Luke 3:14 Inductive Bible Study: Contentment 2/10

Luke 3:14 says, "Likewise the soldiers asked him, saying, "And what shall we do?" So he said to them, "Do not intimidate anyone or accuse falsely, and be content with your wages."

Matthew 6:33-34 says, "But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness , and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."

So to put this in context, John the Baptist is talking to a bunch of people that wanted to be baptized and thought they were saved because they were from the line of Abraham but they weren't living right. So the tax collectors and soldiers and the rest of the people started asking him what they should do. This verse is his response to the soldiers. In this verse, the word intimidate literally means shake down for money. He is basically telling them not to be greedy, to be fair, to be content with what they get and not try to take more than what they are suppose to.

In this world, everyone is always interested in what they can get, however they can get it. They want that new job opening no matter who they have to push down on the way to the "top". We want the best story, no matter who it might hurt. We want the biggest, the brightest, the next best. No matter what. It's all about us and what we can get. And when we get it, we want whatever comes next. We want whatever someone else has. We want the new biggest best thing in technology, cars, clothes, jobs. Anything and everything. The world doesn't have the word content in its vocabulary anymore. Lust, envy and jealousy takes over wherever contentment should be.

Even Christians get caught up in this. Most of the time we don't even think about it. It's just the "natural" process of things. It's what we're used to. This shouldn't be. We need to break this cycle of wanting what we don't have. I know that even Christians get caught up in wanting to advance in their job so they do whatever is asked of them even if it means being dishonest. Or they want a new position so they slander coworkers so that they can get it instead. We should be trusting that God is taking care of us and not be trying to manipulate situations according to the world. If we trust in Him, He will provide. You don't have to make it work on your own. So be content with what He has given you and be generous and He will bless you with even more. In a world concerned with getting ahead and getting whatever we don't have, I want to be content. I am so blessed with whatever I have because I don't deserve to have anything.

Application:
Today, I will memorize Matthew 6:33-34.