The Secret of Contentment

UV 3418/10000 The Secret of Contentment
Let your character ( your moral essence, your inner nature) be free from the love of money (shun greed- be financially ethical), being content with what you have; for He has said, “ I will never ( under any circumstances) desert you (nor give you up nor leave you without support, nor will I in any degree leave you helpless), nor will I forsake or let you down or relax my hold on you (assuredly not)!

Hebrews 13 v 5

Many people in public life today love money and actually unwittingly hate themselves. They end up going to jail for their greed that fuels corruption. Their high sense of insecurity about their future, the future of their children causes them to resort to aggrandizement by all the means available to them. Instead, as children of God in Christ, we are called to shun greed and to be financially ethical, to be secure in our trust of God that He will provide our future needs even as He provides for our present. Our security is based on the belief or conviction that God is with us as He has promised and that as long as He is with us, our needs will not be unmet. He will never leave us helpless, nor let us down or give up on us. We are convinced that His resources are unlimited and He is willing to bless us generously according to our need, not according to our greed.

Love of money has the associated evils of being willing to do anything in order to acquire it. It leads to theft, violence, bribery, adultery, immorality and so on. Integrity in financial and all other matters is rooted in our faith in the Lord and His word. We are secure in our trust that He will provide whatever we need in His time. We are patient to wait for His promises to unfold and be fulfilled. We are not like the world, in a hurry to get rich quick. At the same time, we are to work hard, use every legitimate opportunity, invest our time, efforts, talents, abilities and resources wisely.

Contentment implies that we are ever grateful to the Lord for His provision. Our hearts are full of thanksgiving for the way He has blessed us this far even as we hope in His provision for the future. Even if we are in difficult circumstances or financial straits, our eyes are upon the Lord for answering our crying need. If we are financially well off, too our source of security is not our resources but the One who provided it to us. We are willing to give of it to the needy as the Spirit lays it upon our hearts and we are not stingy or tight fisted.