A L M A C I A S

HOW CONTENT ARE WE?

As we go through this life, we will have many distractions that could jeopardize our salvation. The Christian life, like the national life of Israel in the wilderness, is full of dangers and obstacles that can cause one to lose more than the Israelites lost ­ that is, the loss of our souls. In the first letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul wrote about some of the dangers that are in this world which have been the downfall of so many. In I Timothy 6:6-7, we read:"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." In this passage of Scripture, we find that the apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, informs us why godliness with contentment is great gain. First, we must understand why Paul said what he said at this particular time. The reason behind Paul's writing was that there were some false teachers going around teaching that gain was godliness. Because of this belief, these false teachers were making merchandise of the brethren.

Paul wanted to make it clear to the brethren that gain was not equal to godliness, but rather godliness with contentment was great gain. Many times we tend to forget that we are only strangers, and our time in this world is just a journey which will eventually come to an end. What we do with the time that God has granted us while we are journeying through this life will determine where we will spend eternity. Because we sometimes forget that our time on earth will be brief, we somehow begin to believe that accumulating more and more is what life is all about. The apostle Paul said that such is not the case. He said that living godly lives and being content with what we have is what life is all about. He reminds us that we came into this world without a thing to our name and when we make our exit, that is how we will leave ­ with nothing! Therefore, since it is the case that we will take nothing with us when we die, we should not make worldly possessions our main goal in this life, but rather we should strive for godliness with contentment, for that we will take with us when we leave. How content are you?