TEXT: 1TIMOTHY 6:6
''But godliness with contentment is great gain.''
Discontentment breeds in a man all manner of ill humours against God and his own lot in this life; it put a man upon the horse of anxiety; inclines him to cast his lot with robbers and thieves; creates in him greed and all kinds of vices. A discontented man borrows and thereby becomes debtor to his neighbours. Who is as restless as he who is not satisfied with what he has. In a discontented man, lies occasions of temptations: surely, he who is ever longings, has the devil handy to tempt him. Godliness, true godliness, cures discontentment. The true test of godliness, is satisfaction with what a man has. Godliness is a God-centered life; a life whose satisfaction is nothing but God. This life wants only what God wants, and believes that whatever his lot is, God ordains it so. The cause of dis-satisfaction amongst men is due to the want of the presence of God. He who has God in his possession, sees no need for any thing, save that which is subservient and subordinate to Him. Friends, if we be always a-panting and exhausting ourselves all the times for temporal and sublunary things, we manifest that we are not truly godly or our devotion to Him is defective. Pure abandonment to God,---which is godliness,---resolves itself into contentment and quietness respecting whatever a man's lot may be. Herein lies the gain of godliness: a man is made thereby contented and satisfied with all that he has. Oh! how quiet would the world be if all in it are godly! Heaven is a quiet and peaceful place because God is the satisfaction of its inhabitants. Heaven's peace becomes his, who makes God his satisfaction. The believers are styled or denominated rich, because they are contented in God.