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1 Timothy 6:7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.<\/p>\n
How can we conquer the mountain of materialism? In a word, contentment. The Greek word in the Bible translated as \u201ccontentment\u201d was used by the Stoics to imply that people are self-sufficient–we don\u2019t need to look outside ourselves for satisfaction. Paul Christianized the word. He wrote, \u201cI have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. . . . I can do all things through Him who strengthens me\u201d (Philippians 4:11, 13). We don\u2019t hang our happiness on outside circumstances; we look inward to our relationship with Jesus Christ. \u00a0 Notice Paul said he \u201clearned to be content.\u201d Contentment doesn\u2019t come naturally to us, but it\u2019s something we can learn. Let me offer three aspects for application for learning to be content. \u00a0 First of all, thank God for what you already have. In 1 Timothy 6:8, Paul said, \u201cIf we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.\u201d How often do you sincerely thank God for the meal in front of you instead of just saying the words? How often do you thank God for your job instead of complaining about it? Greed and gratitude cannot exist in the same heart. \u00a0 Second, recognize the dangers of materialism. Verse 9 says, \u201cThose who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare.\u201d If you focus on money, you become easy prey for \u201cget-rich-quick schemes\u201d and dishonest people. You can also fall into \u201cmany foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction\u201d (v. 9). Wealth or the pursuit of wealth can lead to wasteful spending, illicit relationships, the breakup of families, and falling away from God altogether. \u00a0 Finally, remember your possessions are temporary. Verse 7 says, \u201cWe have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.\u201d I\u2019ve never seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul. When you die, you can\u2019t take your possessions with you. That\u2019s why the ultimate misuse of your life is to spend it pursuing things you\u2019re going to leave behind. As Jesus said in Luke 12:15, \u201cNot even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.\u201d You are more than what you own. And the best use of your life is to spend it pursuing the things of eternity–things that will last forever. (Jeffress)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
1 Timothy 6:7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 We have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. How can we conquer the mountain of materialism? In a word, contentment. The Greek word in the Bible translated as \u201ccontentment\u201d was used by the Stoics to imply that people are self-sufficient–we don\u2019t need to … Continue reading “72.p. 1 Timothy 6:7\u00a0“<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-200308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-daily-prayers"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200308"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":200311,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200308\/revisions\/200311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prayingpint.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}