"With food and clothing be content"?

Faith Presses On

[Faith Presses On]

In 1 Timothy 6:6-10, Paul writes this:

"But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows."

Obviously in our time and place, Twenty-first Century America, we have much more than that. But even in the time that the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write these instructions to Christians, people would usually have more than food and clothing, too. So I wonder how this command -- "be content with food and clothing" -- was understood when it was written, but also what this says to us today, in the American church.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus of course taught this (Matthew 6):

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

"For the love of money is the root of all evil"

Should be; "all kinds of evil" πάντων κακῶν

(all evil would be singular, yes?)

https://biblehub.com/interlinear/1_timothy/6.htm

Otherwise, as the Apostle indicates, be content, a difficult thing since we are surrounded with ad men, carnival barkers, and socialist hate the rich types.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

The bible is constantly challenging us with all kinds of behavior we can’t achieve without becoming self-depriving monks. In all honesty, I haven’t done but a tiny fraction of what the bible requires me to do and in all honesty, I am not interested in living that when.

Then I profess to be a Christian, a good Christian, and then I don’t do anything about it. It seems like being a good Christian is almost unobtainable unless you train for it from birth. There are so many impossible demands made in the bible.

[Faith Presses On]

I’ve heard that, about “all kinds of evil” being the better translation. I wonder if it could still be translated as “all evils,” though. Maybe not, but I’m thinking about how Jesus said you can’t serve God and mammon. Money seems to represent our human self will and rebellion and unbelief, especially since it can seem like a very or even most powerful god. Could the love of it truly be the root of all evils, though? I wonder.

[Faith Presses On]

“The bible is constantly challenging us with all kinds of behavior we can’t achieve without becoming self-depriving monks. In all honesty, I haven’t done but a tiny fraction of what the bible requires me to do and in all honesty, I am not interested in living that when.

“Then I profess to be a Christian, a good Christian, and then I don’t do anything about it. It seems like being a good Christian is almost unobtainable unless you train for it from birth. There are so many impossible demands made in the bible.”

But this is God’s Word. So we are free to doubt and reject it, but not without facing the consequences.

I agree that God’s Word often strikes us as you describe, but whatever He commands us must be right and obtainable and for our good, our ultimate happiness. As God’s Word teaches, too, pursuing the things of this world actually leads to all sorts of misery, not happiness.

Accepting His Word instead leads us to being open to how He will make what is truly good happen in us.

Being “content with food and clothing” wouldn’t seem to mean having only food and clothing, but being thankful for the food and clothing and whatever else we have beyond them, and then not setting our hearts on acquiring more and trusting them for our happiness. That’s making idols out of them. But if we use whatever we have in Godly ways, in service to His kingdom rather than in rebellion to it, then we can find enjoyment in them.

“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” 1 John 2:15

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26

“Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.” John 12:25

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Well, for example, if we review the 10 commandments we see that there are a number of sins that do not involve the love of money. I think that all of them do involve pride however.

Money exists as a medium of exchange, and to represent that you are trading money, which represents your labor for something, say food, produced by someone elses labor or skill. To use it in this way is an appropriate use. When you covet and begin to order your entire life toward obtaining money, which in turn allows you to command others and ignore God then it becomes a sin.