the Week of Proper 17 / Ordinary 22
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Daily Devotionals
My Daily Meditation
THE REAL GAINS AND LOSSES
“Godliness with contentment is great gain.”
—1 Timothy 6:6-16
AND so I must go into my heart if I would make a true estimate of my gains and losses. The calculation is not to be made in my bank-books, or as I stride over my broad acres, or inspect my well-filled barns. These are the mere outsides of things, and do not enter into the real balance-sheet of my life. We can no more estimate the success of a life by methods like these than we can adjudge an oil-painting by the sense of smell.
What is my stock of godliness? That is one of the test questions. What are my treasures of contentment? What about peace and joy, and hallowed and blessed carelessness? How much pure laughter rings in my life? How much bird-music is heard in the chambers of my heart? Is the note of praise to be found in the streets of my soul? Am I rich in these things or pathetically poor? “By these things men live,” and therefore of these things will I make my balance-sheet and reckon up my gains.
