This past Sunday, Gary was talking to us about money problems.  So many of us are struggling with family finances.  What could it look like…what could life be like for us…if we could get our finances under control?  The Bible passage we focused on was from 1 Timothy 6.  And the one word that really jumped out at me from those verses – contentment. 

You know, when I think about getting my finances under control, my first thoughts always run something like this:  Okay, I need to read a book, take a class, get some budgeting software, start tracking everything in Quicken, and on and on.  I’m so wrapped up in the “Information Age” that I think just having more information, or better information, is going to solve my problems.  But that’s not what Paul was saying to Timothy.  He wasn’t telling Timothy that the Christians needed a shaper quill or a better abacus.  He said, what they needed was…contentment.

When you look back at the Greek word for “contentment” and what it meant in the first century, the first and most direct meaning is that people were to be self-sufficient – able to supply all the necessities of life without outside help.  But the authors of the New Testament didn’t leave it at that.  Instead of just defining “contentment” as self-sufficiency, they expanded the word to mean God-sufficiency.  In other words, I am trusting in God and I am confident that He is able to supply all the necessities of life.

In Philippians 4, Paul tells us that he knows what it is like to be rich.  He also knows what it is like to be poor.  He has experienced both.  And in verse 11 he says, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am in.”  Paul is talking about God-sufficiency.  In Hebrews 13:5, the meaning of “contentment” is made even more clear: “Do not love money; be content with what you have.  For God has said, ‘I will never fail you.  I will never abandon you’” (verse 5).  Wow!  These guys aren’t talking better budgeting, accurate spreadsheets or more information.  What they are talking about are the emotional issues, the heart issues of trust and dependency upon God.

I will be honest with you.  I have struggled with money for a very long time.  In fact, our family finances would probably be in much better shape if Caryn, my wife, managed all of it and I just had a weekly allowance.  I’ve read the books, been to the seminars, have all the software we need.  The issue that I have with money is not going to be resolved by more information.  It is an issue of the heart, an issue of emotional dependency.  Am I willing to trust God enough to let go of my self-sufficiency and come to a place of rest…God-sufficiency…contentment?  He makes me this promise: “I will never fail you.  I will never abandon you.”