DAILY WORD 111/16/20
6. Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.
1 Timothy 6:6 NLT
Today’s Passage is a brief one that piggybacks on the thought that Paul began in our last commentary. He was talking again about false teachers and how many of them are only in the Ministry for the money. The next 4 Verses, which we will be covering in the next several days, will be building on this idea in the inverse. Not how false teachers approach money but how Real Christian Leaders should approach it.
It is not acceptable that a Leader within the Church should look for monetary gain while doing God’s work. So, if that is the case, what is the proper attitude to display? Verse 6 of Chapter 6 tells us plainly. “Godliness with contentment is great gain” KJV, or as it says in the NLT, “True Godliness with contentment is itself great wealth.”
What does this mean for an individual that has been Called and Chosen to be a Christian Leader? It is not the money that so many people are focused on that indicates True Wealth. It is Knowing, Understanding, and Walking In the Truth of God’s Word, and in His Will that constitutes True Wealth. Any other pursuit is a useless undertaking and displays one’s true motivation.
Now, the question becomes, (other than being a Good Leader) why did Paul see the need to teach Timothy this particular lesson? You have to remember that Timothy had been sent to Ephesus to get the Church Leaders there back in line with God’s Will. That means that whoever had been leading there prior to his visit had been violating the Standards with respect to money.
Apparently, there were indeed false teachers in the Church at Ephesus who professed an outward godliness that they claimed was the reason they were favored with wealth, and their wealth was the proof that God approved of them and their teachings.
However, Paul is telling Timothy in this Passage that not only are their assertions incorrect but that their entire motivation is completely flawed. They are motivated by greed, not by any desire for godliness. It is their thirst for gain that drives them and their misleading doctrine.
Paul, in this Verse and those that follow, is displaying what the True Motivation of a Real Christian Leader should be and it couldn’t be any more simple. Godliness with contentment. That means that in whatever state you find yourself, whether it be wealth, poverty, or anywhere in between, as long as you are in God’s Will and you are following His Guidance, therein lies Contentment.
This brings new insight to the words of King David in Psalm 23 when he said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” If you have God as your Guide you can be Content but if money is your motivation, and greed is your driver, then you will never be satisfied.
As a Christian Leader, you must not only be aware of the dangers of greed but you must shun and turn away from them at every turn. Otherwise, you may be in danger of following in the footsteps of the Ephesians and so many false teaching leaders today. Seeking God is the only way to be Truly Content. Any other motivation is not of God.
Have a Marvelous Monday and Stay Safe out there!
#dailyword
