Morning Moments

1 Timothy 6:6 (KJV)
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

I love the story of Count Zinzendorf. He came from a family of Pietists, who were Lutherans who pursued and proclaimed the need for a personal experience with Jesus. He was born in 1700, saved at six, and as a child wrote love letters to Jesus. He was of noble birth, lived in a castle, and owned much land.

Zinzendorf aided the persecuted Moravians by given to them a portion of land as a refuge. It was not long until the Pietists, Moravians, Reformed, and Anabaptists were living together in that sacred spot.

BUT conflict arose over liturgy. The same thing happens today. Rather than WORSHIP, we often wrangle over how to worship and the process becomes more important than the object of our worship. That often leads to the worship of objects.

Long story short, Zinzendorf was led to divide the group of about three hundred into groups of three for prayer. That led to twenty four hour prayer meetings which lasted for a hundred years. God used a man of means who saw that piety is insufficient without contentment. That is exactly what Paul is saying to Timothy.

One may indeed be pious, abstaining from all appearance of evil, and practicing self denial and self control, BUT if that one is not CONTENT, gain is lost.

How content are we with a small group of saints who have little materially but much spiritually and are content with such as they have. Laodicea was the spoiled church, but Smyrna was the suffering church. One had everything, the other had nothing. One saw the need for nothing, the other understood the life does not consist in the possession of things, but it does consist of godliness WITH contentment.

May we learn that lesson ourselves.

BLESSINGS!