s important to also mention it here. You see, I believe if we’re seriously about becoming more content, you know, more satisfied with what we’ve got, we need to make the conscious decision to take all those things and put them to use. And I’ll tell you, that’s something we can see in both the Old and New Testaments. For example, this was what the writer of Ecclesiastes said:

What do we gain by all our hard work? I have seen what difficult things God demands of us. God makes everything happen at the right time. Yet none of us can ever fully understand all he has done, and he puts questions in our minds about the past and the future. I know the best thing we can do is to always enjoy life, because God’s gift to us is the happiness we get from our food and drink and from the work we do. Everything God has done will last forever; nothing he does can ever be changed. God has done all this, so that we will worship him. [Ecclesiastes 3:9-14, CEV]

Now that was from the Old Testament. And according to the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Romans:

I realize God has treated me with undeserved grace, and so I tell each of you not to think you are better than you really are. Use good sense and measure yourself by the amount of faith that God has given you. A body is made up of many parts, and each of them has its own use. That’s how it is with us. There are many of us, but we each are part of the body of Christ, as well as part of one another.

God has also given each of us different gifts to use. If we can prophesy, we should do it according to the amount of faith we have. If we can serve others, we should serve. If we can teach, we should teach. If we can encourage others, we should encourage them. If we can give, we should be generous. If we are leaders, we should do our best. If we are good to others, we should do it cheerfully. [Romans 12:3-8, CEV]

You know, I’m not sure there’s any better sign of appreciation than actually using what we’ve been given. And when we realize that there’s some bigger plan, some definite reasons for our possessions, reasons that go above and beyond personal comfort and pleasure, I believe our satisfaction with them increases. In other words, if we want to be more content, we can use what we’ve got. And that’s two.

And finally, third, if we want to amp up our contentment, we can also remember what we’ll receive. In other words, as Christians, if we can get a glimpse of our future, it just might help us be more satisfied in the present. For example, suppose we accepted these words from the psalmist:

Don’t be annoyed by anyone

who does wrong,

    and don’t envy them.

They will soon disappear

    like grass without rain.

Trust the Lord and live right!

The land will be yours,

    and you will be safe.

Do what the Lord wants,

and he will give you

    your heart’s desire. [Psalm 37:1-4, CEV]

Or suppose, we put ourselves in the place of that Samaritan who approached Jesus at the well:

Jesus asked her, “Would you please give me a drink of water?”

“You are a Jew,” she replied, “and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink of water when Jews and Samaritans won’t have anything to do with each other?” 

Jesus answered, “You don’t know what God wants to give you, and you don’t know who is asking you for a drink. If you did, 

you would ask me for the water that gives life.”

“Sir,” the woman said, “you don’t even have a bucket, and the well is deep. Where are you going to get this life-giving water? Our ancestor Jacob dug this well for us, and his family and animals got water from it. Are you greater than Jacob?”

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will get thirsty again. But no one who drinks the water I give will ever be thirsty again. The water I give will become in that person a flowing fountain that gives eternal life.” [John 4:8b-14, CEV]

In other words, suppose we accepted that our lives are in the gracious and loving and merciful hands of God and suppose we accepted that whatever we’re facing right now is only temporary and suppose we accepted that our futures are going to be glorious, suppose we accepted all of this, don’t you think that vision just might lead to a little bit more patience and satisfaction right now? Well, I do. And that’s why I believe that we can seek genuine, God-given, Christ-centered, Spirit-inspired contentment by remembering what we’ll receive. And along with appreciating what we have and using what we’ve got, that’s how we can get there.

Now, in the musical to which I was listening on Friday, Alexander Hamilton was never satisfied, and that cost him everything. And even though he accomplished great things, in the very last song, his widow wonders what he could have done if he hadn’t been shot in a duel when he was only forty-seven. But you know, as we consider how we might best handle our material possessions, that should never be an issue for us. You see, since we know it can help us control the distractions and maintain our focus, right here and now, we can decide to avoid the example of Alexander Hamilton by appreciating what we have and by using what we’ve got and by remembering what we’ll receive. And that, my friends, is why and how we can seek contentment.