discontent

⁵Let your behavior be without avarice; be content with what you are offered. For he himself has said, “I will not abandon you, and I will not neglect you.”

¹⁵So he said to them: “Be cautious and wary of all avarice. For a person’s life is not found in the abundance of the things that he possesses.”

¹⁸Give thanks in everything. For this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for all of you.

³³Therefore, seek first the kingdom of God and his justice, and all these things shall be added to you as well.

⁴Delight in the Lord, and he will grant to you the petitions of your heart.

⁶But piety with sufficiency is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and there is no doubt that we can take nothing away. ⁸But, having nourishment and some kind of covering, we should be content with these. ⁹For those who want to become rich fall into temptation and into the snare of the devil and into many useless and harmful desires, which submerge men in destruction and in perdition. ¹⁰For desire is the root of all evils. Some persons, hungering in this way, have strayed from the faith and have entangled themselves in many sorrows.

¹⁰Now I rejoice in the Lord exceedingly, because finally, after some time, your feelings for me have flourished again, just as you formerly felt. For you had been preoccupied. ¹¹I am not saying this as if out of need. For I have learned that, in whatever state I am, it is sufficient. ¹²I know how to be humbled, and I know how to abound. I am prepared for anything, anywhere: either to be full or to be hungry, either to have abundance or to endure scarcity. ¹³Everything is possible in him who has strengthened me.

²⁸And we know that, for those who love God, all things work together unto good, for those who, in accordance with his purpose, are called to be saints.

⁷Cast all your cares upon him, for he takes care of you.

¹³Everything is possible in him who has strengthened me.

¹⁴Then the soldiers also questioned him, saying, “And what should we do?” And he said to them: “You should strike no one, and you should not make false accusations. And be content with your pay.”

¹⁰And you should not murmur, as some of them murmured, and so they perished by the destroyer.

¹¹I am not saying this as if out of need. For I have learned that, in whatever state I am, it is sufficient. ¹²I know how to be humbled, and I know how to abound. I am prepared for anything, anywhere: either to be full or to be hungry, either to have abundance or to endure scarcity. ¹³Everything is possible in him who has strengthened me.

²⁴No one is able to serve two masters. For either he will have hatred for the one, and love the other, or he will persevere with the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.

⁷Similarly, you husbands should live with them in accord with knowledge, bestowing honor on the female as the weaker vessel and as co-heirs of the life of grace, so that your prayers may not be hindered. ⁸And finally, may you all be of one mind: compassionate, loving brotherhood, merciful, meek, humble, ⁹not repaying evil with evil, nor slander with slander, but, to the contrary, repaying with blessings. For to this you have been called, so that you may possess the inheritance of a blessing. ¹⁰For whoever wants to love life and to see good days should restrain his tongue from evil, and his lips, so that they utter no deceit. ¹¹Let him turn away from evil, and do good. Let him seek peace, and pursue it. ¹²For the eyes of the Lord are upon the just, and his ears are with their prayers, but the countenance of the Lord is upon those who do evil.

¹⁰Where there are many riches, there will also be many to consume these things. And how does it benefit the one who possesses, except that he discerns the wealth with his own eyes?

⁶But piety with sufficiency is great gain. ⁷For we brought nothing into this world, and there is no doubt that we can take nothing away. ⁸But, having nourishment and some kind of covering, we should be content with these.

¹¹So then, having been enriched in all things, you may abound in all simplicity, which works thanksgiving to God through us.

⁹For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, he became poor for your sakes, so that through his poverty, you might become rich.

¹³Therefore, if you, being evil, know how to give good things to your sons, how much more will your Father give, from heaven, a spirit of goodness to those who ask him?”

²And do not choose to be conformed to this age, but instead choose to be reformed in the newness of your mind, so that you may demonstrate what is the will of God: what is good, and what is well-pleasing, and what is perfect.