Be Content With What You Have
1 The Scriptures admonish us to provide materially for our household, but this should not become our main focus in life. Spiritual things must come first. (Matt. 6:33; 1 Tim. 5:8) Finding the proper balance is a challenge in these “critical times hard to deal with.” (2 Tim. 3:1) What will help us to do so?
2 Adopt the Bible’s Viewpoint: God’s Word warns us that the pursuit of riches can cause spiritual ruin. (Eccl. 5:10; Matt. 13:22; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10) At this crucial hour, it would be disastrous for any of us to become so preoccupied with secular employment or financial concerns that we relegate spiritual activities—meetings, study, and service—to a secondary place in our lives. (Luke 21:34-36) In contrast, the Bible counsels: “Having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.”—1 Tim. 6:7, 8.
3 This does not mean that Christians are required to live in self-imposed poverty. But it helps us to identify what our material needs really are—food, clothing, and shelter adequate for where we live. If we have the necessities of life, we should not endlessly pursue a higher standard of living. When contemplating making a purchase or taking on additional work, we do well to ask ourselves, ‘Is this really necessary?’ Doing so will help us to heed the inspired counsel: “Let your manner of life be free of the love of money, while you are content with the present things.”—Heb. 13:5.
4 If we trust in Jehovah, he will bless us. (Prov. 3:5, 6) Though we have to work hard to obtain the daily necessities, we do not center our lives on those things. Whether we have little or much, we rely on Jehovah to satisfy our needs. (Phil. 4:11-13) As a result, we enjoy godly contentment along with many other blessings.
5 Imitate the Faith of Others: A single parent who was raising her daughter in the way of the truth simplified her life progressively. Although she enjoyed the comforts of her home, she moved to a smaller house and later to an apartment. This enabled her to reduce her work hours so that she could devote more time to the ministry. After her daughter was grown and married, the mother took an early retirement, even though this meant a further reduction in her income. Our sister is now in her seventh year as a regular pioneer and has no regrets concerning the material sacrifices she has made to put Kingdom interests first in her life.
6 An elder and his wife pioneered for many years while bringing up three children. As a family, they learned to be content with satisfying their needs rather than indulging their wants. The brother comments: “We had to live more simply. Though we’ve had some difficult times, Jehovah has always provided what we needed. . . . When I see my family putting spiritual interests first like this, I feel that everything is as it should be, and I have a sense of accomplishment.” His wife adds: “When I see [my husband] busy with spiritual matters, I feel a deep inner contentment.” The children too are glad that their parents decided to serve Jehovah full-time.
7 For all those who choose such a course of godly devotion over the pursuit of material things, the Bible promises rich blessings both now and in the life to come.—1 Tim. 4:8.