How To Find Contentment

A. Opening illustration: Contentment in wedding vows, “for richer or for poorer,” 80% 5.6 billion people live on less than $10/day ($3650/yr), half are less than $2.50/day ($912/yr). US poverty line is over $12K/yr, 4X the global rate, 44 million people. 20% of Troup Co. below poverty line, 13,510 living on $12/yr. Now, are we content with our cars, homes, phones, paychecks? How about our jobs, marriages/relationships, our church, are we content?

B. Background to passage: Paul has been dealing with issues in the church since the beginning of the letter. I am going to skip over vv. 3-5 because we have hit them so many times. The Ephesian church had many teachers that were focused on old wives’ tales, Jewish mythology, genealogies, and false salvation doctrines. He has been dealing with relationships within the church, taking care of widows, pastors, servants, and masters, but now after his reminder of the dangers of the false teachers, he warns of greed and misuse of personal resources. The teaching here is two-fold: contentment vs. greed and instructions to the rich. The common bond is the purpose of blessing and contentment with provision for the greedy and for the rich.

C. Main thought:

1) Operate According to Reality (v. 6-10)

a. Paul states the obvious, you can’t take it with you. Greed for more money, or more anything for that matter, has been around since the beginning. Then he warns about the temptations that inherently come with greed. Specifically, he mentions ruin, destruction, suffering and the loss of faith. He encourages contentment with what you have been given to steward, rather a little or a lot. He ends with the often-misquoted verse about the root of all kinds of evil. The issue here is focus; it is one of the heart.

b. Argumentation

c. Illustration: jokes about the man who wanted to take his gold with him, “went the other way” and “pavement”, I believe that the gospel and the American Dream have fundamentally different starting points. The American Dream begins with self, exalts self, says you are inherently good and you have in you what it takes to be successful so do all you can, work with everything you have to make much of yourself. The gospel begins with God, the reality that we were created to exalt his name to the ends of the earth. -David Platt,

d. To spend your life striving to achieve the American Dream, which is to be the pinnacle of success, you will focus on yourself and your advancement. Even if our path is not littered by the people whom we have thrown aside to reach the top and gain the riches, we have focused on ourselves. Our greed will reveal itself as we value possessions over people and power and use people to gain possessions and power. If we are content with the resources God has provided, we will rather view them as a means to bless others. These are the reasons that God blesses us. God will inspect your heart to see if you view the things you are given as temporary and fleeting, therefore bless others, of if greed is the potential shipwreck of your faith.

2) Operate According to Generosity (v. 17-18)

a. To the rich among the congregation, Paul says the dangers of riches are pride, self-sufficiency, and self-indulgence. A principle to keep them focused was that God was the provider of all things. Truly, whether you are rich or poor, greedy or generous, frugal or extravagant, the idea is trust. We do not trust in riches or the security they provide. We can lose them all in a moment. We do not trust in our abilities. They, too, can be gone in an instant. Riches and abilities came from God anyway. The question is, do we trust him?

b. Remember Jesus’ warning about the rich entering heaven, eye of the needle,

c. Illustration: the guy at the zoning application hearing. When we let go of money, we are letting go of part of ourselves and part of our security. But this is precisely why it is important to do it. It is one way to obey Jesus’ command to deny ourselves.… When we give money, we are releasing a little more of our egocentric selves and a little more of our false security.… Giving frees us to care. It produces an air of expectancy as we anticipate what God will lead us to give. It makes life with God an adventure in the world, and that is worth living for and giving for.

d. No matter how business savvy we are, no matter many breaks we catch, we are reminded that God provides them, and gives to us whatever we have. God gave you the business skill you have. He gave you the breaks that just went your way. 2. The riches are not inherently evil, but the goal is the same, bless others. 3. Hold loosely to “things” and be willing to part with them on behalf of others that God wants to bless through you. If the issue is how loosely we hold to “things” and how much we trust in God, shouldn’t we be the most generous people.