Hebrews 13:5-6
Money, God, and Contentment
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,
“Never will I leave you;
never will I forsake you.”
6 So we say with confidence,
“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?”
Philippians 4:10-13
Money, God, and Contentment
10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
1 Timothy 6:6-10
Money, God, and Contentment
6But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9People 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. 10For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Matthew 25:14-23
Parable of the Talents
14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
Sometimes, if not oftentimes, our world seems to shape itself and define itself by materialism...The more we have as a people or nation, the more we want...But the Source of our greatest happiness in life does not come from materialism...It comes from another Source...That Source is the LORD and His Son...
God gives us so much free will...He gives us a choice to be content...We choose everyday, and many times, we choose happiness each morning...Do I want to be happy today, or will I choose something else?... Happiness and contentment does not seem -just to happen...St. Paul writes that contentment is the ability to see what we do have and where we are at -and if we can be happy with that then we can always be content...Therefore, happiness is not in the desire for the next thing and the next thing after that, and it is not in the circumstances that surround us...St. Paul teaches us to accept the things we have and the circumstances we have been put in...St. Paul said it is how we see these circumstances that we are in that makes us happy or unhappy...He himself was often in jail, but wrote many of his Books of the New Testament, while in chains...St. Paul, also, knew what it was to have material things, and not to have anything...How he viewed these circumstances he was in is what makes one contented and happy...St. Paul had grown to realize that his own personal contentment did not depend on what he had, it depended on living with what he did have and being happy for those things...Happiness is not about what we do not have...Happiness comes from learning to like and love the things we do have in our lives, regardless of our circumstances...
Happiness and contentment does not depend on the number of talents and money we have been given by God, but on who and how we share them with...Happiness is not found in the material things we have, because over time, we will grow old and tired of those things and want something else...Happiness comes from the love of God...God has given us a restless mind...It seems He has put in our minds different cravings...A craving for love, a craving for seeking Him, and a craving for a certain type of peace...These three things can be found only in the Bible...