Paul's Secret to Contentment

November 26, 2023 Pastor Chris Oswald

Thesis The way to avoid the spiritual danger of loving money is through Christ-given contentment, which flows from wisdom about eternity and expresses itself in shifting from pursuit of earthly wealth to pursuit of eternal treasure through loving people.

Series

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Type

Expository

Tone

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Method

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What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

32 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #21

"The pastor applies the 'more and more people' paradigm directly to the congregation, especially younger families. He calls them to make their family mission the accumulation of souls, not just security. He grounds this in 2 Corinthians 4, where Paul—in a season of affliction—finds comfort in eternal reward and in grace extending to 'more and more people.' People are the currency exchange point where earthly investment becomes eternal treasure."

Doctrinal loci· 12 surfaced

Eschatology · 13 Sanctification · 13 Ethics / Moral Theology · 12 Soteriology · 8 Ecclesiology · 5 Pastoral Theology · 5 Christology · 4 Hamartiology · 3 Providence / Sovereignty · 2 Anthropology · 1 Bibliology · 1 Doxology / Worship · 1

Bible citations· 22

Illustrations· 4

personal story · unit #6 — The pastor tells a story about renting a Mustang convertible and immediately googling the price to buy one, illustrating the temptation to grasp at temporary pleasures rather than enjoying them with contentment.
analogy · unit #11 — The pastor illustrates Paul's confidence with an analogy: ordering the best steak on the menu eliminates fear of missing out because you know you chose objectively the best option. Paul's contentment works the same way—he is confident he chose the best investment.
hypothetical · unit #16 — The pastor uses an absurdist hypothetical illustration: relying on money for security is like installing a security cobra in your house—the very thing meant to protect you becomes the threat. Money, pursued wrongly, endangers the soul.
personal story · unit #22 — The pastor tells an extended story about giving his nieces and nephews a box of Zambian currency. Initially he thought it was worthless, but the exchange rate had changed and he accidentally gave away real money. The problem: there are very few places in the U.S. that will convert Zambian kwacha. The story sets up the question: where do you convert earthly wealth into eternal treasure?

Theological claims· 2

Contentment prevents grumbling in poverty and grasping in wealth. unit #5
Paul's contentment involved a practical shift from 'more and more money' to 'more and more people'—souls, not currency, became his treasure. unit #20

Quotations· 5

"Productive Christians in the Age of Guilt Manipulators" — book title from the 1980s (unit #0)

"The Speed of Trust" — book title (unit #0)

"he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose" — Jim Elliot (unit #5)

"Subjects uncongenial to the tastes and habits of influential men in our congregation are passed by or held back from their just and offensive prominence, or touched with the tenderest scrupulosity, or expounded with a wide and undefined generalities so that the sermons, like letters put into the post office without a direction, are addressed to no one. No one owns them, no one feels any personal interest in their contents. Thus, a ministry under this deteriorating influence chiefly deals in general truths devoid of particular application." — Charles Bridges (unit #20)

"when the heart of man has nothing to do but to be busy about creature comforts, every little thing troubles him. But when the heart is taken up with the weighty things of eternity, with the great things of eternal life, the things of here below that disquieted it before are things of no consequence to him now, no consequence to him in comparison with the other. How things fall out here is not much regarded by him. It's the one thing that is necessary." — Jeremiah Burroughs (unit #27)

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Full transcript

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0 · The pastor reads the primary text (1 Timothy 6:6-10) and then establishes his credibility to preach on money

Well, to our text in 1 Timothy, chapter 6, beginning in verse 6. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can not take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these we will be content. 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. For the love of money is the 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. Let me preface this text and this sermon by practicing something I read years ago in a book I found very helpful. The book was called the Speed of Trust. And. And it was essentially just a book on how to build trust between a leader and people in an organization. And one of the things that feels so counterintuitive that that book taught me was every once in a while you have to kind of showcase your trustworthiness to people. It isn't always that people are going to notice everything. Every once in a while you have to kind of present like, hey, here's one reason you can trust me, or here's. Here's a track record that you could lean into and so forth. And I just want to take a moment to say that I hope you understand that when it comes to me talking to you about your relationship with money, that you can trust me. I am allergic to the guilt, manipulation, and covetousness that is so common in our culture. It disgusts me. And so I esteem and value people who have a proper godly relationship with money, who are trying to be careful, who are hard workers, who are productive. One of my favorite book titles, one of my favorite books, is a book written in the 1980s called Productive Christians in the Age of Guilt Manipulators. And it's essentially just a book pushing back against. Against all of the class envy that gets permeated into the gospel and presented to the average person as if it's all the same. The gospel and this class envy is all the same. It's not the same. And so I just want to broadcast a little bit. And if you've known me for quite some time, you probably agree that I'm not someone you can trust me when I help you walk through this.

1 · The pastor steps outside the expositional flow to address the congregation personally, warning them of their tendency toward self-deception and calling them to take personal responsibility for their souls

And what we've got here, just to be clear, is one of the most pointed warnings in the New Testament. It doesn't get much sharper than this. It doesn't get much more dire than this. And the truth Is is that if you are wise, you will read this again and again, asking the Lord through his Holy Spirit to remove any self justification, any self deception. Because at the end of the day, it's your soul, not mine. Right? You have enormous self interest in making sure you don't fall into the trap described here. And what I really believe is the case is that sometimes a pastor needs to allow an individual to take responsibility for their own soul. And here I would say just this. Our hearts are deceptive and wicked. We tend towards self justification and we tend to lie to ourselves about our real motives. Not so much so that you can never know what you really think or that you need someone like me to tell you what you really think, but enough so that if you will just slow down and meditate and pause, God will show you the truth. Okay, so what I'm suggesting to you today is don't make me take this text seriously for you. You take this text seriously for you. I'll take this text seriously for me. Right. You need to just make sure though, that you understand the enormous soberness of this passage.

2 · The pastor re-reads the primary text and sets the sermon's direction: defining contentment and explaining Paul's secret to it

Let me read it again. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world. We cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these, we will be content. Verse 9 is where it gets pretty rough. 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. 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. What I would like to do now is to trust you that you take this seriously and that you are actually asking, okay, I think this is a real danger in my life, Pastor Chris. How do I avoid falling into this temptation? So that's where we're going to be today. You're going to trust me and I'm going to trust you. I'm going to trust that you look at this passage and say, well, I don't want anything to do with that. So how can you help me avoid this? And what we see in our text is that the way to avoid this is by developing contentment. Contentment is the way we avoid falling for this trap, this terrible trap that can lead even to the destruction of our own souls. So what I'm going to do today is not only define contentment, but I'm going to tell you about Paul's secret to contentment. And I'm going to just talk about Paul, and I'm going to explain how Paul managed to avoid this snare. Okay, now, first of all, we want to define contentment. And I'm going to use this text, our primary text, but also a secondary text, Philippians 4. So let's define contentment to begin with. Philippians 4, 10, 13 is our companion passage, and it says, paul's writing this from prison, by the way. I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length, you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but had no opportunity. Not that I'm speaking of being in need. Here's where our contentment definitions are going to come from. For I have learned in whatever situation I'm in to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

3 · The pastor unpacks the Greek meaning of contentment—'enoughness'—and establishes that 'enough' is not subjective

Okay, so we've got these two verses. This will be enough for us, for this sermon to define contentment. Let's unpack it. First of all, contentment in the Greek literally just means enoughness. Enoughness, fullness. I am satisfied. You felt that at some point on Thanksgiving evening and probably plowed right through that feeling, right? But there was a moment. There was a moment where you felt that, enoughness, I have reached enoughness. Probably didn't listen to it, but you did feel it. So the Greek just means enoughness. Now, what is enough? It's not subjective. Paul says in verse 8, food and clothing is enough. With these we will be content. That's what he says in First Timothy, chapter six, verse eight.

4 · The pastor continues unpacking Philippians 4, establishing that contentment is a learnable skill, requires Christ's strength, and guards believers in both scarcity and abundance—not just poverty

Now, in Philippians, we also see him say this. I have learned in whatever situation I'm in to be content. So now we have another thing about contentment. It's a skill that has to be learned. It's a thing that you've got to learn. So if you've never tried to learn it, you probably don't have it. And then we also see in verse 13, I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength. Now, that tells us what? That tells us that it's a hard thing. It's a thing that needs contentment, requires strength, and that Christ is ready to supply you with the strength to be content. Then we can add one more thing to our definition. Verse 12 in Philippians 4. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound in any and every circumstance. I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. And this is one of the things that people sleep on with contentment. You need contentment to guard you, both in poor times and in rich times. You need contentment in both those situations.

5 · The pastor distills the double-sided function of contentment into a memorable formula: contentment prevents grumbling in scarcity and grasping in abundance

See, here's how I would. Here's how I would talk about it. It's probably deeper than this, but this is good enough for now. In thin times, in times where you lack, contentment will keep you from grumbling. In rich times, in abundant times, contentment will keep you from grasping.

6 · The pastor tells a story about renting a Mustang convertible and immediately googling the price to buy one, illustrating the temptation to grasp at temporary pleasures rather than enjoying them with contentment

Have you ever rented a car that's nicer than your car? This happened to me this week. I was in Minnesota to preach for a pastor, brother pastor up in Minnesota. And at the airport it was like 2, it's like 1:30 in the morning. And the guy said, hey, are you driving to Kansas City in this rental car? I was like, yeah. He's like, so someone left us a convertible, a convertible Mustang. And like, we don't want that in Minnesota. Would you drive that to Kansas City? You know, same, same price as your economy car, but would you drive this to Kansas City? He's like, yeah, I can handle that. So. And the Lord provided a beautiful thing where like, like the day that I got that car, I had it on a Saturday and a Sunday, the Saturday, it was like 66 in, in Minneapolis. And so like, I got dad rock blast, had a great stereo, got dad rock blasting, heat blasting, right? Put the top down. And I'm the only dude in Minneapolis driving with the top down. I don't care. But you know, if you're used to driving this kind of car and you get that kind of car, suddenly there's the temptation to continue the experience. And so what do you think I did by Sunday, I googled Ford, you know, 2023 Ford Mustangs and started looking, you know, starting building in pricing. As they say on the Ford site. Contentment can let you enjoy a thing just for the thing it is and keep you from having to grasp to perpetuate that thing. So it keeps you from grumbling when things aren't going your way. It keeps you from grasping when God shines his favor on you.

7 · The pastor establishes Paul's vulnerability to the temptation—he had elite gifts and influence, perfect for monetizing ministry

So that's contentment. Generally defined. Contentment is a sense of enoughness. We need to learn it. It's useful and it's really necessary for both good times and bad times. And it's really Jesus who, who gives us the strength to have contentment. Since nobody is safe from falling in love with money, we need contentment from Christ to keep us Safe. Now, I said at the beginning, because, you know, in that Philippians 4 text, Paul says, I've learned the secret. I thought, well, let me explain Paul's secret as best I can. Because if Paul has learned how to be content, we can learn from. From Paul. So I want to say secondly that the second point is this. Paul was the perfect target for the temptation to want to be rich. He was the perfect target. He was the ideal guy to fall into the trap. You know, some people have a desire to be rich, but they just straight up lack the means. They just don't have the means to be rich. And they either will not be rich or turn to a life of crime. Paul had the means. He had elite intellectual powers. He had elite persuasive powers. He had elite spiritual powers. He had enormous leadership giftings and influence over a great number of people. And yet Paul did not fall into the trap and into the snare of loving money, of desiring to be rich. He didn't fall into the trap of monetizing his ministry. Everything's getting monetized these days. By the way, do you know how few people, few voices that you listen to in your life have anything to gain by teaching you how to be content? Do you understand that Almost everybody has something to gain by teaching you not to be content. So you need to understand, like this is such a valuable and important skill, but almost no one's teaching us how to do it. Paul avoided a snare that was really set up perfectly for his unique abilities, his unique power, his unique persuasive capacities. And what we see in the New Testament is that many people with far lesser powers, many other spiritual leaders fell for this trap. That's actually what first Timothy six begins with, a discussion of people who have fallen for the trap of trying to monetize their ministry. How did Paul evade the trap? You know the answer. Contentment. But what's the secret? Like, how did Paul learn contentment? Where did his contentment come from? Point number three. One secret to Paul's contentment is simply wisdom. Wisdom. He was not a fool, he was wise. You've heard the saying from Jim Elliot, he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose. In my studies of Paul's contentment, the thing that stood out to me was how unremarkable his contentment really was. In this sense, he simply chose the better investment. That's it. This is, I think, every single sermon you've ever heard me preach on money comes down to this point. Over and over and over and over again. And it's really just the Randy Alcorn point in many respects, and that is simply, we have places we could put our money, which place brings the best return, which place is the safest, and so on and so forth. So here's the argument for where Paul's contentment came from. Largely, he had a relative indifference to earthly finances because he had a relative high regard and need and desire for eternal riches. He had a relatively low view of earthly riches because he had a relatively high interest in eternal riches. To put it another way, Paul's earthly contentment is downstream of his heavenly hunger. It's downstream of his heavenly hunger. He's content in one area because he's not content in another area. Are you spiritually content, but circumstantially discontent? See, this is where you would need to make an adjustment. You're discontent in regard to earthly things, and that's a problem. And you're really pretty content with spiritual things. You're not approaching the word with incredible hunger. You're not approaching your life as like, I'm going to run out of life at some point. I really want to invest it in stuff that lasts forever. You have relatively low regard for the things of God, for the things of eternity. You're not very ambitious there. You're quite content on the spiritual front, but you are discontent on the material front. These two things are not coincidentally connected. They are connected because you can be basically passionate about one thing. And this is what Jesus meant when he talked about no one can serve God and money. You will hate one and love the other. So what is the secret of Paul's contentment? He just thought he was picking the best option. He was just acting with wisdom. See, here's another way of thinking about it. When it comes to wealth accumulation, the Bible doesn't tell you don't want wealth, doesn't tell you that. It just tells you your pursuit of wealth will come down to not whether you pursue wealth, but which kind of wealth you will pursue. You were hardwired to pursue wealth. You were hardwired to pursue glory. You were hardwired, even neurochemically, to pursue reward. It's not a question of whether or not you will seek something, seek accumulation, seek treasure, seek glory. It's not weather, it's just which. Which kind of glory will you seek? Which kind of treasure will you seek? The question isn't whether it's which. And this comes directly from Jesus. In Matthew 19:21, Jesus tells the rich young ruler by the way, Jesus does all things well. And Jesus is even an excellent investment advisor. He even gives excellent investment advice. In Matthew 19:21 he says to the rich young ruler, if you'll be perfect, go sell what you possess and give it to the poor. And you will have treasure in heaven. You will have treasure in heaven. See, the offer is a better investment. It's not to have no regard for accumulation. It's not to have no regard for glory. It's to have. Here's where to get the best return on your life. Sell your possessions, give them to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. Come and follow me. Not whether but which.

8 · The pastor reinforces the 'not whether but which' framework by citing Matthew 6:19-20, where Jesus commands pursuit of treasure but directs it toward heaven rather than earth

In Matthew 6, 1920, Jesus says, Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Not whether, which, not whether you will pursue treasure. Just which treasure are you going to pick?

9 · The pastor argues that gold is a mythological stand-in for glory, which is what humans were truly made to pursue

This is God's kind way of using the wiring that already exists in you speaking into that and saying you were made to pursue glory. Treasure. Gold is a stand in, a sort of a set of a sort of mythological. If you will stand in for something of much greater value, which is glory. Like what is the ancient connection between gold? Why, why has gold been so? For instance, there's like, there's like these type typological connections that human beings have not to get all union, which I'm not. But gold is a stand in for glory. You were made to pursue glory. You were made to pursue eternal treasure. So this is what Paul is getting at when he says godliness with contentment is great gain. Can you just pause for a moment and understand how weird that sentence is? We are told that contentment has no regard for gain, right? Like contentment is enoughness. Right? But Paul is saying that contentment is great gain. See, he's speaking into your God given tendency to want to gain. He's just telling you where you can gain godliness with contentment. Is gain contentment having a sense of enough. And yet we are encouraged to add contentment to our godliness so we can gain something.

10 · The pastor presents a three-tier taxonomy of wealth: wealth protected by civil law (currency), wealth protected by natural law (commodities, land), and wealth protected by divine law (eternal reward for works)

See, if I could say this another way. There are three forms of wealth. I think most broadly that you can seek to accumulate. And I think of them as the categories of what protects them. There is wealth that is protected by civil law. This would mostly be currency based wealth. Now do you understand some of you have quite a bit of money saved up. Do you understand how Utterly dependent, you are on bureaucrats to keep that money safe, on court systems to keep that money safe, on law enforcement to keep that money safe. So you have a form of wealth that is pretty fragile. It is dependent on the rule of law. And history teaches us that there are many instances where that fails. So there's one kind of wealth which is a wealth that is protected by civil law. And then there's another kind of wealth that you might say is protected by natural law. I tend to think of it this way. Currency. Currency based wealth is typically civil law protected, commodity based wealth, like if you have, if you have a bunch of apples or something, you know, there's, there's some commodity based value that's protected by natural law. So there's another kind of, well, there's, there's a law that, a wealth that's protected by civil law. There's also a wealth that's maybe protected by natural law. Guns, land, you know, things like that. It would be a little less fragile. And then there is wealth that is protected by divine law. And here I'm pointing to the great number of verses where we're told over and over again that God has great regard for your works and that he will not forget them and that he will in fact bless you as a result of your works, not just in this life, but in the life to come.

11 · The pastor illustrates Paul's confidence with an analogy: ordering the best steak on the menu eliminates fear of missing out because you know you chose objectively the best option

So there's three kinds of wealth. One that's protected by the law, the civil law, the, the second one that's protected by some kind of natural law, and the third one that's protected by divine law. And all Paul's doing is his contentment is simply. He's just decided that he's chosen the better way. I don't know about you, but I just absolutely love steak. I just love it. And I know that if I go someplace where steaks are going to be decent, I don't need to have any fear of missing out if I just get the biggest ribeye on the menu. You know, if I do that, I'm not going to be looking back over the cheeseburgers and the chicken fingers and wondering, did I miss out? I chose the best thing. I know objectively I chose the best thing. Now that's just because I have extreme confidence in steak. You probably don't have that. Paul had that. And in eternity, what's his contentment about? He just knows he made the right choice, guys. He just knows he made the right choice.

12 · The pastor cites 2 Timothy 1:12 and 2 Timothy 4:6-8 to show Paul's confidence that his entrusted wealth is secure with God and that a crown of righteousness awaits him

In second Timothy 1:12, Paul writes for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. He knows his entrusting his wealth is secure. He knows his wealth is taken care of. God's protecting it. Second Timothy 4, 6, 8. For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I've fought the good fight. I've finished the race. I've kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. Not only me, but also to those who have loved his appearing. There's no egoless motivations for Paul. He is. He loves people, he loves Christ. He also loves the idea of having a wonderful future in eternity with the Lord.

13 · The pastor collapses his three-tier taxonomy into the two categories actually present in the text: wealth that transfers to the next life and wealth that doesn't

And I believe, as I said, this is basically the only sermon I ever preach on finances. That is simply, you guys just need to choose the best place to put your life. That's where it always comes down to. We have these three categories of civil law, natural law, and divine law. But in our text there's really just two categories. Wealth that can pass into the next life, and wealth that can't. Wealth that can pass in the next life, and wealth that can't. You see the first category in verses six through seven. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world and we cannot take anything out of the world. It's all very practical for Paul. He's not waiting for some kind of thunderbolt of generosity to hit him. He's just looking at logically what makes the most sense. If eternity is real, if God. God's promises are true, if I'm going to live a very short time in this life and a very long time in the next life, well, you can't take anything out of this world. So there's one category of wealth, the kind of wealth that doesn't transfer.

14 · The pastor introduces 1 Timothy 6:17-19, the positive counterpart to the earlier warning

And then in verses 17 through 19, which we haven't read yet, pay careful attention to this. In verses 17 and 19 in the same chapter 1 Timothy 6, Paul gives us the positive side. As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so they may take hold of that which is truly life. So do you see what he's doing there? He's giving Us the two kinds of wealth. In verses six through seven, he's like, there's the kind of wealth that won't pass through this life. And then in verses 16 and 17 through 19, he's like, here's the kind of wealth that will, and here's what you do if you want to have the wealth that lasts.

15 · The pastor summarizes the first major section: the danger of desiring wealth is that it leads to a snare and spiritual destruction

So let me just summarize up to this point. Here's the danger. If you fall into the desire to be rich, you fall into a temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that routinely plunge people into ruin or destruction.

16 · The pastor uses an absurdist hypothetical illustration: relying on money for security is like installing a security cobra in your house—the very thing meant to protect you becomes the threat

I was thinking about how so many people think money will keep them safe. And they don't understand that relying on money for safety is the most dangerous thing you can do. I thought of how nonsensical it would be if I started getting worried about the security of my home. And I went out and got a. A security cobra. I just dropped this cobra in my house. Like, this cobra will bite anyone who comes in to steal my stuff. It's like, maybe what is more likely to happen is I'm coming out of the bathroom one night, but I've got a cobra on my ankle. People who lean into money as a source of safety are leaning into a thing that is, in and of itself, if looked at wrongly, a great danger to you.

17 · The pastor summarizes the sermon's first half: the danger is the love of money; the protection is contentment; and Paul's secret was wisdom gained by listening to Jesus

So there's a danger. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. Now listen, fellow sinners. Indwelling sin is rough on us. It really does lie to us. And it'll tell us we love God when we don't. And it'll tell us we don't love money when we do. Just be careful. You're your own con artist. Just be careful. What's the protection? Well, contentment protects you. It will keep you from grumbling in hard times, and they'll keep you from grasping in bountiful times. Where does Paul's contentment come from? Just wisdom. He knew life was short and valuable. He didn't want to spend it. Accumulating fragile wealth would not transfer into the next life. He wanted to spend it accumulating eternal wealth. And he got all of this simply by listening to Jesus. Matthew 6:19. Again, do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal.

18 · The pastor signals a shift

Now, unfortunately for you, I Came across a quote that just absolutely convicted me about the way I should preach this sermon. And it's from an old faithful writer named Charles Bridges. And I want to show you this quote. So, you know, we're going to go a little deeper into practical application here, just because I feel convicted to do so.

19 · The pastor reads the Bridges quote, which warns pastors against preaching in generalities that offend no one and apply to no one

This is what he wrote. Subjects uncongenial to the tastes and habits of influential men in our congregation. He's talking about preaching are passed by or held back from their just and offensive prominence, or touched with the tenderest scrupulosity, or expounded with a wide and undefined generalities so that the sermons, like letters put into the post office without a direction, are addressed to no one. No one owns them, no one feels any personal interest in their contents. Thus, a ministry under this deteriorating influence chiefly deals in general truths devoid of particular application.

20 · The pastor interprets the Bridges quote, acknowledging the temptation to stay in generalities

What is he saying there? He's saying it is really tempting for a pastor to preach the general ideas that I've presented to you so far without making any actual pastoral applications to his own people who need to hear how to apply this in a way that challenges them and potentially even offends them. So I want to make sure I'm not doing that, but I also want to make sure I'm not peddling in guilt manipulation. Here's what I want to do. I think that what I've presented to you so far is right. And I think there's one layer underneath Paul's contentment that I want to touch on. Practically speaking, contentment in Christ seems to be, for Paul, a shift from the worldly way of thinking of more and more money to more and more people.

21 · The pastor applies the 'more and more people' paradigm directly to the congregation, especially younger families

So what I've said before is that Paul's just making a wise investment. He's just choosing the things that last forever. It's like, okay, we all walked in here knowing this. Maybe we're not living it. What would be the reason for us not living it? Well, I think the rubber meeting the road for Paul is he had gotten off of the track of looking for more and more money, more and more security. But he didn't just abstain from the more and more desire he engaged, the more and more desire, but toward people. He went from more and more money to more and more people. And I want to be super specific with you about this. If you are younger and you're trying to deal with buying a house and getting up savings and so on and so forth, I would tell you that even if it delays you a little as a family, fall in love with loving people, make Your family's mission, not mere accumulation of security, but insofar as humans have any role in this accumulation of souls. Be a soul treasuring family. Make your budget a soul treasuring budget. More and more money, replace it. More and more people. The phrase more and more people comes from 2nd Corinthians 4. This is the passage where Paul talks about himself as being a jar of clay. This is a very circumstantially low period for Paul. He talks about being afflicted and perplexed and persecuted and struck down. But he finds comfort from these two ideas. Number one, eternal reward, verse 14 of 2 Corinthians 4. Knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. As I've said before, Paul has a very robust view of eternal joy, and. And he's leaning into that even as he's giving his life away. But listen to verse 15, for it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people, it may increase thanksgiving to the glory of God. Paul's contentment flows out of wisdom. He seeks to accumulate eternal treasures, not earthly treasures. And he has decided that people are the place where those two currencies get converted.

22 · The pastor tells an extended story about giving his nieces and nephews a box of Zambian currency

This weekend or on Thursday, we had my nieces and nephews down, and they're just delightful kids. They're all in classical education. They all have, like, lots of interesting things to say, but they're also funny and so on and so forth. And I had this enormous cardboard box full of Zambian currency from when I used to go to Zambia routinely years ago. And I, you know, I just kept this to give this to them because I just think as a kid, it's kind of cool to see a big box full of cash and their money's all colorful and everything. And so I said, kids, come here. And I dropped this box full of cash down that I've moved like, four times, you know, four or five times. I was like, take as much as you want. They're like, seriously? I'm like, yep, take as much as you want. Because as you might guess, when I was going there, the currency exchange rate was terrible. The Kwacha, which is their dollar, was super weak. And it was like $1 to every 4,000 kwacha, right? So I've got all these bills that say like, 10,000 kwacha and 20,000 kwacha. And so as a kid, you're just like, this is amazing. And like, yes, I want this. And I think there's two Points to make here. Number one, I'm afraid that you and others, people that I love would be tempted to see earthly wealth. Like, well, look at this. It's amazing when it's really almost not worth the paper it's printed on. And here's the other problem. You can't convert it. So when you die, it's just not going with you, which is verse seven. So that'll be one concern. But this story has kind of a happy ending, at least for the kids. Not for me. They took wads of this cash, right? These are really smart kids. And I'm bad at math. I may have given away hundreds of actual dollars. The currency. The currency rate has changed. The Kwacha is very strong right now. And so my brother texts me and he's like, hey, the kids were doing the math on the way home. They live in Omaha. Kids are doing the math on the way home. It's like, you gave this kid $60 and you gave this, you know, And I was honestly so delighted. I love Zambia. And I was so delighted that their economy's doing that. Well, I don't really care. But then he said, you know, we need to find a place where we can convert this. Because I just told him, like, just keep it, you know, and he's like, well, if I find a conversion place, you still have a lot left. I'll let you know. So the deal is, is that there aren't any places in the country, as you might imagine, the United States, who are eager to take piles of quacha, a box of kwacha, you know. And so, like, you can only find these places in a few, you know, there are only a few of these places around. But what you have to do is you have to take this stack of money and you go and you give it to them, and then they do the math and they give you a converted amount in US Dollars.

23 · The pastor applies the currency conversion analogy directly: the conversion place from earthly to eternal is people

So the most practical thing we're going to end here is, how do I get money get eternal? How do I get earthly treasures into eternity? Where's the conversion place? It's people love people love souls. Invest big amounts of your earthly time and wealth into people because they do go from this life to the next life. This is the most sound investment advice I can give you. Love people. Make a conscious shift away from more and more money to where Paul was in 2nd Corinthians 4. More and more people. They are far more valuable than another zero in your 401k. They are far more valuable than another year of interest, than another year of equity, and so on and so forth. Be zealous. Be greedy, even for eternal gain. Love people. That's what God has designed for us. We have these two great commandments from the Lord. Love him and love people. And what we find is, is that when we love people, we do love him. And we plug ourselves into a kind of eternal commodity, an eternal economy.

24 · The pastor re-reads 1 Timothy 6:17-19, emphasizing that God gives us things to enjoy—we don't need to hoard to have a good life

And we do what Paul says. I want to read this to you one more time. As for the richness present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the certainty of riches, uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides for us with everything to enjoy. You do not need to hoard wealth to have a nice life. God still wants you to have a nice life. He, He. He gives you things to enjoy, but you gotta do what I did. You gotta be content with a mustang for two days and not for, you know, you know, I'm saying, like. Like you can't grasp. You can't get graspy, but God's still gonna give you wonderful things to enjoy. I've had a wonderful life. I've had a wonderful life. Full of many earthly pleasures, full of many earthly joys.

25 · The pastor continues reading and commenting on verses 18-19, emphasizing that good works, generosity, and sharing are 'the conversion piece'—the mechanism for storing up treasure as a foundation for the future

Verse 18. They are to do good, to be rich in good works. See, this is all people are in. To do good, be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves. This is the conversion piece as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

26 · The pastor quotes Jeremiah Burroughs, arguing that when the heart is occupied with eternal things, earthly discontentment loses its power

This is so beautifully summarized in a book written by another puritan, Jeremiah Burroughs. And the book is called the Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment. And he writes, when the heart of man has nothing to do but to be busy about creature comforts, every little thing troubles him. But when the heart is taken up with the weighty things of eternity, with the great things of eternal life, the things of here below that disquieted it before are things of no consequence to him now, no consequence to him in comparison with the other. How things fall out here is not much regarded by him. It's the one thing that is necessary. It's. It's. The one thing that is necessary is if the one thing that is necessary is provided for.

27 · The pastor contrasts two ways of life: the consumeristic life leads to constant discontent; the life focused on eternal souls provides ballast and purpose

If you live a life for yourself and you live a very small kind of, you know, consumeristic life. You just kind of one of the sheep and the great industrial complexes, great herd, and you're just moving where they tell you to move, and so on and so forth. You know how many like deep weightiness in Your life. No eternal weightiness in your life. Yeah, you're going to be constantly discontent. You're just going to be noticing all the things that you don't have, all the things that aren't working out, all the things the Lord has withheld from you. But if you just start loving people as souls that are going somewhere forever, this great ballast settles into your ship and you're not tossed to and fro with discontent and with not having, and so on and so forth. Because you have a mission and a purpose and it's big and it's glorious and it's beautiful and it's hard and you're not paying attention to what kind of car you've got because you're caring about stuff that's more important than that.

28 · The pastor cites 2 Corinthians 8:9, showing that Paul watched Jesus's life and imitated it: Jesus became poor so that we might become rich

I said earlier as we go to communion, that Paul just took Jesus's words seriously. Another way to say it is that he also watched Jesus's life carefully because we see this from Paul about Jesus. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might be rich. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And Paul looked at Jesus life and the outcome of Jesus life and says, well, Jesus did that. And the Father has given him a name that is above every name. And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. The Father's given him great glory for this act of service. And Paul said, I will do this too. I will become poor so that others might become rich.

29 · The pastor concludes by restating the sermon's core argument: the danger is real, but contentment protects

So there's a treatment of First Timothy 6. It's a real danger, this falling in love with money thing, but there really is a way to safely navigate that particular issue. It's through contentment. And at the end of the day, I would just point you to how this all worked out when the author and perfecter of our faith did not count equality with God, something to be grasped but surrendered and emptied himself and gave himself up for us. It's working out okay. It's working out okay. We can follow the captain of our faith into the same way of life.

30 · The pastor closes with a prayer inviting believers to the communion table to be strengthened to follow Jesus

So if you're a follower of Jesus, I pray that you'd come be strengthened by the table that represents the body and blood of Jesus Christ given for you to redeem you of your many sins and to give you strength to follow him into the best places there are to walk. Come now.

31 · The pastor cites 2 Corinthians 8:9 again, reinforcing that Paul watched Jesus's life carefully and imitated the pattern of becoming poor to make others rich

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Nov 5, 2023

Finally, A Real Plan for Helping the Poor

Nov 7, 2023

Podcast: Denominational Plank Pulling

Christian denominations must first examine how their own cultures contribute to producing toxic men and apostates before they can credibly critique the failures of other movements.

Nov 19, 2023

Cultural Demoralization is Real and the Gospel has a Cure!

God is using the widespread collapse of cultural institutions to increase human thirst for the only water source that truly satisfies—the historical gospel of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection.

November 26 · This sermon

Paul's Secret to Contentment

The way to avoid the spiritual danger of loving money is through Christ-given contentment, which flows from wisdom about eternity and expresses itself in shifting from pursuit of earthly wealth to pursuit of eternal treasure through loving people.

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

What does Paul mean when he says 'godliness with contentment is great gain' (1 Timothy 6:6), and how is this different from what the culture…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week we trace Paul's secret to contentment—from the gospel foundation that frees us from grasping, through the radical reorientation of treasure from money to souls, to the stabilizing peace that comes when we invest our resources in eternal people.

Prayer

A Prayer for Treasure Transferred

Father, we come before you in gratitude for the contentment that flows from the gospel. You have shown us in your Word that godliness with c…

Family table

From Money to People

In the sermon, Chris talked about how Paul shifted his treasure from 'more and more money' to 'more and more people'—souls instead of curren…

Couples

From More Money to More Souls

What shifted in your heart as you heard about Paul's treasure being souls rather than currency—and where do you sense the Spirit inviting yo…

Memorize

1 Timothy 6:6-7

This verse establishes the foundational principle that undergirds Paul's entire teaching on contentment—that true wealth is not measured in earthly accumulation but in godliness paired with a grateful heart. It anchors the sermon's central claim that contentment frees us from the endless pursuit of 'more and more money' and redirects our treasure toward eternal, people-focused investments.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

What does Paul mean when he says 'godliness with contentment is great gain' (1 Timothy 6:6), and how is this different from what the culture around us promises about gain and satisfaction?

1 Timothy 6:6

→ Can you think of a time when you pursued 'gain' in the way the culture defines it, and what you actually found—or didn't find?
Paul describes two opposite dangers in 1 Timothy 6:6-10: grumbling in poverty and grasping in wealth. Which of these two struggles feels more real to you personally, and what does that reveal about where your heart is turning for security?

1 Timothy 6:6-10
The sermon highlights that Paul made a fundamental shift: from measuring wealth by 'more and more money' to measuring it by 'more and more people'—souls became his treasure instead of currency. What would have to change in your own budget, schedule, and decisions if you made that same shift?

→ What specific barrier—time, money, fear, habit—keeps you from actually making that shift?
Read Matthew 6:19-20 alongside 1 Timothy 6:17-19. How does Jesus's teaching about treasures in heaven connect to what Paul says about using wealth to help others? What is the mechanism by which earthly wealth becomes eternal treasure?

Matthew 6:19-20, 1 Timothy 6:17-19
The sermon suggests that contentment comes not primarily from having enough stuff, but from having a stabilizing mission—investing in souls as eternal beings. How might refocusing your life around loving people (rather than accumulating things) actually free you from discontent about your circumstances?

→ What would it look like this week to make one decision—in how you spend money or time—that prioritizes a person's eternal soul over your earthly comfort or gain?
In Philippians 4:12-13, Paul says he has learned the secret of being content in any circumstance through Christ who strengthens him. How does the gospel—Christ's substitutionary death and resurrection—address the root fear or emptiness that drives our discontent and grasping?

Philippians 4:12-13

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

Monday 1 Timothy 6:8

Paul reminds us that when we have food and covering, we possess the essentials for contentment—a truth that exposes how much of our discontent springs not from deprivation but from disordered desire. The gospel humbles us as we grasp that sufficiency, not surplus, is God's design for our peace, freeing us from the restless pursuit that enslaves both the poor and the wealthy.

Tuesday 2 Corinthians 8:9

In the gospel we have the ultimate reversal: our Lord, infinitely rich, became poor so that we might become rich in Him. This Christ-centered perspective reframes all our financial decisions—we are compelled by grace to release earthly treasures, not from fear but from the joy of following One who emptied Himself for our redemption.

Wednesday Matthew 6:19-20

Jesus directs us to lay up treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy—a call that reorders our entire economy of value. When we recognize that souls endure eternally while earthly wealth perishes, the natural response is to rejoice at opportunities to invest time and resources in people, making our budgets and calendars declarations of what we truly treasure.

Thursday 2 Timothy 4:6-8

Paul's confidence at the end of his life—that he has fought the good fight and a crown awaits him—springs from a contentment rooted not in earthly abundance but in the certainty of Christ's coming kingdom. This eschatological vision frees us to spend ourselves on souls without fear, knowing that our labor in the Lord is never wasted and that eternal reward far exceeds any earthly loss.

Friday Philippians 4:12-13

Paul declares his ability to abound and be abased, to be full and hungry—all through the strength Christ supplies. This is contentment in motion: not passivity, but the resilient peace that comes when our central mission is people, not possessions, when our treasure is souls rather than security. As we together shift our gaze from 'more money' to 'more souls,' we discover the very contentment Paul knew—a gladness that no circumstance can shake.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

A Prayer for Treasure Transferred

Father, we come before you in gratitude for the contentment that flows from the gospel. You have shown us in your Word that godliness with contentment is great gain (1 Timothy 6:6), and we marvel at a Savior who, though he was rich, became poor so that through his poverty we might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). We confess that our hearts so easily drift toward the endless pursuit of more—more money, more security, more comfort—and in that grasping we lose sight of what truly matters. We struggle with the discontent that grumbling brings in poverty and the greed that grasping brings in wealth, even as we long to be free from both.

Yet in Christ we have been transferred from a currency of earthly accumulation to a currency of eternal souls. The gospel has given us the power to make the practical shift that Paul made: from treasuring money to treasuring people, from asking "How can I gain more?" to asking "How can I invest in more souls?" We thank you that you have shown us the way to convert our earthly wealth into eternal treasure—by loving people as the image-bearers and eternal souls they are (Matthew 6:19–20, 1 Timothy 6:18–19).

Grant us, we pray, the grace to make this shift in our families and in our budgets. Give us eyes to see those around us not as competitors or distractions, but as souls for whom Christ died. Free us from the constant discontent that earthly circumstances produce, and anchor us instead in the stabilizing ballast of a life devoted to loving people (1 Timothy 6:8). We ask for courage to redirect our time, our resources, and our affections toward the eternal mission of souls—trusting that as we do, the peace of Christ will guard our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:12–13). To you alone be the glory, both now and in the age to come. Amen.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

From Money to People

For the parent

In the sermon, Chris talked about how Paul shifted his treasure from 'more and more money' to 'more and more people'—souls instead of currency. Use this prompt to help your family think about what they actually treasure and how investing in people (not just things) changes everything about contentment.

If you had to choose between getting more money or getting to know more people and help them know Jesus, which would make you feel more full and happy? Why do you think that is?

works for ages 7+

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

From More Money to More Souls

What shifted in your heart as you heard about Paul's treasure being souls rather than currency—and where do you sense the Spirit inviting you to shift your own affections this week?
How might our family's budget and calendar reflect a real allegiance to people over possessions, and where are we currently torn between the two?
What is one person the Lord has placed in our path whom we could love more intentionally—and how can we pray for courage and generosity toward that soul?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

1 Timothy 6:6-7

But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.

Why this verse: This verse establishes the foundational principle that undergirds Paul's entire teaching on contentment—that true wealth is not measured in earthly accumulation but in godliness paired with a grateful heart. It anchors the sermon's central claim that contentment frees us from the endless pursuit of 'more and more money' and redirects our treasure toward eternal, people-focused investments.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Providence Community Church

Lenexa, KS
Sundays · 10:00 AM
About us · What we believe

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# Providence Community Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Finally, A Real Plan for Helping the Poor (2023-11-05)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2023/11/finally-a-real-plan-for-helping-the-poor)
- [Podcast: Denominational Plank Pulling (2023-11-07)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2023/11/podcast-denominational-plank-pulling)
- [Cultural Demoralization is Real and the Gospel has a Cure! (2023-11-19)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2023/11/cultural-demoralization-is-real-and-the-gospel-has-a-cure)
- [Paul's Secret to Contentment (2023-11-26)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2023/11/paul-s-secret-to-contentment)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
- [Plan a visit](/visit)

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