Content with That

Content with That 

But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

1 Timothy 6:8

 I read this verse quite regularly—say, 5-10 times a year—and it bugs me every time I read it. It’s so simple, so small really, but loaded with Kingdom imperative.

It tells me that I’m too commercial, too worldly, too professional, too material, and too dependent on stuff, money, comfort and convenience.

Besides all that, the verse really doesn’t say much.

The bar of provision is set extremely low here by Paul. Food means daily bread. Nothing extravagant or delectable, and nothing we’d take home and save for tomorrow. The food we are to be content with is that food which meets our physical needs, not for the day, but rather the moment. If we are fed now, then we shall be content.

Clothing is literally covering, and it includes the idea of some type of shelter. In other words, if we have some kind of roof over our heads and clothes on our back, we are to be content.

Again, I get the idea that Paul hasn’t ever visited my neighborhood.

The base level at which he expects us to live is a little embarrassing, if not unrealistic. Surely “covering” is a relative term, relative to where I live, how much I make and my overall level of cultural sophistication.

In other words, it shouldn’t bother me that the square footage in my and my wife’s closets is greater than that of many “homes” on Nicaragua.

Right?

Trust me when I tell you that no such cultural/biblical relativity exists. The standards are the same, whether you live in the Hamptons, in Beverly Hills, in Riverplace, or in Haiti or Nicaragua.

And every day that you and I continue to live with such ease and excess, over and against the Bible’s call to live with less, and in the face of such severe needs all around us, only increases the accountability and judgment that we are heaping on ourselves for ignoring God’s Word and the plight of the poor.

Think about it.