Lesson 18: Faithful in your attitudes
1 Timothy 6:6-11 - www.bible.com/bible/59/1ti.6

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain,
7 for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
8 But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.
9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
11 But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.


Faithfulness in our attitudes is almost always harder than being faithful in our actions. We can, with a bit of determination, pretend to be what someone else wants or expects of us – while inside our hearts we rebel against what is asked or expected. Jesus told a story about this very situation – read about two brothers in Matthew 21:28-32.

The attitude God wants us to have for our life is contentment. Our verse above says, “Godliness with contentment is great gain.” A famous storyteller from England wove this idea into a story (about 100 years ago) which has become a classic Christmas movie. The rich man is not content with what he has and makes everyone else around him just as miserable as he is. The poor man, though he has many troubles – he is not even able to give his family either the medical care or the food necessary for them all – makes the life of his family and all who meet them one of joy, because he is content with what God has given him.

Please notice in verse 10: It is not money which is the root of all kinds of evil, it is the LOVE of money. Many other verses in Scripture tell us this, also. For example, see Psalm 37:16, Proverbs 15:16 and 16:8, and Philippians 4:11. Please notice in this Philippians verse how such contentment is gained – it is learned.

One last verse is found in Hebrews 13:5, which is the foundation on which such contentment can be built – the promise from Jesus that He will never leave us or forsake us.
*Are you a contented person? Are you thankful for what God has given you; do you rest in His provision instead of continually wanting more than He knows you need? Thank God right now for all He has given you – focus on what you have, not on what you don’t have. Ask God to give you deep, abiding contentment. His joy will flow out of you and touch many lives for Him as He develops an attitude of gratitude within you.