Goodness and Contentment

- The Godly Man -

Paul J. Bucknell

For a man to be godly, he must rise above the cheap cynicism of the day. He must go and be with God. With God he will discover the goodness of God. This goodness will be greater than anything the world would offer. Paul the apostle hinted at this when he spoke to Timothy on this topic.

But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. (1 Timothy 6:6).

Man will never be content with only receiving the good things that come from God. Materialism is barren. It can never really satisfy.

This series 'Goodness and Contentment' openly challenges both eastern and western widely accepted concepts of goodness. The eastern religions insist on matter being evil. They cannot see beyond the pain and tragedy into the goodness of the Creator. They are permanently discontent with this life and seek something of greater value in the spiritual world.

On the other hand we have the Western secularism that shouts "Do not be content." Everything around says, "Look at me; I am more exciting." Everything is a vicious cycle of lure, tempt, excite and guilt. Covetuous rules.

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Can a man be fully content with God's good things and not God Himself? Can a man be convinced of the goodness of things and yet reject the Maker of these things? These are key questions that we hope to answer through this series of articles.

As we discuss evil and temptation, we recognize that the godly man must focus on the good and delightful things of God. He must be a man that finds his chief delight in the person and presence of God. Goodness is issued from God and will only be appreciated by those that are ultimately content with God Himself.

FUNCTIONAL DEFINITION OF GOODNESS

Goodness is finding contentment with what God has given.

O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him! (Psalms 34:8, NASB).

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Purpose of this study on goodness:

That we may desire to have our chief delight in God.
That we may grow in our comprehension of God's goodness.
That we may so delight in God's goodness that all other things would hardly be in sight.
That we would grow in rightfully appreciating pleasure.

*Goodness and Contentment*

Index

Here is a short index. Click the blue circle . They follow in order or just click here for next page.
Goodness and Contentment	All about goodness and contentment ...... Table of Contents
Discovering God's Goodness	What does creation say about what is good? Genesis 1:1-2:3
Good and Evil	Where does evil originate? How does evil relate to goodness? (Genesis 2)
Discovering Contentment in this World	Why is God not satisfied with any less than our whole heart?
Discontent Breeds Temptation	What is that one thing that keeps man far from temptation? Psalm 73
Goodness and Suffering	What is the secret of joyful living in hard times? Romans 5:3-5, Philippians 4:11-13
Good Works and Salvation	Four ways people try to separate good works from salvation.
A Case for Goodness	What wrong teaching did Paul counter by teaching about 'good'? 1 Timothy
Goodness Overflowing	How does one improve the quality of public and private praise? Psalm 100
Testimonies	Testimonies on goodness and contentment. How has God revealed His goodness to you? What are some practical steps to know more of His goodness?
Study Sheet	Study sheet for each page on God's Goodness

Next => Discovery of God's Goodness from Genesis 1:1 - 2:3

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Scriptures typically quoted from the New American Standard Bible unless noted: (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1988

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