Are You Content?
John the Baptist created quite a stir in the first century by calling greedy people "a brood of vipers" and commanding them to repent. The crowd was told to share their extra tunics and food with the poor. The tax collectors were commanded not to collect any more than they were required to. When some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?" he replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely be content with your pay" (Luke 3:10-14).
"Be content with your pay!" Now there's a biblical command that is sure to stir up controversy even among the most pious believers. Very few people are content with their pay. Everyone seems to want more. Workers form unions to negotiate for higher salaries. Pilots, machinists, electricians, and even school teachers go on strike. Analysts are hired to do comparative studies so they can find inequities and create leverage for pay increases.
Christian people aren't much different. We complain about our meager take-home pay and participate in strikes. Even preachers, Bible college professors, and missionaries grumble about low salaries. We're such martyrs! It's a given-everybody wants more.
One of the reasons we aren't content with our pay is simply greed. We want more than we can afford and we overspend, burying ourselves deeper and deeper in debt. Then instead of accepting the responsibility for our actions, we rationalize that if we just made ten percent more, we'd not be in such financial bondage. It's easier to blame our employer than to admit we're too materialistic.
Another big reason we're dissatisfied is comparison. Jesus told a convicting parable about men who agreed to work all day in a vineyard for a denarius. They were content with their pay until they discovered that others, hired much later, were given the same amount. "They began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men who were hired last worked only one hour,' they said, 'and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.'"
"But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?'" (Matthew 20:11-15). The bottom line? If you agreed to work for a certain salary, be content with your pay and don't compare it to others.
Godly employers do have a responsibility to compensate people fairly because "the worker deserves his wages" (Luke 10:7). But godly workers are instructed, "Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you'" (Hebrews 13:5).
Consider:
1. Are you content with your salary? If not, how much money would it take to make you feel satisfied?
2. When is it right to seek an increase in pay? When is it wrong?
Are you tempted by greed, materialism or envy?
Pastor Paul Leavens PHD