1 Timothy 6:6-16

 “6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For 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. 11 But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15 which God will bring about in his own time—God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever.”

How much do you need to be happy, how much money, how much stuff, how much status? For many the answer to this question seems to be, “more than I currently have.” We are a carrot chasing culture, always craving and consuming but never content. We have bought into the belief that happiness is about having the right house or spouse. We live in a society that suffers from the sickness of “affluenza,” the all-consuming epidemic of chasing after what we don’t have while missing what we do. It is driven by the mindset that more will make us merry, yet in most cases we are actually suffering from the misery of more. Consumerism is not only contagious, it leads to the condition of overload, where we end up deep in debt, filled not with satisfaction but sadness and anxiety. We chase after things because we get caught up in the commercials that tell us we will be happy if we have …, so we let advertising influence our attitude. But how much stuff does it take to satisfy, is enough ever enough? Chasing after stuff and status robs the heart of happiness and leads not only to a miserable life but a meaningless one. Instead of serving the Savior we become slaves to stuff, we fill our lives with the temporary treasures, missing the real riches. The truth is that no matter how much we have we seem to always want more. The constant desire for more leads to the disease of dissatisfaction, and because we never stop to evaluate what we really need we often end up with more than we need. The curse of too much is everywhere; we think we need more food than we do so we overeat. We think we need more space than we do so we buy a bigger home which comes with a massive mortgage. We think we need more things than we do so we overspend. We think we need more money than we do so we overwork. We think we need more freedom than we do so we end up alone and the list go on and on. But contentment is not found in consuming, it’s an attitude of gratitude that creates contentment, you see gratitude is tied to your attitude not your bank account. There are millions of examples one could point to which prove that wealth doesn’t satisfy want, or quench your thirst for things. There are many movie stars that are miserable, they may have everything society says will satisfy yet there is still a hole deep down inside. An emptiness that can’t be filled through finance, a hunger they cannot be met through more. In stark contrast to our consumer culture that is filled with every comfort and convenience is the life of Paul that 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 describes as “hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body” Paul’s life was filled with difficulty and distress, challenges that could have consumed him and robbed him of joy. He could have become bitter over the beatings, or let the persecution poison his praise. How many of us would still be praising if we were in prison, or be grateful to God in the midst of the groaning? How did Paul maintain a spirit of service in the midst of suffering? He had learned an important secret to life, in Philippians 4:11-13 he said, “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I 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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength” Paul had learned the secret of not living life based on the conditions around him. Because his happiness was not based on his happenings, he could be content in prison as well as when he was free. He didn’t base his contentment on his circumstances but on his relationship with Christ. He knew he had all he needed in Christ, the one who gave him the strength to live. When we understand what we have in Christ we will have the corner on contentment. The Bible tells us that “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” Notice that it does not say “Prosperity with contentment is great gain.” Contentment comes from seeking the Savior not stuff, it’s about God not getting. Jesus told us to “seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” Matthew 6:33. We often go about this backwards, but what if we sought God the way we seek gold? What if we ran after Him the way we do riches? It is our relationship with God that is the source of satisfaction, contentment is found in Christ not in our currency. Ecclesiastes 5:10 says “Those who love money will never have enough. How meaningless to think that wealth brings true happiness.” Without a proper perspective we will always fall prey to the prosperity trap, thinking that more will bring meaning and happiness. But contentment comes when you learn that this world will never satisfy your soul that true satisfaction can only be found in a living breathing relationship with God. Lasting satisfaction is only found in living for Jesus who said “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh” Luke 6:21. We can live through the pain and grief when we stop expecting this world to satisfy and start looking to Jesus for joy. Those who do not know Christ will always be chasing yet never content. Are you trying to find your joy in the junk, are you searching for satisfaction in stuff? Then turn back to the true treasure, your relationship with Jesus and not the riches of this world. As the Psalmist says “You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore” Psalm 16:11.

Psalms 73:1-5, 21-28

“1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. 2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing.     My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. 3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. 4 They seem to live such painless live; their bodies are so healthy and strong. 5 They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else. 28 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. 22 I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you. 23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth. 26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever. 27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you. 28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.”

The longer Asaph soaked in the juices of jealousy the more he struggles with self-pity, and pity will cause you to question whether your walk with God is worth it, verse 13 “Did I keep my heart pure for nothing?     Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?” Converting not only consumed it corrupted his thinking, the longer he lingers in the lies the less he likes his life. The more he entertains envy the more his perception is perverted, so much so that when he looks at his own life all he sees are problem where with others all he can see is their prosperity, verse 12 “Look at these wicked people enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply, 14 I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.” It’s the poor me pity party syndrome where I get the bad while they are getting blessed. The problem is that it’s not based in reality but in resentment, this is a byproduct of bitterness. In verse 16 we see that Asaph being a Godly man knew that his thinking wasn’t right, so he tried to reason through it in his mind, “So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper, but what a difficult task it is!” There is an important lesson here for us to learn, human logic is limited. The more that he thought about it the less life made sense, and life will never make sense when you try to analyze it through human understanding and worldly wisdom. That is why Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” and Romans 12:2 says, “do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  As well as 1 Peter 4:1 “Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind” The battle begins in the mind and every battle that you face in this life will be won or lost on the battlefield of your mind. What we believe is birthed through our behavior.  Asaph was in a mental battle, he was torn in his thinking until verse 21 “Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. 22 I was so foolish and ignorant—    I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.” Bitterness breeds brutes, we become animals of anger, it doesn’t just trash our thinking it turns us into beasts. Asaph didn’t like the way he was acting, he didn’t like the way he was speaking, he didn’t like the way that he was responding and he did not like the person that he was becoming. As converting clouded his thinking he started to lose the battle of the mind, and when you lose the battle in your mind then you’ll lose the battle of your heart. Dissatisfaction didn’t just lead to being disgruntled it led to defeat. It was only when he came to his senses and sought the sanctuary of God that he had understanding, verse 17 “Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.” It was a return to worship that refocused Asaph, worship puts our worries and our wants into perspective. Praise puts a proper perspective on problems, he went from whining to worship. Without worship we quickly lose track of our true treasure, worth is not found in the wealth of this world but in the One who spoke the Word and brought forth the world, verse 25 “Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.” What do you desire most, being in His presence or the possessions of this world? Are you striving for stuff or seeking His sanctuary? We will always be desperate for that which we desire. When we lose focus on the true desire of our heart life becomes a headache, we try to find our worth and meaning in our lot instead of in His love. It’s not about what I have it’s who I have that matters; you may not have gold but if you have God then all is good. When we stray from His house we become susceptible to the sin of jealousy and easily envious. But when we come into God’s house there is healing. It is in His house that we find victory and joy, peace and provision, comfort and contentment, deliverance and direction, life and love, mercy and meaning. Are you living in the house of the Lord or in the den of deception and lies? Do you desire to dwell with Him in His house? Psalms is filled with a longing for the Lord’s house:

Psalm 26:8 says, “I love your sanctuary, Lord, the place where your glorious presence dwells.”

Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to enquire in his temple.”

Psalm 92:13 “Those that be planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God.”

Psalm 122:1 “I was glad when they said to me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.”

Psalms 84:4 “Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You.”

Psalms 84:10 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”

When Asaph went to the house of the Lord he regained his focus, he realized what God had done for him and he returned to rejoicing. Once he regained his focus the fog of envy faded away and his resentment was replaced with thanksgiving. Are you struggling in the fog of self-focus, a what about me mentality? Then seek God, this is a return to relationship, living life with the Lord. When you do your wants will turn to worship, your jealousy to joy and your pouting to peace.