The writer of Hebrews continues with exhortations and instructions on how to live healthier and happier lives. Moving on from the sanctity of marriage, he now addresses money. Hebrews 3:5 says, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Gromacki correctly observes, “The reason why marriage and money are mentioned in the same context is that their abuse originates from the same cause of covetousness. Immorality and selfish greed stem from an evil desire to exploit others for one’s own gratification. Quite often, wealth and wantonness are found together.”[1] I’m reminded that most crimes in our country have their roots in sex and money. Neither of these brings happiness in life. Most often they drive us further from it. Paul tells his young disciple, Timothy, that “…the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”
To be content with what we have in life and who we are is “great gain.” That’s the rest of the lesson that Paul taught Timothy. He writes to him and says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (See 1 Timothy 6:6-9). This brings to mind that great song of contentment, Psalm 23. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He leads me beside the still waters and makes me lie down in green pastures… he restores my soul.”
Our satisfaction with our lots in life has a solid basis in faith. The Old Testament characters reported on in Chapter 11 all lived “by faith.” Faith has three components. First, it asserts that God is a good God who has our best interest foremost in mind. Second, it’s confidence the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice to bring about the forgiveness of our sins and finally, it’s a conviction that God has a great future in store for us. To the one who has come to know and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior, there is nothing to fear. There is no need to fear God’s judgment, for our punishment has been borne by our Savior. There is no need to fear for our needs, for He has promised to care for us. There is no need to fear any circumstance in life, for He is for us. May this confidence be yours, as you trust in God’s salvation, Jesus Christ.
[1] Robert Gromacki, Stand Bold in Grace: An Exposition of Hebrews, The Gromacki Expository Series (The Woodlands, TX: Kress Christian Publications, 2002), 216.