We live in a world that tells us that we should never be satisfied with what we’ve got. While there is nothing wrong with being ambitious and wanting to create a better life for you and your family, it’s important to strike the balance between ambition and discontent. If we’re being honest, most of us wish we had more money. But what if we could be truly content with what we have? Financial contentment may not be as far away as you think.
We don’t hear much about being content with what we have. The culture that we are a part of teaches us that we should always be looking for ways to get more. We spend hours lying on our couches while shopping for a bigger home. We peruse internet ads looking for a newer, faster car. When we’re stressed about the job that we already have, we look for new jobs that would require more hours and greater responsibility, all in the name of making more money than we’re currently making.
If you’re wondering if this is an indictment on ambition, it’s not. There’s nothing wrong with wanting a bigger home, especially if you’re outgrowing the one that you currently live in. After all, if you’re still living in the one-bedroom apartment that you moved into after college, and now you find yourself married with a baby on the way, it’s probably time to move into a larger space. However, ambition and discontentment don’t always go hand in hand.
Instead, we often hide behind words like “ambition” and “goals” to try to make what we’re doing sound better. In lots of cases, we’re looking for more because we’re trying to “keep up with the Joneses.” We allow discontentment to fester, all because we’re actually discontent with what we already have.
Is it possible to be truly content with the things that you already have? Does doing so mean that you have no drive or motivation to make a better life for yourself? If you’re asking yourself these questions, keep reading. We’re going to discover what God’s Word teaches us about finding financial contentment in a society that teaches us to always be looking for a way to add a dollar to our bank accounts.
Are You in Bondage?
Matthew 8:24-25 (TPT)
“How could you worship two gods at the same time? You will have to hate one and love the other or be devoted to one and despise the other. You can’t worship the true God while enslaved to the god of money! This is why I tell you to never be worried about your life, for all that you need will be provided, such as food, water, clothing-everything your body needs. Isn’t there more to your life than a meal? Isn’t your body more than clothing?”
Matthew 8:24 is one of the key verses that people use when discussing how God feels about money. Unfortunately, it often gets misused in an effort to say that God doesn’t want His people to experience any sort of financial prosperity. That’s not the case. Instead, Christ spoke about the fact that money is one of the main things that leaves us feeling torn.
Think about three things in your life that are currently causing you to be stressed. How many of them do you think would be solved if you had more money? According to studies, money is the leading cause of stress for people today. If you’re not stressed about how to manage the money you’ve got, you’re probably stressing about things that you think could be resolved by having more money.
If you read verse 24 on its own, it’s easy to assume that Christ is condemning money, but this verse actually deals with faith and contentment. When we’re pulled in two different directions, it’s easy to find yourself in bondage to the desire for more.
Typically, this comes from a place of fear. We’re worried about not having enough, so we allow ourselves to do anything within our power to make more money. However, Christ spoke about the fact that He will supply all our needs. This allows us to experience freedom from the stress of worrying about making more money!
It’s Not Really About Money
Ecclesiastes 5:10-12
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. When goods increase, they increase who eat them, and what advantage has their owner but to see them with his eyes? Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.
Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived. Because of his journey for wisdom, God blessed him with all sorts of financial benefits. However, Solomon quickly realized that money truly couldn’t buy happiness.
A 2019 story published in Forbes spoke about the concept that Solomon wrote about thousands of years ago. The piece takes a deep look into several millionaires in the United States, and how they continue to stress about money, even when they have it. Do you think your life would be stress free if you had a million dollars in the bank? Maybe you do have a million dollars, and you still find yourself experiencing stress.
Let’s assume that you don’t have a million dollars. Yes, getting it would probably alleviate some of your current stresses. If you’re worried about how you’re going to pay the mortgage on your home next month, a million dollars would certainly help. However, there would just more stress in its place. Instead of worrying about the mortgage, you’d probably end up worried about how you’re going to turn that million into more.
Our discontentment regarding money is rarely about money. Instead, it’s about status, which is rooted in pride. If you feel like you’re stressing about money, take a step back and figure out the true root of the stress. If it relates to pride and your social status, allow the Holy Spirit to make a change.
Choosing Generosity
1 Timothy 6:6-9 (TPT)
We have a “profit” that is greater than theirs-our holy awe of God! To have merely our necessities is to have enough. Isn’t it true that our hands were empty when we came into the world, and when we leave this world our hands will be empty again? Because of this, food and clothing is enough to make us content. But those who crave the wealth of this world will slip into spiritual snares. They become trapped by the troubles that come through their foolish and harmful desires, driven by greed and drowning in their own sinful pleasures. And they take others down with them into their corruption and eventual destruction.
When you were born, your bank account read $0. While there may be money in the bank when you die, you won’t be able to profit from any of it. That’s what Paul spoke at length about not allowing the pursuit of more money to allow us to sin.
One of the best ways to go about this is to spend more time being generous than looking for ways to make more. You may never be able to donate huge sums of money to a charitable cause. There may never be a wing at the local hospital named after you. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t find ways to choose generosity.
When you see a practical need in your community, ask yourself if there’s anything that you can do to help. Has your community recently been damaged by a natural disaster? If so, local churches are probably looking for donations to help those people recover. When you commit yourself to finding practical ways to bless others with what you have, you will be more content with those things. Instead of looking for more, find ways to bless others.
A Closing Prayer:
Heavenly Father, thank You for the things that You have given me. Help me to find ways to use them to bless others. Instead of stressing about money, help me to rest in the promise that You will sustain me. In Christ’s name, Amen.