Surely, godliness with contentment is a great gain, so those who have Jesus should treasure Him over and above all material things. Both Lucifer and Judas fell from their positions of honour to those of dishonour. They lost what the Lord had freely given to them and also lost the extra they sought to have out of discontentment. So shall it be with anyone who lives a discontented life. Contentment comes to those who have fear God.
“Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Him to them. And when they heard it, they were glad, and promised to give him money. So he sought how he might conveniently betray Him” (Mk 1:10-11). Being with God should give the greatest contentment to any being for He is full of all virtues, so there is no lack for anyone when in the very presence of God, yet Judas lacked contentment. He was privileged to be appointed as one of the twelve apostles, who were to be with Jesus to be sent out to preach, with authority to cast out demons. He saw Jesus perform countless signs and miracles that met the needs of people and was even mandated with the other apostles at one time to preach the good news to the sick (Matt 10: 1-4). He was even in charge of the Lord’s treasury, out of which other needs were met. Therefore, he had no needs whilst with Jesus. Yet, he was not content with his privileged position and stole from the treasury. His avid desire for money made him betray Jesus to His enemies for 30 pieces of silver. However, his discontentment made Him lose his office, the money he sought to have and his life.
“You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering: the sardius, topaz, diamond, beryl, onyx, and jasper, sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes was prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub who covers; I established you; you were on God’s holy mountain; you walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, till iniquity was found in you” (Eze 28: 13-15). What did Lucifer lack? Nothing. As an anointed guardian cherub, he was the head of the angels. Yet, his heart became proud because of his beauty, and his splendour made him corrupt his wisdom, so God cast him to the ground (vv.17). He fell out of Heaven, and was cut down to the ground. He also lost his name, Lucifer; light-bearer and became Satan, the adversary, and is awaiting eternal destruction in Hellfire.
