On the Shoulders of GiantsPrimjer

Simple Wisdom

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

The image of an elderly Black woman with a solid grasp on her Bible graces the cover of Oseola McCarty’s book Simple Wisdom for Rich Living and is memorialized in the bronze monument on the campus of the University of Southern Mississippi (USM). No other image could better depict the source of Ms. McCarty’s fulfillment.

Needing to leave school in the sixth grade to work full-time in the family laundry business after her aunt’s illness, McCarty gained satisfaction in her work of nearly 80 years through her contentment in God.

Beginning each day with the Lord’s Prayer, she worked from 7:00 in the morning, washing and ironing sometimes well into the night. In rare moments of discouragement, she recited Psalm 23. McCarty wrote in her book: “I find that my life and work are increasing all the time. I am blessed beyond what I hoped.”

Before her death, the laundress donated $150,000 of her $280,000 life savings to USM, inspiring a chain of hundreds of thousands of dollars donated to aid students in the scholastic education that life had denied her.

She revealed, “My secret was contentment; I was happy with what I had.” The rich and simple life of Oseola McCarty leaves us the example that “godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:10). Like her, we too can enjoy a rich and rewarding life.

Melanie Johnson

Do you have a solid grasp of the Bible?

God, guide us with Your Word each day to find satisfaction in our everyday tasks.