Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction… Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.
1 Timothy 6:6-9;18
I know, this is a pretty big claim, but yep, I’m saying it’s pretty much this easy.
It’s also this hard.
If you are spending more than you earn you have only three options to correct this: spend less, earn more, or do both.
Our in-come must be greater than our out-go.
– Pretty much every treasurer in history
Take a small percentage off the top of every paycheck and use it for savings: emergency funds, sinking funds, vacation, retirement, etc.
“A part of everything you earn is yours to keep.”
– George Clason, The Richest Man in Babylon
Giving doesn’t always have to be financial, but giving financially helps us maintain a proper and healthy attitude toward money.
Happiness comes from spiritual wealth, not material wealth… Happiness comes from giving, not getting. If we try hard to bring happiness to others, we cannot stop it from coming to us also. To get joy, we must give it, and to keep joy, we must scatter it.
– Sir John Templeton
We can’t be content with more if we have not yet learned to be content with less.
Interestingly, once we become content with less we seldom want more, but are better equipped to manage it when it inevitably comes our way.
When we are content with less, more seems to come our way, and we are more likely to give it away or share it with others. Our generosity increases as our contentment grows. When we no longer find ourselves in the pursuit of more, and begin to pursue less, our focus inevitable shifts away from ourselves and towards others.
No one can be generous while they are selfish. We can appear generous to others, but if we have ulterior motives – like having others think we are generous – this is selfish. When we do something for our own benefit it is by nature a selfish act.
