Contentment and giving
Contentment is a tricky word. For some people, the connotations of contentment include a fatalistic “settling” for what is and giving up on anything else or anything better. I hasten to point out, this is not what is meant by contentment, especially not when Paul uses it in 2 Timothy. Contentment isn’t settling for what you have, it is being aware of what you have and being grateful for it too.
It is important to be content for several reasons but the reason I spoke about today relates to generosity and giving. This Sunday was Presbyterians Sharing Sunday and is set aside to remember and celebrate how the Presbyterian Church in Canada is making a difference. The point I hope I made was: if we are not content with what we have, particularly if we are focused on how little we have and how much more we need . . . it is extremely unlikely we will feel free to give.
“How contented are we?” Knox Presbyterian (to download, right click and select “Save Link As . . .”)
Blessings,
Photo credit: unknown photographer licensed under CC BY-SA-NC