Living Beyond Means, Living Beneath Calling

We live in a culture that wants more without doing more. Many believe they should be paid more, not because their work is truly worth more, but because their appetites and spending demand it. Their lifestyle exceeds their discipline. They don’t want to adjust their desires, so they demand their income adjust instead.

I cannot wrap my head around this. Maybe that’s because my entire life has been spent in a calling where expectations are the exact opposite. Pastors are expected to want little, to have little, and to work as if we were available 24/7. And many of us accepted that without bitterness, because it was a calling, not a career.

But here’s the tension: both sides—whether it’s the worker who overspends or the pastor who overgives—can find themselves living out of balance with God’s design.

The Bible speaks clearly: “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that” (1 Timothy 6:6–8).

Discontentment is dangerous, whether it’s found in the factory worker demanding more for less effort, or in the minister silently resentful that people expect sacrifice without support. The heart issue is the same: we want what we have not disciplined ourselves to manage, or what we have not trusted God to provide.

Paul wrote, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation… I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:12–13). Notice—contentment was learned. It doesn’t come naturally. It comes by choosing gratitude, adjusting desires, and trusting God’s provision over man’s paycheck.

Here’s the call:

• If you are constantly dissatisfied with your pay, examine your spending before you demand more. Ask—am I living beyond my means?
• If you are serving in ministry and feel stretched thin, ask—am I trusting God to supply and setting healthy boundaries, or am I letting people’s expectations define me?

We must learn to walk in godly contentment, whether in plenty or in want. We must live as if Christ, not culture, sets our value.

Reflection Question:

Where are you demanding more—either from your paycheck or from people’s approval—when God is calling you to discipline, contentment, and trust?