This is the seventh in a series of reflections offered as part of my service with the Stewardship Ministry at Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, Hickman, Neb., where Anne and I are members.

Late in his ministry, St. Paul wrote to Timothy, one of his missionary companions. He gave Timothy counsel for how to serve the Church in Ephesus. After warning about the dangers of false teaching, St. Paul described the wholesome place of possessions in the life of faith. He wrote:

Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it (1 Timothy 6:6–7, New American Bible).

The term “contentment” is a translation of a Greek word, autarkeia. This is a concept from Greek philosophy that lifts up freedom from material goods as a virtuous way to live. The gist of Paul’s thought is that we, as Christians, are freed to focus our lives on Jesus Christ when the spotlight shines on Him and not on our things. That is how we can know true contentment, both in the sense we usually make of it, and in the technical meaning of virtuous freedom from possessions.

St. Paul reminded Timothy that humans are born with nothing, that we come into the world wholly dependent upon God and our parents, and that we will die with our hands empty and reaching up to God, seeking His eternal embrace. The old quip says, “The one who dies with the most toys wins.” But St. Paul’s wisdom runs just the opposite of that. No one dies with any toys. So why do we plague ourselves in chasing after them? Why do we give ourselves over the worry? Why do we say, “No, thank you,” when God offers us true contentment?

Over the last several weeks (and months and years), paying attention to the news while avoiding the questions about our nation’s, our parish’s, and our personal finances has proven to be an impossible task. The numbers are so large, the systems so complex, the politics so contentious, that succumbing to fatalism—there’s nothing we can do—and to despair—there’s nothing God can do—can seem to be the only reasonable paths to follow.

But living where worry controls us, or where doubt consumes us, is to live without faith in the God who gives us “religion with contentment.” We may come into the world with nothing, but God our Father is the one who gives us life in Jesus Christ, so we may thrive by their Spirit. The day will come when we will die with our hands empty, but with our hearts full of faith in the Father who promises us life in the Spirit, won for us through the death and resurrection of His Son.

This Good News helps us to see that money and possessions and things are just tools God gives to us to use to bring Him glory along the way. They are not worthy of our worship; they will not save us. As St. Paul wrote,

For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains (1 Timothy 6:10, NAB).

In our personal and corporate prayers, we can ask God to give us contentment in our religion, so that we may know the gain He desires for us and may trust Him to provide for us in all circumstances.

David M. Frye, Stewardship Ministry