5 Biblical Keys to Being Content

Do you struggle with always wanting more stuff than you have? Do you wish you could find contentment–or is the Lord convicting you that you need to work on being content with what you have?

If so, I want to share five Biblical, spiritual keys to being content. I believe these keys will help dethrone some myths you may have been taught, and will help you find contentment that much faster.

First, the backstory:

I began studying contentment recently because I wanted the Lord to help me with my own thought life.

I have always been under the impression that “being content” meant being happy with what you have, no matter what. Well, I was struggling with that because there are some things in my life with which I am definitely not happy. There are things I want to change, and there are certainly things in my life where I desire improvement, or greater blessing, or advancement, or more commodious circumstances, et cetera.

Recognizing this, I felt guilty because I assumed that I wasn’t content.

I knew Scripture commands us to be content, but I didn’t feel I was there yet. Therefore, I wanted to study what the Word has to say about contentment so I could bring this area of my life into better submission to Jesus.

When I decided to study this out, here’s how I proceeded:

• I looked up Bible verses about contentment;
• I looked up each passage I found in context, so I would know what the conversation was about in the fullness of that passage; and
• I looked up the meanings of the various Greek words (and their Hebrew counterparts) that are translated into English as “content,” “contentment,” or “be content” in these passages.

I found some extremely surprising things in these passages–things that totally changed the way I had understood the concept of contentment. I’ll share those surprising things below. However, first, let me share some of the key Scripture passages I found on this topic.

Read these beautiful Bible passages about being content:

First, Hebrews 13:5:

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV).

Secondly, Philippians 4:11-13:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13 NKJV).

Next, there’s 1 Timothy 6:6-8:

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8 NKJV).

And then there’s Luke 12:13-21:

“Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’

So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’

But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:13-21 NKJV).

There are many more striking passages about contentment in God’s Word, but these give us a well-rounded foundation to see what God has to say about being content.

When I looked up the words for “contentment” (and its variations) in the Strong’s Concordance, I was quite surprised to discover the following:

1. Although different words are used for “contentment” in these passages, each one contains an element of being satisfied once you have the necessities of life.
2. Also, in the original Greek (and their Hebrew counterpart words), there is an element of “making it work” (working with what you have until you make it work). In other words, we choose in the state that we are in to “make it work,” even if we are simultaneously believing God to provide us with more.
3. The Greek words for “contentment” do NOT mean that we are prohibited from wanting more than we have now. However, these words and passages DO mean that, once we are supplied with the things we need to live our lives, we should then be happy about that–and not lust after what other people have.
4. These words do not require us to cease wanting more if we do not yet have the necessities of life. So, the cultural perception of contentment—which is often perceived as meaning that you ought to be satisfied with what you have, no matter how little you have—is not necessarily correct.

These things surprised me because I thought that “being content” meant I wasn’t allowed to long for anything more. But, that was an incorrect perception on my part.

The truth about contentment is:

Yes, we should be grateful for what we have. And yes, we should make it work if nothing more shows up. (See point #2 above.)

But, we are not required to refrain from attempting to gather the basic necessities of life if we do not yet have those basic necessities.

We are simply required to keep a right attitude, and refrain from coveting what other people have (which means lusting after what others have, just because they have it, or wanting what they have in a vicious, negative way, or wanting to compete with them about what you have). If we have a need, we should desire the things that we need simply because we need them, but not simply because other people have them.

So, let’s look at five major Biblical keys to being content:

In no particular order …

Key 1: Don’t lust after what other people have, just because they have it.

Don’t try to “keep up with the Joneses.” Life is not about trying to get other people’s treasures–or even trying to get treasures of your own–just because other people have them. Additionally, it is not godly to be trying to compete, or trying to maintain appearances so you can compare well with other people.

We see this principle in Hebrews 13:5:

“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you’” (Hebrews 13:5 NKJV).

What’s the point here? We are to keep in mind what the REAL treasure is. And our real treasure is our relationship with, fellowship with, companionship with, and presence of Jesus.

JESUS is the only One worth yearning for. So, we are to keep in mind that we already have life’s greatest Treasure: Jesus. And therefore, we are not to want what other people have, just because they have it.

We are to be content with what we already have, for we already have the greatest treasure that God could possibly provide to us (the presence and friendship of Jesus).

Key 2: Learn how to work with what you have. Whether you have much or little, be grateful and make it work, while you wait on God to provide more!

Over the years, I have learned that God’s provision looks like different things at different times. For example:

• Sometimes He just provides the need in the way most people prefer: in advance or early. (For instance, by sending the money you need to buy groceries with, well before you actually need to buy groceries!)
• Sometimes He waits to provide until just before the moment that the need is due. So, the whole time, you feel like He isn’t providing after all–but He really is; just not in your preferred timing. 🙂 (Ask me how I know. #Facepalm!)
• But occasionally, He doesn’t provide for the need, but rather eliminates the need.
• And still more often, He doesn’t provide what you need when you think you need it, BUT He does move the deadline so that you no longer need it when you thought you did. And thus, when His provision does come, it is still “on time” in His calendar, even though you feel like it was late on your calendar. 🙂

Well, the apostle Paul wrote this principle out specifically in Philippians 4:

“Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11-13 NKJV).

Even though this specific factoid doesn’t preach well, the TRUTH is that Paul did not always have what he felt he needed. He knew what it was to be abased, to be hungry, and to suffer need. (Can you imagine how he must have felt while preaching about God’s goodness and pouring out his life for the Gospel, all while being hungry himself?)

Nevertheless, Paul was grateful for what he had. He made it work. He worked with what he had, while still being grateful and appreciating it when God sent more.

You and I have to do the same thing that Paul did:

• We must be grateful for what we have in any given moment.
• We must make whatever we have work for us in those moments. Sometimes, we simply have to “make do!”
• However, we can still pray and believe God to provide more, knowing that He has us in the palm of His hand no matter what.
• We have to keep it front and center of our minds that we also can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We can survive being abased, and we can survive the abundance too. GOD is the One who keeps us; our level of provision in any given moment is not what keeps us safe.

That will preach. 🙂 And on to the next key …

Key 3: You should desire to simply have everything you need–no more and no less. And, you should count yourself greatly blessed if you do have everything you need.

We see this in 1 Timothy 6:6-8, again from the writings of Paul:

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content” (1 Timothy 6:6-8 NKJV, emphasis mine).

Here’s an important key to understanding this verse properly:

In this verse, the Greek word for “contentment”—which is “autarkeia“—carries with it the idea of sufficiency; in other words, having everything you need. The apostle Paul is pointing out here:

• what a blessing it is to be godly; and
• what a blessing it is to have everything you need for daily life, while being godly at the same time.

You could also understand this as saying something like, “What a blessing it is to both be right with God AND have everything you physically need at the same time!”

This passage isn’t saying that we aren’t allowed to desire anything other than godliness. (Of course, godliness should be our #1 priority, though.)

But rather, this verse is pointing out that we humans have two different dimensions of needs: spiritual needs and physical needs.

So, Paul is pointing out what a joy and privilege it is when we have both dimensions of needs fully met! And he is pointing out that the physical needs, although necessary, are not eternal. Therefore, he is exhorting us to be satisfied with having our simple, temporal needs met, while we actually focus on and prioritize the far more important eternal things of God’s Kingdom.

We see this principle also in Proverbs 30:7-9:

“Two things I request of You (deprive me not before I die): remove falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches—feed me with the food allotted to me; lest I be full and deny You, and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, and profane the name of my God” (Proverbs 30:7-9 NKJV).

So YES, it’s good and right to desire to have all you need. It’s also good and right to be satisfied once you are at that level, storing up further treasures in Heaven.

Isn’t this good? These passages are so warm, wise, and practical when we see what they actually mean. They are not legalistic at all, but rather are Jesus-focused while also admitting that we humans have needs that need to be met! Hallelujah!

Key 4: Once you have what you need, exert strength to protect yourself from the craving for more.

Particularly in 1 Timothy 6:8, the word “content” (“And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content”) contains the picture of raising a barrier and exerting strength to ward off the cravings, lusts, yearnings, and desires for more, after you already have what you need.

How can we apply this key in our daily lives? Here are a few ideas:

• Do you have a safe, restful place to live? Then be happy with it, steward it as best you can, and don’t lose sleep over getting a bigger house–even if you do have a plan for a larger house, and even if you’re working toward a larger house. Keep your heart and mind set on Jesus, not on a big home!
• Do you have a decent, used vehicle that runs well and gets you where you need to be? If so, be happy with it and take care of it; don’t spend your time wishing you had a brand-new vehicle instead. Even if you have a plan to save for something newer, be thankful and content with what you have! Again: keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life!
• Did you get to go on a relaxing vacation this year? Be thankful, and don’t let lust rise up in you when Joe Shmo, whom you don’t even know, fills social media with his photos of his luxury vacation to a place you haven’t been to.

If we are going to obey 1 Timothy 6:8, we have to exert strength to protect ourselves from the lust for more.

But, that’s what God tells us to do anyway in 2 Corinthians 10:5:

“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NKJV).

Yes, even when it comes to our desires for physical stuff, we still have to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. There’s nothing inherently wrong with physical stuff, but we get off-track if we let ourselves start lusting for it.

And in order to protect ourselves from that, we have to exert strength and put up a wall against the temptation to the newer, the better, and the bigger–or even to covet what other people have.

Key 5: Place value upon the things that actually matter in life, not on the abundance of things that you possess (or don’t possess).

This is the most important key of all. It’s a matter of priorities, and Jesus taught about this extensively in the Gospels.

Read what Jesus taught in Luke 12:13-21:

“Then one from the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” But He said to him, “Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?” And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’

But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ “So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God” (Luke 12:13-21 NKJV).

The passage above from Luke 12 is so rich; we could talk about it for weeks and not exhaust everything Jesus shared. But, I do want to point out from this passage that Jesus’ emphasis is not on having all a person needs, but rather on what his priorities were. This rich man laid up treasure for himself, but he was not rich toward God. He didn’t have his priorities straight.

Friend, you and I have to keep our priorities straight.

Related: Divine Alignment with Right Priorities

Our priority has to be JESUS, front and center and surpassing everything else. We are called first and foremost to keep our eyes on Jesus. We are commanded to occupy ourselves with following Him, and with things that make an eternal difference, rather than gathering things for things’ sake.

Holy Spirit Himself also preached this word in Proverbs 16:8 when He said this:

“Better is a little with righteousness, than vast revenues without justice” (Proverbs 16:8 NKJV).

And again, even in this passage from Proverbs, we see that our priorities must be straight.

The most important thing is to be righteous, even if we are not rich in material possessions.

It is far greater to be right with God than it is to accumulate stuff. God is clearly not against being blessed with stuff; He is the Bless-or, the One who gives abundance of wealth as part of His blessing upon those who love and obey Him.

However, that stuff—those “vast revenues”—cannot be our main goal. We have to keep first things first and trust God for the rest, as Jesus showed us in Matthew 6:33:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:33 NKJV).

This is also confirmed in 1 Timothy 6:17-19:

“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life” (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NKJV).

Yes, even those who are rich already must still keep their priorities straight.

Nobody gets a pass from putting Jesus first, before money, treasure, wealth, homes, or any other kind of thing people can experience in this world. Even the goal of the rich always must be to keep their eyes on Jesus, and keep their priorities straight. Their hearts cannot be set on accumulating additional, vast quantities of wealth.

Yes, those who are rich in this world are to keep their eyes on Jesus, doing good and administering their wealth for eternal purposes, however Jesus leads them. (And Jesus’ leading will always be consistent with what His Word says.)

So, to recap, the five Biblical keys to being content are these:

1. Don’t lust after what other people have, just because they have it.
2. Learn how to work with what you have. Whether you have much or little, be grateful and make it work, while you wait on God to provide more!
3. You should desire to simply have everything you need–no more and no less. And, you should count yourself greatly blessed if you do have everything you need.
4. Once you have what you need, exert strength to protect yourself from the craving for more.
5. Place value upon the things that actually matter in life, not on the abundance of things that you possess (or don’t possess). Keep your priorities straight; Jesus must always be Priority #1!

And there you have it.

Beloved, Biblical contentment is not at all legalistic.

The Bible doesn’t condemn you for wanting to have clothes to wear, food to eat, and a warm, safe, dry place to live. Scripture does not forbid us from trying to better our lives. God is a good, good Father, and His desire is to give you the Kingdom:

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32 NKJV).

… and to give you the desires of your heart:

“So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 

Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mark 11:22-24 NKJV).

… and to give you WHATEVER you ask for! As it says in Matthew 7:

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8 NKJV).

But, all the earthly trappings have to come AFTER we seek God first, giving Him first place in every aspect of life.

We must delight ourselves in the LORD before He gives us the desires of our heart:

“Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:3-4 NKJV).

And as Jesus also said in Luke 12:31:

“But seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:31 NKJV).

O beloved, God loves to bless us. But He wants us to keep the main thing the main thing.

And the main thing is that we seek Him first, setting our hearts, our priorities, our purposes, and our desires on Him. We are to desire to live in perfect shalom peace–with nothing missing and nothing broken, for that is what Jesus died for us to do.

But, we must guard against earthly lusts.

And if we understand and practice these keys to contentment …

… remembering but God is not a legalistic miser …

… but that He is rather an Eternal Father, whose only desire is for us to live in ALL His best, eternally first and then temporally on this earth …

… then we can find contentment as we wait on the Lord and keep His way. And if we do that, He will exalt us to inherit the land.

Does this Bible study about contentment help you?

Do these keys help you understand a bit better what it takes to be content, while still being practical to see your needs met? If so, leave a comment below. And, please share this article with a friend if it blesses you!