5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
For He Himself has said,
God Himself made important comments in several passages in the Old Testament about contentment in the following statement. The quotation below is not an exact quotation from a specific Old Testament passage but is drawn from several passages (Gen 28:15; Deut 31:5, 6, 8; Josh 1:5 or 1 Chr 28:20).
“I will never leave you
God will never withdraw His presence or His help from the believer. The idea of the word “leave” is to forsake or abandon. God never leaves the believer in straits or helpless. God will never withdraw His support from the believer.
nor forsake [abandon] you.”
“Forsake” consists of three Greek words: in, down, and to leave. Thus, “in” carries the idea of the circumstance in which a person finds himself, “down” implies helplessness in the circumstance, and “to leave” means to be forsaken in the helpless place. The implication is that God will never abandon us but will always come to our rescue in difficult situations.
The Greek uses five negatives in this quote: “I will never, ever, ever, ever, ever leave or forsake you.” This is the most emphatic negation in the New Testament. He will forever be our companion in what we face.
PRINCIPLE:
Contentment is the tranquility of soul.
APPLICATION:
Contentment is satisfied with what God apportioned us. It is the polar opposite of the grasping spirit that is never content. God’s presence, providence, and protection assure the soul. There is no possibility that God would ever desert us. When we claim that promise, it changes our perspective on life.
Why have a sense of apprehension about our financial situation if God has promised to meet our needs? Discontent is sinful. Both discontentment and covetousness find their origin in unbelief. Trust in God alleviates fear (Is 12:2).
Lust for more and more money (or covetousness) is a lack of understanding of God’s providence in our lives (1 Ti 6:17). This is to pit the value of money against the value of God’s sovereign care over us. Our lives do not consist of what we have (Lu 12:15) but fundamentally entail our relationship with God.
