DEVOTION – DAY 395

Hebrews 13:5 “Be Contented With What You Have”

Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

The writer of Hebrews teaches us to be contented with what we have because God has promised us He will never leave nor forsake us. Since God always keeps His promises, our focus is to worship and love Him. He will be the one who provides for us. Sadly, many people choose to love money instead of God. They think that money will make them happy and answer all their problems. 

As we look at the world around us, people like Anthony Bourdain, Kate Spade and Coco Lee all had money and fame but they found that money and fame did not give them the happiness they sought. In the end, they chose to end their lives.

We contrast that with people like George Mueller and Hudson Taylor who loved God. They totally trusted and depended on God for their personal provision and for their respective ministries. George Mueller fed and raised thousands of orphans in England without any help from the government. He never asked anyone for money and only submitted all his needs to God in prayer. Hudson Taylor was a missionary in China and he established the China Inland Mission. The Mission was responsible for sending 800 missionaries to China and resulted in over 20,000 Chinese conversions. Through the Mission, Hudson Taylor also started 125 schools around China. He did this all through prayer to God and he taught his missionaries also to do the same – to trust God to provide for all their needs. God never disappointed them. They were contented in the Lord. 

These two men learnt to keep their lives free from the love of money. This freed them to love God with all their hearts, minds and soul. They depended solely on God and always communicated with God through prayer. Those who love money will be distracted because the pursuit of money will only bring about stress, pressure, and demands on their time and attention. They will often lack peace and find that the things money buy will only temporarily satisfy them. How many people have found this to be true when they buy a new handphone and enjoy its use, only to want the next latest model, and discard their previous handphone? 

Let us pray: Heavenly Father, we thank you for the wisdom in your word that reminds us to be free from the love of money, and to be contented with what we have. Please help us to be contented in You and what You have given us always. We pray this in the great and holy name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Questions

  1. What steps can you take to be free from the love of money? What steps have you taken?
  2. Why is it important for people to be free from the love of money and be contented with what God had given them? Discuss.
  3. How does modern day consumer society encourage people to go after material things? How does it affect you?
  4. How can your focus be on the Lord and not on the material things of this world? Discuss.