1 Timothy 6:8
“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” NASB 4
“But if we have food and shelter, we will be satisfied with that.” NET
Consider a student who goes to college and lives in a dorm. Or consider a young, newlywed couple who haven’t yet built any wealth. Or suppose you spend time with friends at a campground or on a hiking trip. In each case, food and shelter are simple.
- Is there enough for contentment in such simple circumstances?
- Does the modest food and shelter make these sad times of life? Why not?
Over the last 65 years, real income per person in the US has more than quadrupled. Consumer products have multiplied by a hundredfold. Yet, neither life satisfaction nor financial satisfaction has increased at all. (The same is true for other prosperous countries.5)
- Why do you think this happens?
- What does this tell us about money and contentment?
Economists describe a universal experience called the “hedonic treadmill.”6 A new purchase or increased income or wealth creates a brief bump in satisfaction. But this feeling quickly fades. Satisfaction rapidly returns to baseline.
- Have you experienced this?
- Why do you think this happens?
A popular saying is, “The things you own end up owning you.”
- As we accumulate more things, how do those things make demands on our lives?
- Has the management and care of your possessions ever brought anxiety, stress, or discontentment to your life?
We can use money to consume more. But filling our lives with more and more consumption doesn’t actually lead to more satisfaction. In fact, it can backfire.
- Does bingeing with excess consumption lead to contentment?
- What have you seen? What have you experienced?
In Ecclesiastes 2, Solomon splurged on wine, women, entertainment, buildings, and gardens. He was the richest man on the planet, and he decided, “All that my eyes desired, I did not refuse them.” (Ecclesiastes 2:10). What was the result? After “considering all his activities,” he found “there was no benefit under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 2:11). At the end of his experiment with bingeing on massive consumption, he wrote, “So, I hated life.” (Ecclesiastes 2:17).
- Can bingeing on excess consumption lead to depression even today?
- Why does this happen?
A financial consultant to lottery winners explained, “So many of them wind up unhappy... People commit suicide.”7 So, too, rich and famous rock stars often commit suicide.8
- Why doesn’t excess consumption lead to more happiness?
- Why can it sometimes lead to depression or even suicide?