1 Timothy 6:8 (ASV)

Passage

but having food and covering we shall be therewith content.

Nearby Context

1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain:

1 Timothy 6:7 for we brought nothing into the world, for neither can we carry anything out;

1 Timothy 6:8 but having food and covering we shall be therewith content.

1 Timothy 6:9 But they that are minded to be rich fall into a temptation and a snare and many foolish and hurtful lusts, such as drown men in destruction and perdition.

1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil: which some reaching after have been led astray from the faith, and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "having", "food", "covering", "shall", "therewith", and "content". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "having" and "food", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "for we brought nothing into the world..." into verse 9's "But they that are minded to be...", so "having" and "food" belong inside that flow. In 1 Timothy context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "having" and "food" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.