Weekly devotional: Enough (7 in Paul’s letters to Timothy series)

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs (1 Timothy 6:6–10).

Some ask, “How much is enough?” And another will answer, “Just the next deal/conquest/thing to buy.” For the human heart wants and yearns for fulfillment, and when we aren’t seeking God to fill those empty spaces, we’ll look to all sorts of other things to fill the void. Such as money to buy us stuff – for social status, ease of convenience, gratification.

Note in the text that Paul says that the love of money can lead to evil – not that all money leads to evil, nor that money itself is evil. Rather he’s speaking about the state of people’s hearts, namely what are they desiring. As they plot and plan about acquiring the next best thing, they can find it increasingly difficult to resist temptation, which can lead to ruin. Paul, in contrast, counsels contentment with what we have. After all, we can’t take any of our stuff with us into the next life, and the Lord would have us seek his love, peace, and joy as true riches to share.

I’ve met people who don’t have many material possessions and yet foster a stingy attitude, and I’ve met people with a lot of money who not only are generous, but don’t seem defined by their worldly wealth. As Paul says, it’s all down to the state of our hearts.

Over to you. How much is enough?

Prayer: Father God, we yearn for contentment; we yearn for you. By your Holy Spirit, fill the places in our souls that feel empty and void, that we might desire aright.