Content?

1 Timothy 6:8
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.

It’s easier to say these words when you possess a whole bunch of stuff than it is when you have next to nothing. I know from experience; there have been times that words very similar to these have been spoken to me about my career or about my apparent lack in time of need. Funny thing is, I didn’t think kindly of the person telling them to me. Instead, I thought, “I’d rather punch you in the face right now than hear you tell me how to be content with the little that I have!”

I think that when we hear something like this our human thought goes immediately to the “be happy with what you have” attitude. We instantly think that when someone says they’d like a better car or house or job, that means they’re not content with the one that they have. Sometimes that may be the case, but sometimes not. When I think about my own life, I am confident that I am perfectly happy with the house in which I live, the car that I drive, and the job that I have. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I wouldn’t like a bigger house or newer, more reliable, car.

This is where we get all twisted up and turned around in our Christian walk. We read a scripture like this and immediately assume that we shouldn’t ever desire any better than what we currently have, that is, food in the cupboard and clothes on our backs. I don’t believe that’s the true meaning of this verse. Jesus came to give us life “more abundantly” (John 10:10), so why would Paul tell us to be content with the little that we have? Isn’t that contradictory to Jesus’ message? The fact is: Jesus tells us to ask for things and whatever we ask for, we will receive (Matthew 7:7-8). So why then do we believe that we should live a contented lifestyle with little, when the King has promised us so much?

The way I see it: Paul isn’t speaking (entirely) about our physical food and clothing here, he is referring to our spiritual contentedness. The Greek word used here for content is “arkeo” (ar-kay-oh) meaning: to be possessed with unfailing strength. Are you possessed with an unfailing strength and resolve when you know you only have the food in your cupboard and the clothes on your back? (I’ll challenge anyone who says that they are!--this was a rhetorical question.)

So what does give us an unfailing strength? How about the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ; isn’t He the Living Water that never leaves you thirsting (John 6:35)? And what about your clothing? (I knew you were going to ask.) Christ has clothed us with His robe of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). He has given us His armor to wear as we go through this life (Ephesians 6:11; this is the armor of God, that is, God’s personal armor!) for protection and comfort. These are the things that give us unfailing strength: consuming Jesus on a daily basis and wearing His clothes!

So while the teaching of Paul can be applied to our physical lives in the sense that we need to be worldly content with the things we have, we also need to realize that in our spiritual lives food and clothing aren’t the bottom of the barrel; they are the highest reaches of our happiness. In this world we can ask God for much more than we already have, physically. But having Jesus to feed on and His righteousness to clothe us is far more than enough to give anyone unfailing strength!