Cam Hyde

We all know the feeling of getting that new thing in the mail or walking away from the store with that newly purchased item. There’s a feeling a satisfaction and acquisition. It’s a good feeling. But it’s a fading feeling.

It fades quickly… quicker than we want it to if we’re honest. Sometimes the thrill is in hitting the “purchase” button online and it fades so quickly that we’re already looking at something new before the new thing we just purchased has ever arrived. For some us, this happens in an endless cycle. Our society is too polite to call it what it actually is—addiction.

When people discuss addiction, it’s usually in reference to very destructive things like alcohol, pornography, and drugs. These are things that wreck lives and ruin families. However, addiction takes many forms such as food, social media, and the acquisition of things. Our culture, even our Christian culture, doesn’t like to call our sin, sin.

I’m not writing this to condemn anyone, but in truth to process it myself. I have been meditating on 1 Timothy 6:6-7 for years.

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.

In a world where we’re flooded with advertisements, it’s hard to believe this. It’s hard to fight against a culture bombarding us with the message of “You need more,” and “If you just get this thing, you’ll be happy.” I believe it’s a struggle that most Christians don’t even know they have or they’ve happily accepted as normal. It’s an addiction we’ve normalized.

The Bible has a lot to say about our possessions and our money. I’ve been writing my own cross references about it and there is much more than I think we even realize. Jesus himself was very blunt, but I think we either gloss over these statements or don’t take Jesus seriously.

In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus says to lay up your treasures in heaven because where you store your treasure is where your heart will be. Can we truly say we’re looking to a better kingdom and looking for a better world when we’re constantly pursuing the things here? Are our hearts treasuring Christ above all things when we have an insatiable thirst for more of this world?

When someone wanted Jesus to tell his brother to divide their inheritance with him in Luke 12, Jesus responded in this way:

Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

He would go on to tell a parable about a rich fool who put all his hope in his possessions and then died. He had put his hope in the wrong place and now it would be left to someone else. This reminds me of a quote I had written down from Mark Dever where he said, “Death garners from us all the possessions we accumulate in this world so we shouldn’t be too impressed by them.”

The truth of the matter is that many of us don’t take this seriously. We think these material things that will be left behind when we die can satisfy us here and now. We say we believe and have trusted in the eternal, but we’re still enamored by the temporary.

We pursue treasure here and our hearts have followed. We’re addicted to this world. However, the world can’t satisfy us. No matter how hard we try and no matter how much we acquire. We will not find contentment in the things here. If we could, we would have by now.

In the book of John, Jesus makes clear where true satisfaction can be found and it is only in him. He says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.”

When we say we’ve come to Jesus, but continually pursue the things of the world it’s like we’re starving at the banquet. We say we’ve met Jesus, trusted in him, and made him Lord of our lives, but we’re continually trying to satisfy ourselves with other things. He has spread a feast before us, but we’re pursuing scraps and crumbs. It seems foolish doesn’t it?

The question then becomes, “Do we actually believe Jesus?” Do we believe he knows better than we do? Do we believe he is who he says? Do we believe that he’s actually offering us something better than what we’re seeking after here?

It’s a message that’s hard to sink in. I journaled on August 15, 2022, “I am struggling for contentment and to fight materialism. I must believe 1 Timothy 6:6-8. Godliness with contentment is great gain. Lord, help me!”

Underneath that, on July 26, 2024 I wrote, “I am still struggling with contentment.”

I write this on April of 2026 to tell you that I’m still struggling, but I think it’s worth the fight. It is when we give up the fight that we are in trouble. We have to be people who fight our sin. We have to be people who call sin what it is instead of trying to put an acceptable label on it and accept it.

We have to see where the real treasure is and pursue it. C.S. Lewis said, “All these toys were never intended to possess my heart. My true good is in another world, and my only real treasure is Christ.” Can we be content with food and clothing knowing that the real treasure isn’t found here and that we are seeking an eternal kingdom?

What if we replaced our worldly addictions with heavenly ones? What if we became addicted to memorizing more Scripture? What if we became addicted to sharing the gospel? What if we became addicted to Bible reading and prayer? What if we became addicted to spurring one another on in good works? What if we couldn’t get enough of learning more about Jesus and trying to look more like him?

Something tells me this would be a radical shift for a lot of us. What if the answer to contentment is being discontent? Maybe this is Paul’s key as he tells Timothy that “godliness with contentment is great gain.”

Being godly means pursuing the things of God. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:11 to “pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.” We will never be complete in this and we should never be content with our level of these things. We should always want to be more righteous, more godly, more faithful, more loving, more steadfast, and more gentle.

Only a fool would starve at the banquet. The spread is laid out before us. The world will leave us hungry. Christ gives us satisfaction. He is the bread of life. His invitation is for us to feast on the things that will satisfy. Let’s be addicted to the right things and let’s experience the great gain.