Contentment: General Scriptures Concerning
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Psalm 16:6
The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.
Psalm 37:7, 16
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when men prosper in their ways, when they carry out wicked schemes. / Better is the little of the righteous than the abundance of many who are wicked.
Proverbs 14:10, 14
The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares in its joy. / The backslider in heart receives the fill of his own ways, but a good man is rewarded for his ways.
Proverbs 15:13, 15, 30
A joyful heart makes a cheerful countenance, but sorrow of the heart crushes the spirit. / All the days of the oppressed are bad, but a cheerful heart has a continual feast. / The light of the eyes cheers the heart, and good news nourishes the bones.
Proverbs 16:8
Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
Proverbs 17:1, 22
Better a dry morsel in quietness than a house full of feasting with strife. / A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.
Proverbs 30:8
Keep falsehood and deceitful words far from me. Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the bread that is my portion.
Ecclesiastes 2:24
Nothing is better for a man than to eat and drink and enjoy his work. I have also seen that this is from the hand of God.
Ecclesiastes 3:12, 13
I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and do good while they live, / and also that every man should eat and drink and find satisfaction in all his labor—this is the gift of God.
Ecclesiastes 4:6
Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 5:12
The sleep of the worker is sweet, whether he eats little or much, but the abundance of the rich man permits him no sleep.
Ecclesiastes 6:7–9
All a man’s labor is for his mouth, yet his appetite is never satisfied. / What advantage, then, has the wise man over the fool? What gain comes to the poor man who knows how to conduct himself before others? / Better what the eye can see than the wandering of desire. This too is futile and a pursuit of the wind.
Ecclesiastes 8:15
So I commended the enjoyment of life, because there is nothing better for a man under the sun than to eat and drink and be merry. For this joy will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:7–9
Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a cheerful heart, for God has already approved your works: / Let your garments always be white, and never spare the oil for your head. / Enjoy life with your beloved wife all the days of the fleeting life that God has given you under the sun—all your fleeting days. For this is your portion in life and in your labor under the sun.
Luke 3:14
Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?” “Do not take money by force or false accusation,” he said. “Be content with your wages.”
1 Corinthians 7:17, 20, 21, 24
Regardless, each one should lead the life that the Lord has assigned to him and to which God has called him. This is what I prescribe in all the churches. / Each one should remain in the situation he was in when he was called. / Were you a slave when you were called? Do not let it concern you—but if you can gain your freedom, take the opportunity.
Galatians 5:26
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another.
Philippians 4:11, 12
I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. / I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need.
1 Timothy 6:6–8
Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain. / For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it. / But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.
Hebrews 13:5
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”