Godliness with contentment
Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world.
1 Timothy 6:3-7
In 1 Timothy 6, St Paul reminds Pastor Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain.
This simple phrase is a vital corrective to misinterpreting this text in a way that would see us contend for the truth in a way that fails to serve those who have been misled. Yes, this text is a call to faithfulness. A call to make the good confession regardless of the cost. And a call to fight the good fight until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. But it is not a call to arrogant militancy, or angry counter attacks against false doctrine and false teachers. Or to a false sense of piety that elevates ourselves above others because we think we have got it all together. St Paul never minces words when it comes to false teaching and the need to make a good confession, but through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he is careful to urge Pastor Timothy to hold fast to the truth in a way that seeks to convert hearts and win souls. And the centre of that is the declaration that ‘Godliness with contentment is great gain.’
As we hear this phrase I dare say most of you have jumped to the conclusion that godliness has to do with how we live over against God’s commandments. And while that is certainly in view, St Paul actually gives us a definition of how he is using the word godliness in this letter just a couple of chapters earlier. In 1 Timothy 3:16 he states:
Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
So godliness is not first and foremost about what we do, but about what the Lord Jesus has done for us. Godliness is a gift that we receive as we trust in what Christ has accomplished in His life, death, resurrection and ascension. Godliness is yours as your sins are washed clean in holy baptism, as that forgiveness is repeatedly enacted for you in the Divine Service, and as the crucified and risen Christ is placed in your mouths in the holy supper. This gift of godliness is a gift that lasts forever, in contrast to the fleeting things of this world like riches and possessions. This godliness is the content of the sound doctrine that St Paul urges Pastor Timothy to hold to. And it is the central message of Christ’s church. Properly understood, this godliness found in the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ is the source of contentment, peace and ultimately salvation.
This is a very timely reminder because we live in a place and time when people have more of just about everything and yet are probably less content than any other time in history. Why? Because we have been sold the lie that contentment is happiness and that happiness depends on things always going our way, of having everything we want and of a trouble free life. And many have come to believe that a pastor’s job is to help Christians to be happy rather than content. But I want to dispel that false thinking. Your pastor job isn’t to be your happiness coach, but to lead you into contentment based in Christ and his work for you.
This always begins with a proper understanding of ourselves as sinners in need of redemption. At the beginning of this letter St Paul states: ‘The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost’ (1 Timothy 1:15). The secret to Paul’s contentment as he endures unthinkable hardships and persecution is the fact that he knows that according to his life he deserves condemnation and hell, but according to the gospel, in Christ he receives forgiveness and salvation. Contentment comes when we know that the worst the world can give is still better than our sinful flesh deserves, and yet in Christ we have the fullness of the Father’s love and mercy and the assurance of life with Him forever.
The healthy words, the sound doctrine that leads to godliness, are words of repentance and reconciliation. Of refusing to be puffed up in our own eyes, and recognizing that the word of God lays bare our every sin and need for mercy. And so Timothy is called to preach God’s word of Law and Gospel – to disturb and trouble willful and comfortable sinners with the thunderous demands of the Law so that every person may despair of themselves and seek refuge in Jesus. And to speak the sweet words of the gospel in order to comfort and assure terrified sinners in need of rescue that they may rest in the arms of our Lord who suffered and died that we might live in Him. The Lord instructs Pastor Timothy and pastors today to proclaim these things not so that you can be happy, but more than that, so that you can find contentment in the knowledge that Christ Jesus has done all things needful that you may be His in this life and in the life to come.
Heavenly Father, help us to flee from envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions and constant friction, choosing instead to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness and gentleness. Thank you for the gift of our pastors. Strengthen them so that they can continue to build us up in the faith so that regardless of what we face from day to day, we can find true contentment in the completed work of Jesus. To Him be honour and eternal dominion. Now and forever. Amen.
Pastor Matt Anker, President, LM-A
This devotion is an excerpt from President Anker’s sermon on the installation of Pastor Paul Kerber as pastor of Barossa Lutheran Mission on 28 September 2025.