Session 10

Your stuff will never be enough

From 1 Timothy: An 11-Day Devotional

When the desire for money is greater than the desire to be more like Jesus, it breeds greed and discontent in our lives.

This was the case in Timothy’s day. False teachers were implying that godliness is a means to financial gain (1 Timothy 6:5b). Paul warns Timothy to stay away from such teaching. He reminds Timothy that true wealth is found in knowing Jesus and recognizing that we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it (1 Timothy 6:7).

Money and stuff can be here today and gone tomorrow. When our worth is determined by what we have, we’re just one job loss, one house fire or one bad decision away from hopelessness.

The satisfaction we get from stuff is fleeting. There will always be something newer, trendier and more advanced just around the corner.

True contentment is not fleeting. It is based on Who we know, not what we have. God is well aware of all our needs even before we ask. When our value and identity is based on who we are in Christ, we’ll find that we already have more than we need.

Reflect:

• How often do you find yourself saying something like this: “If I could just _________, everything would be better”? What fills that blank for you? And what does that say about where you put your hope?
• Think about your complaints over the past month. In which areas of life do you experience the most discontent? When do you find yourself feeling the most discontent?
• What’s one thing you can change to help you break the discontentment cycle?