Challenges and Encouragements on the Road to Contentment: A Call to Christ-Centred Contentment

Hebrews 13:5 issues a necessary, but neglected, exhortation to Christians: “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” This single verse carries a rich balance of warning, command, and comfort—offering both a diagnosis of, and a divine cure for, discontentment.

Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians, presumably in the Jerusalem church, who were tempted to abandon Christ and return to old religious systems. The author of Hebrews sees in them a dangerous drift—a loss of the centrality and sufficiency of Christ. As Revelation 2:4 says (of another church), they had “abandoned the love [they] had at first.” Once Christ no longer holds the centre of a believer’s heart, something else will. As John Calvin famously said, the human heart is a perpetual forge of idols.

Paul’s words in Galatians 1:6 capture the same alarm: “I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel.” Discontentment is not merely emotional unease—it is spiritual drift.

Hebrews 13:5 provides a compact structure. On the left side, we find the caution: “Keep your life free from love of money.” In the center, we have the command: “Be content with what you have.” On the right side is the cure: “For he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

Discontentment flows from “love of money”—or more broadly, misplaced affection. The remedy is found not in acquiring more but in rediscovering God’s presence. The text doesn’t say, “Be content because your finances are secure,” but because God is with you.

The temptation to love money was not abstract for these Hebrew Christians. Persecution had robbed many of them of material goods. Earlier, they had endured it with joy: “You joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one” (10:34). But now, their joy was waning. The treasure of Christ no longer felt satisfying, and the pull of temporal comfort was growing stronger.

Paul’s words to Timothy offer a stark parallel: “But godliness with contentment is great gain…. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (1 Timothy 6:6, 10). Those who relentlessly pursue wealth risk shipwrecking their faith and being pierced with “many pangs.” The Hebrews were not immune, and neither are we.

Yesterday’s joy in Christ is not enough for today. The Christian life is a daily walk, not a static memory. Verse 13 exhorts believers to “exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” When we stop walking closely with Christ, we begin seeking substitutes—counterfeit gods.

Tim Keller, in Counterfeit Gods, defines an idol as “anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.” This could be money, career, romance, reputation, education, or even ministry success. The discontented heart always says, “If only I had X, I would be happy.” But every idol demands more and gives less. Eventually, idols consume us.

In Leo Tolstoy’s story, “How Much Land Does a Man Need?” the peasant Pahom keeps chasing land, thinking he will be satisfied if only he has more. Offered as much land as he can walk in a day, he dies of exhaustion at sunset—just as he returns to the starting point. His servant buries him in a six-foot grave, answering the story’s ironic title.

Tolstoy’s message echoes Hebrews 13:5. In chasing the world’s wealth, Pahom lost everything. Our idols—money, possessions, status, etc.—will eventually leave us dead at the feet of the devil, who will be laughing.

The solution is not having more but realising who you already have. God’s promise—“I will never leave you nor forsake you”—is the basis for true contentment. These words echo throughout Scripture: to Jacob (Genesis 28:15), Israel (Isaiah 43:1–2), and the church (Matthew 28:20).

If we are convinced that God is truly with us, we will not panic when our earthly securities are shaken. The antidote to the love of money is not asceticism but assurance. It is not simply saying “no” to worldly desires but saying “yes” to the God who satisfies.

Which side of Hebrews 13:5 are you on? Are you on the left: “Keep your life free from the love of money”? Or are you on the right: “I will never leave you nor forsake you”?

This is not a one-time decision. You must pursue contentment daily. The spiritual disciplines of prayer, Scripture reading, and worship are not optional. They are essential to keep Christ at the centre. Without vigilance, we become vulnerable. As Elijah learned after his victory at Mount Carmel, spiritual highs can quickly be followed by deep valleys (1 Kings 18–19). The devil waits for such moments to strike.

Hebrews reminds us of a truth we often forget: We already have a “better possession and an abiding one” (10:34). That possession is Christ. The world offers fleeting promises, but Jesus offers himself.

Let us then take the call of Hebrews 13:5 seriously. Let us fight against the creeping love of money and root our joy not in possessions but in presence—the presence of the one who says, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”