Top 7 Bible Verses About Being Content

Here are seven Bible verses about being content in life.

First Timothy 6:7-8 “for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.”

Paul is trying to help those who are consumed by possessions since “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” (1st Tim 6:9). It isn’t that money is the root of all evil but it can be a root of all sorts of evil to be sure (1st Tim 6:10); especially pursuing it at all costs, no matter who gets hurt.

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

The author of Hebrews mentions the fact that God will never leave us or forsake us and that we’re to be kept free from the love of money. Maybe it’s because we can start trusting money more than we do God and when our funds get low, we start to worry. The solution is found in contentment since we’re told to be content with whatever we have and whatever state we find ourselves in. Our real contentment is not found in this world anyway but in the King of the coming kingdom.

Philippians 4:11 “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.”

If we understand that Paul was in a prison cell while writing this, it’s even more remarkable that he was content but I notice that he says he had to learn to be content and what better place to learn that than behind prison walls? In many of these Roman prisons, there were nights that were freezing cold, sunlight rarely found its way to their cell so they never knew whether it was day or night, and there were probably cockroaches, human feces, flies, and every sort of stench and smell you could imagine so Paul had to learn to be content.

First Timothy 6:6 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Godliness with contentment is great gain because it tells God, “I am satisfied with what I have. You have blessed me with so much. Thank you. I am grateful.” A godly contentment is not dependent upon circumstances or suffering. It is precious in God’s sight to suffer for doing good as Peter writes, “when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God” (1st Pet 2:20).

Luke 3:14 “Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages.”

When many new converts came to John the Baptist, they asked “what shall we do” but interestingly, there were even Roman soldiers coming to him. They must have seen that he was a godly man with a consuming passion for God and in his preaching, they must have been convinced. Just like we read in the New Testament, John the Baptist has the same counsel for the Roman soldiers that Paul did for Timothy; “be content with your wages.” In fact, both commands to the Roman soldiers had to do with money; be content with their wages but also, don’t extort money from anyone else by making false accusations or even threatening them. Perhaps John said that because some of the Roman soldiers had already been doing that.

Second Corinthians 12:10 “For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

It was only for Christ’s sake that Paul learned to be content and even in his weakness, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities, he was still content. He understood that God is more glorified in weaker vessels since His power is more easily displayed and made visible. Our weakness provides God an opportunity to show Himself strong but when we are feeling strong in our own strength, we limit what God can do through us.

Exodus 2:21 “And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah.”

Moses was said to be the meekest man on earth (Num 12:3) but meekness is not weakness. Meekness has been described as strength under control but meekness also shows contentedness because it tells God that you are satisfied in life. It is the opposite of discontentment which is caused by pride and never being fully satisfied. Moses went from the palace in Egypt to tents in the desert, but because of Moses’ humility, he “was content to dwell with the man,” and all the more remarkable because the Egyptians despised shepherds and considered them unclean. It mattered little to Moses though.

Conclusion

I hope these Bible verses have made you feel a little more content with your life. There is such power in the Word of God to comfort the afflicted but it also afflicts the lost. That’s okay. We are content with persecutions, name calling, insults, and other such behavior because we have found our contentment in Christ and no insult or slander could ever destroy that.

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren Church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Teaching Children the Gospel available on Amazon.