Christine W

Volunteering. Spending time with people and building relationships in order to be more easily led by the Holy Spirit in the ways you can truly help them.

I think Paul's view of contentment is essentially the peace of God. Absence of fear or worry. Complete trust in God. Should we strive? Paul says we should perservere in becoming more and more like Jesus. Paul is hardly one to imply that contentment means not working to take care of our families - or to expect others to take care of us when we should be taking care of ourselves. He is the one who said "he who does not work, does not eat."

Q1. (1 Timothy 6:5) Why do you think people are so susceptible to distorted Bible teaching concerning financial gain? Admitting that there is some truth in popular teachings in our time, what are the distortions that you may have heard? How do they differ from the truth? Material blessings are tangible - spiritual blessings may not be as evident to others. We want to believe that God loves us and that may be easier when we are not suffering from lack of money - particularly when non believers appear to be prospering financially. Since there is not always a lot of teaching about the practical ways to actually abide in God - to walk and talk with HIm daily - to know his presence and more importantly, his constant love and concern for us, we are susceptible to those who tell us that if we believe, we will see physical manifestations - i.e., increased wealth, health, and other physical blessings. Churches - the physical buildings - can be very expensive to build and to maintain. Staff is also expensive. So we are asked to give sacrificially. It sweetens the asking to tell people you "can't outgive God" who will surely reward you tenfold for your ever larger donations. We love because He first loved us. We have to truly experience God's love before we can give it away. And we can't do that by focusing on the gifts - we have to abide in the Giver.