First Timothy 6:6 (NIV)

“Godliness with contentment is great gain.”

In a world where hardly anyone seems to be content, what must one do to find both a comfortable and comforting place of contentment? What comes to mind when you think of contentment?

1- A small infant with not a worry in the world. No concern of where food is coming from… never a question of shelter or love.

*The world teaches us discontentment. The world teaches us to fear. The world teaches us to be suspicious of our neighbors.

2-Contentment is also personified in the little home of the elderly woman who graced my life from Gilbertown, AL. Her name was Ollie Lee Long. Sister Ollie as many would call her… but Mawmaw as most would call her. She had a humble little house. Nothing new or glamorous was positioned throughout the decor. In fact, the only thing new in the house was the last few bags of groceries that she had recently purchased, a drawer full of night gowns (with the tags still on) that she had received for the last several Christmases (she refused to wear them because they were “new”… and what she had was working just fine), also in the collection of new things was a stack of dish towels that she was modifying with her ball of yarn and a button to send home with every child and grandchild to hang on their refrigerator or stove door… Oh and there was one more new thing in her house… ME, the little “preacher boy” who married her great-granddaughter.

We always looked forward to going to Mawmaw’s house for Christmas. Not because of the big screen TV that would play our favorite football team’s game… Not because of the comfy, expensive furniture that we would fall into and relax… Not because of anything of the sort, because there simply was none of that in the house. We looked forward to going to Mawmaw’s house because there was a sweet sense of simplicity and contentment that embraced us from the moment we walked through the door until we left. Christmas at Mawmaw’s was about Family, Food, Fun, Friendliness… many of the things that provide contentment.

Babies and Sr. Adults… are they the only ones who can be content? It sure seems that way. We middle-aged people in the rat race find little or no contentment. We try to keep up with the Joneses (whoever they are). We try to outdo the Smiths (I know several of them). We try to get everything on our child’s Christmas list… no matter how much it costs, nor how long we will be paying for it, only to watch them tear open this package, lay it to the side, and move on to the next paper to tear. The constant tearing of paper leaves us no time or energy to be content. Contentment is not always conquering the next mountain, getting the next promotion, being invited to the party down the street… tearing paper… contentment is finding our place in Jesus and knowing that no matter what comes our way, Jesus Christ is our only place of solace and contentment.

Mawmaw was satisfied with Jesus, therefore other material things just didn’t matter.

Philippians 4:10-13  I’m glad in God, far happier than you would ever guess—happy that you’re again showing such strong concern for me. Not that you ever quit praying and thinking about me. You just had no chance to show it. Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.