Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Today’s devotion is written by Deacon Karen Katamay.

“We brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” – 1 Timothy 6:7-8

“He who has the most toys, wins.” I am not sure who first said this, but this is a quote I have heard often.  Yet what I have found in my own life as I have accumulated things over the years, as did my mother and grandmothers before me, is that the beloved china and collectibles are not treasured in the same way by future generations.  I always thought I could pass on some of these things to my children, but so far my family has shown no interest in these things and I will just end up leaving them things that they will have to figure out how to get rid of once I am gone. 

Like the Bible verse in 1 Timothy says, we bring nothing into this world with us and we will take nothing out of it when we die. Yet why do we feel we have to fill up our lives in between with things we don’t really need?  Shouldn’t we just be happy with “our daily bread”, or in other words, our food, clothing, shelter and basic needs?  Granted, there are some things I own that make it easier to do what I need to do, such as my computer to help me compose this devotion and participate in our virtual worship services.  And having a car makes it easier for me to get around, and there are other things as well that are useful to me.  Still, there is a lot I own that is purely decorative or was an impulse buy at one time.  And I can’t say that all of it has brought me contentment, and maybe even left me with less understanding and empathy for those who have less.

The text for this day should probably have also included the verse right before verses 7 and 8.  Verse 6 says this: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” In other words, our relationship with Christ brings us a contentment that nothing we own can ever give to us.  And that’s the true contentment we should all be seeking in our lives.  Amen.