But godliness with contentment is great gain.
How much does a person need to have to reach a point in their life where all of their needs are fulfilled? And what really is a “need?” A “need” is something that is required, and with that in mind what will happen if you take a fish out of the water and place it on land? Because of the way that a fish is made, it cannot draw it’s oxygen from the air. Taken out of the water, it will eventually suffocate and die. Water is a need for a fish.
Have you ever studied a hummingbird, and noticed how amazingly fast their wings beat? Their wings beat so quickly that the hummingbird can hover in place, fly forwards, backwards, sideways, even upside-down! But this highly active bird requires something to give it that incredible energy. It needs the sweet nectar from flowers or a sip from a hummingbird feeder so that it’s energy levels stay at that high level of performance.
We see what these two animals needs are, but what are ours? What do humans need to survive? Like all mammals, we too require oxygen to breathe, just as we need food and water to eat and drink. We need clothes to keep us warm and to protect us from harm. Preferably we will have some kind of shelter over our heads and a place to sleep. These are our basic needs.
Imagine that there were 10 people left on the entire Earth, and 10 bottles of water, and 10 loaves of bread. All of these things have been gathered into one room. How should everything be distributed? Common sense tells us that everyone should get one bottle of water and one loaf of bread, but suppose that instead one individual took everything for themselves and left nothing for the other nine people. Do you know what quality that person displayed? Covetousness.
“Covet” means to long for inordinately or unlawfully, or to indulge in an inordinate desire for another’s possession.
For an example of this we can look in the book of 1 Kings, and at what happened between the king of Samaria, and a vineyard owner.
1 Kings 21:1-16 “And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria.
And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto my house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money.
And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee.
And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard.
And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite.
So she wrote letters in Ahab’s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth.
And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people:
And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die.
And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people.
And there came in two men, children of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died.
Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead.
And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it.”
This passage accurately shows what can happen as a result of covetousness in a heart. Ahab the king greatly wanted this Naboth’s vineyard, but Naboth refused to sell it, and this deeply upset Ahab. As it said in the passage, Ahab already had a vineyard, a better one, he said, but he still wanted the vineyard of Naboth. And look at the events which followed because of this. While much of what transpired resulted at the hand of Jezebel, it all started because of the sin of covetousness.
Bigger, better, more–enough never seems to be enough when someone falls into the trap of covetousness. When does it stop? How much do we really need to be happy and content?
How much money do we need to get by? How many cars do we need to own to get us to work? The pursuit of wealth and possessions is a futile effort because there is nothing that we can physically obtain on the Earth that will last forever. Houses are built and eventually destroyed. Clothes are made, worn, and thrown away. Food is grown and eaten. But none of them last forever.
Instead of spending the short time that we have chasing after things that will eventually be destroyed, we should spend our time and effort in storing up the treasures that will last for an eternity. We need to store up our treasures in heaven, a place where they will last forever.
Jesus gave an example of the birds, how they don’t sow seed, or reap grain, yet they have all of the food that they need, because God feeds them. When was the last time that you saw a bird going to work, feverishly trying to obtain more and more possessions? When was the last time that you heard your dog complain that he didn’t have enough toys?
When was the last time that you spent some time in prayer, thanking God for what you have, and what He has blessed you with?
1 Timothy 6:6-11 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.
For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.”
Don’t let yourself fall into that snare of covetousness. Be content in all things.
In Christ,
Andrew
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 