The Real Challenge: Godliness with Contentment — Faith and Finances Ministry

Author: Patrick Blair

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. -Philippians 4:13

This Scripture is often quoted for its motivational effect, i.e., what personal goal can you achieve through God?  But what is the “all this” the passage is talking about?  Many other translations like the KJV and ESV say, “all things”, which can be misleading.  Here’s a great article by Chris Bruno on the real meaning of Philippians 4:13.

No, Paul was not emulating Tony Robbins.  He was saying something much more profound: God helped him be content, whether in need or in plenty!  Hmmm….  It’s easy to understand why you’d need spiritual power to be content while in need, but why would you be discontented when you have plenty?

Shouldn’t Wealth Make You Happy?

You work so hard for it (at least most of us do).  You plan for it, and you might even pray for it, so when you get it, why doesn’t it make you happy?  If you aren’t elated upon reaching financial milestones, then that just means you’re normal.  To me, the philosophical irony is fascinating.

“All my desires are splitting my head to pieces.” -Commodus in Gladiator

There are many types of explanations for this: 1) the hedonic treadmill (science), 2) God didn’t design us this way (spiritual), 3) relationships are what really matter, and money can’t buy love (social).  As I discuss in Chapter 8 – Deceptions of Wealth in Faith and Finances, wealth tends to produce arrogance and trick us into believing we don’t need God.

So, Should I Give Up on Building Wealth?

No!  You’ll just end up poor and discontented!  Contentment should not equal laziness; on the contrary, Paul “worked harder than them all” (1 Corinthians 15:10).  The real challenge is to live your material human life with godliness and contentment (1 Timothy 6:6-8; Ecclesiastes 5:18-20). 

Godliness and contentment transcend wealth (or the lack of it).  In mining terms, contentment is a spiritual commodity that can only be obtained from God.  For further study, here is a list of Scriptures on contentment and discontentment.