Godly Contentment

1 Timothy 6:6 "Now godliness with contentment is great gain."


In this section of scripture, Paul is instructing His beloved Timothy how to conduct himself as a leader of a group of believers. He warns him here about men that would come in and teach doctrines contrary to godliness, specifically men that are looking to pervert the gospel in order to benefit materially. Paul tells Timothy to stay away from such a one. He teaches that godliness with contentment in what we have is gain enough, without looking for added bonuses in the ministry.
This verse is in particular is addressed to those that are serving in the ministry in one form or another. it is very easy for ministers of the gospel to fleece the sheep, because they have by design a position of trust and authority. Most believers will assume that all is being done with a heart surrendered to God, so no godly servant would take advantage of that privilege and lead the people astray. How sad it is when, out of greed, the godly servant starts to look for ways to turn his advice into something that would bring a benefit. Let's look at this verse closer.
Godliness talks about the attribute of the heart of the believers well as the conduct of the believer. By submitting to the Lord and surrendering our hearts to Him we will take on Christlikeness. The Holy Spirit comes to live in us at salvation and transforms us from the inside. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, which will result in an increase of God-honoring behavior and a decrease in selfishness. Through this process we are resembling Christ more each day and carry with us a new nature, which will give us  that precious attribute of godliness.
Contentment refers to an attitude of gratitude with everything God has already done for us. We are already blessed beyond measure by what God has accomplished in our lives that we do not look for or expect any more benefits from Him. He has personally paid for our sins on the cross and freely given us the gift of eternal life. He has granted us a life here on earth that is free from the bondage and chains of sinful living. He has given us more than we deserve, even more than we could have ever hoped for. If God never did anything else for us as long as we live, we would be compelled to show our gratitude for the rest of our lives.
Great gain is that godliness in our lives. So much so that it is far more valuable than any material gain we could ever possibly hope to get out of doing ministry. The blessings from God far outweigh the earthly benefits we could ever receive. An earthly perspective will have us looking for the personal edge, a heavenly focus will have us look to serve others out of a feeling of indebtedness to our Savior.

Application
I pray that I will always be able to keep my perspective aligned with God's view. In order to keep an attitude of thankfulness, today I will make a list of those things that God has already done for me before I even had anything to bring to the table. I will keep that list in front of me as a memorial to His grace.