At the beginning of a New Year, many people make resolutions about how they’ll spend their time and money, or how they might improve their bodies or the lives of their families. While looking toward improvement and betterment of ourselves is a good thing (after all, in Philippians 2, Paul writes about physical exercise being necessary for our body), finding contentment is also a key practice that we’re called to have.
When it comes to money and possessions, scripture reminds us time and again of the benefits of giving, saving, spending wisely, and finding wise counsel. If we look closely, contentment is a word that we can often find hand in hand with those topics.
One verse that is widely known is 1 Timothy 6:10 which says, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil…” At this point, many stop and make points that an overwhelming desire for money is a root cause for other issues in life. However, if we continue reading, it says, “…and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” So that lack of contentment not only causes all sorts of evil, but it can even draw our hearts away from Christ. Exactly where we don’t want to find ourselves in a new year!
1 Timothy tells us that with contentment comes great gain, and Proverbs says that when we fear the Lord and find contentment, we’re untouched by trouble. I don’t know about you, but that’s where I want to be in 2025 – blessed with abundant grace and having abounding peace, no matter what trouble comes my way. Let’s walk through what the Bible says about sincere contentment.
– Amy Mariappan
Writer, wife, and mom of two young boys. She has an M.A. in Bible and Intercultural Studies and leads Bible studies in her home church in Southern California. Amy especially enjoys leading studies on the biblical principles of money and possessions, disciplines she grew up learning through Compass.
