QT 13 Jul 16, 1 Tim 6:6-10, The danger of always wanting more

1 Timothy 6:6–10 (ESV) — 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain, 7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. 8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.

NOTE: Not many people really believe that the desire to be rich can cause them to fall into temptation and into many senseless and harmful desires, that ultimately ruin their loves. All of us want a little more money than we have. Which is interesting, because nearly all of us have a little more money than we once had. Meaning, that we always want more, and our only redeeming quality is that we want just a little more. But even that is not true given the many people who buy lottery tickets. They want a lot more but will also take a little bit too. Money drives much of our lives and for that reason can be a great danger. The response is to develop a culture of contentment. But that is easier said than done. How do you be content, especially when you don’t have to, that is, when you do have the ability to get things or to get more money? I'm not sure of the answer completely. One thing would be to set goals for your money such that it forces you (me) to be content. One such goal is to increase my giving faster than I increase my earnings. If I get a 5 percent pay increase, then I might increase my giving 20 percent. In that way, my giving grows as a percentage of my income. Another goal would be to establish retirement goals such that we are setting aside more money for the future. Maybe we can serve supporting missionaries and visiting them in our retirement without burdening the church. Goals like these curb our spending and consequently force us to learn contentment. Others things to do would be to never buy on the spur of the moment. Always take a day or two to consider a purchase. The bigger the purchase the more contemplation and prayer. Do I really need this new thing? Is my old thing really not sufficient or am I just getting it because I am not content? Whatever we do, there is a danger that we must face of not being content.