Daily Reading: 1 Timothy 6
But godliness with contentment is great gain... For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:6, 10)
Devotional Thought: As the Apostle Paul finished up his first letter to Pastor Timothy, he warned him against the false contentment found in the pursuit of wealth. Real contentment, he wrote, comes from godliness. When we are content with godliness, we find that we have great gain.
What is godliness? Simply put, it is love. When people think about God, they use many descriptors to try to understand him: powerful, holy, majestic, transcendent, eternal… Those and many others are accurate depictions of God, but the Bible simplifies it to one prevailing essence: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Do you want to be content? Love! Love like God. Love unconditionally.
There are many things in life that I enjoy: driving with the top down, eating noodles on my mashed potatoes, playing golf (even though I’m not very good!), cutting lumber and driving nails… But what really makes me content? What do I count as gain? Love! My wife, kids, grandchildren, family, friends… With them and with their love, I find myself content; I discover that I have gained everything.
When we seek after money and the things it can buy, we come away empty, for we are never satisfied. Our hearts are pierced because someone else always has more than we do. But when we love others as God loves them, we find contentment. When we stop and rejoice in the love of God and love him in return, our lives are full to overflowing!
Fall in love all over again today! It will be a great day!
Prayer: Lord, you called the church in Ephesus to remember their first love and to do it all over again. Help me to remember my love for you and your love for me, to remember the love of my family and the love of my friends. Help me to fall in love all over again! Amen.
Psalm of the Day: Psalm 119:17-24
17 Deal bountifully with your servant, that I may live and keep your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a sojourner on the earth; hide not your commandments from me!
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times.
21 You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones, who wander from your commandments.
22 Take away from me scorn and contempt, for I have kept your testimonies.
23 Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
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