Life is enjoyable, for God meant it to be enjoyable. However, because of some reasons, many are unable to enjoy what the Lord has made, and what He has prepared for them. Apparently, we all need to learn what the apostle calls as a "great gain" – godliness with contentment – for us to live life with enjoyment.
"Now godliness with contentment is great gain." (1 Timothy 6:6)
Why contentment?
Contentment is different from being lazy or having no dream at all. Contentment is the state of being happy and satisfied with what you have or what has happened, with no complaint. No, it's not wrong to desire for a better life, a better home, better possessions, but it's wrong to covet what others have, and desire what is beyond our lot in life.
Consider what Ecclesiastes 5:18-20 tells us of those who enjoy what the Lord gives them:
"Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage. As for every man to whom God has given riches and wealth, and given him power to eat of it, to receive his heritage and rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God. For he will not dwell unduly on the days of his life, because God keeps him busy with the joy of his heart."
Yes, my friend, it is God who gives us our work, whatever we gain from it, and the ability to enjoy both our work and the produce that we receive from it. And regardless of the amount of money we earn or the amount of possessions we have, God allows us to enjoy all of it – so much that we don't have room to feel bad that we have less than what other people have.
Learn to be content
We can actually learn to be contented with what we have, so that we can just focus on what really matters: loving God and the people He loves (see Matthew 22:37-40). Consider what the apostle Paul tells us about learning to be content in 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)
