by
Ray C. Stedman, redacted by Ronald L. Coleman
Some time ago a man in
This grows out of Paul's word to Timothy about certain false
teachers who
felt that a godly reputation was useful as a means of gain. It
introduces this
very practical section on the Christian view of wealth. Beginning with
Verse 6, Paul plunges right into the heart of the matter by
showing us
what true wealth is.
There is great gain in godliness with contentment;
for we brought nothing
into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world; but if we
have
food and clothing, with these we shall be content. (1 Timothy
6:6-8 RSV)
Twice in that passage the apostle says that contentment is
true wealth --
not possessions, not new cars or new homes, not a comfortable
environment --
but contentment; there is where true wealth lies. It is clear in this
passage
that contentment comes from a whole and balanced life. As we have
already seen
many times in this letter, that is what godliness (the Greek word, eusebia)
means -- goodliness, balance, wholeness.
That wholeness produces a contented heart.
There is a twisted and distorted view of Christianity
frequently heard today
-- especially on religious television -- that says that, when you
become a
Christian, God goes to work for you to make you wealthy, and if you are
not
rich as a Christian there is something wrong with your faith. In
The truth is, as Paul goes on to say, that wholeness, balanced
realism,
richness of soul and spirit -- godliness -- is in itself gain. That is
the true
wealth; it brings contented hearts, which is what we are all looking
for. One
of the great problems of this age, with its crass materialism, its
blatant
hedonism, is that we are a rootless, restless people. We are always
looking for
some anesthetic to deaden the pain of an empty life. We look with envy
upon
contented people.
Of course, it all depends upon how you define contentment.
Some people think
that contentment means getting everything they want as soon as they
want it.
Most of us know that that is not true. We have lived long enough to
know that
those who live that way are not content at all. One of the best
definitions of
contentment that I have heard is, "not having all you want but wanting
only what you have." Satisfied with what you have -- that is being
content. The Greek word used here in this passage means
self-sufficiency,
having all you need and wanting only that much, not craving for more.
But there is even more to it than that. The word is best
defined by the
Apostle Paul in that famous passage in Philippians 4: "I have learned,
in
whatsoever state I am, therein to be content," (Philippians
Godliness, in other words, is contentment. True godliness is
understanding
that when you have God, and food, and clothing, that is
all you really need to be enriched and fulfilled, satisfied and
content. That
is the clear teaching of the Scriptures. So the first thing this
passage
teaches us is that things do not make us happy. Jesus said that: "a
person's life does not consist of the abundance of things which he
possesses" (Luke
Paul goes on to prove the truth of these words by using birth
and death as
examples. He says we came into the world with nothing, and we can take
nothing
out of it. What do you have when you are born? Nothing.
You come into the world a little red-faced, squally, naked baby. You do
not
have anything; even your diaper has to be furnished. What do you have
when you
leave this world? Nothing.
You leave it all behind.
Years ago I picked up a young hitchhiker. As he was telling me
about
himself, he said, "My uncle died a millionaire." I said, "No, he
didn't." "What do you mean?" he said. "You don't know my
uncle." I said, "Who's got the million now?" "Oh," he
said, "I see what you mean." Nobody dies a millionaire. We all die
paupers; we leave it all behind.
A friend tells me he is going to take his
The apostle says all we need is food and clothing -- provision
for the
maintenance of life (food), and protection from the elements that would
destroy
life (shelter and clothing). God provides those for us, and with that
simple
lifestyle man can be content. That is what Jesus meant when he said,
"Man
shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of
the mouth
of God," (Matthew 4:4 RSV). It is the knowledge of God that gives
contentment; it is fellowship with the Lord of Glory that makes the
heart
rejoice, giving us peace and a sense of worth and security. That is the
true
contentment, Paul says.
Let is be practical about this: It is hard to live at that
basic,
fundamental lifestyle. The reason is, primarily, because we are
bombarded
ceaselessly with powerful appeals to buy this, send for that, borrow
from the
future to live in the present; we are encouraged to collect generous
rebates,
to believe that we all deserve much better than we are getting and that
we can
get it wholesale anyhow. All these subtle encouragements are pressed
upon us
hour-by-hour, day-by-day, in every magazine and newspaper, on every
radio and
television program, in every store window. Nothing is more universal
than the
propaganda to possess more things. Christians are up against a tough
assignment
when they are called, not to make that their objective in life. The
whole world
has made that their objective. If we do not watch, and keep alert, we
will
succumb to this pressure without even knowing it. How can we resist?
Consider
carefully these words:
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation,
into a snare, into
many senseless and hurtful desires that plunge men into ruin and
destruction.
(1 Timothy 6:9 RSV)
Here, Paul is telling us how, in every age, this subtle peril
lays hold of
our hearts: First, it comes in the form of simple temptation. Open a
magazine
and there is a picture, in living beautiful color, of a gorgeous
automobile. It
makes you drool to look at it. Walk into the airport, and it is sitting
right
in the lobby. You can go up and rub it, feel it, slobber over it. Your
neighbors have one sitting in their driveway. Every Sunday morning they
are out
worshipping it, bowing down to it, lifting up its hood, feeding it all
kinds of
expensive things.
That is temptation, and that is what we are up against. It
creates in us a
hunger to have one like it. We all feel the force and power of this. It
looks
so natural, especially when we are constantly being told that we
deserve this;
we are this kind of people. It is amazing how easily we can convince
ourselves
that we, like everybody else, have a right to have these things. That
is
temptation.
But that is not the worst. There is another stage. Paul says
that those who
want to be rich "fall into a snare." Notice where the emphasis is: It
is on the desire to be rich. It is the love of money, not money,
that is the root of all evil. That is the most misquoted
verse in
You might thing, "What is a young man with a family supposed
to do?
Isn't he supposed to try to provide for them?" Yes, he is, but what is
his
objective? Is it to make money, or is it to be a good, faithful worker,
using
his gifts and abilities to the fullest degree for the glory of God in
the scene
in which he is placed? That is something the world never thinks about.
Paul says that when you fall into temptation, and give way to
this lust for
more things, you create a snare for yourself. By that, he means that
your
possessions will soon begin to possess you. Everyone who has had any
success in
obtaining some of the things they desired soon discovers this. I am
sure many
of you could bear testimony to this. As soon as you get a shiny new
car, an
expensive gadget, a new home with all its comfort, etc., it immediately
introduces a whole new range of worries. You have to get insurance on
it, you
have to buy locks to make sure that it is not taken away from you, you must be available many
times when you would rather
be away, because your possessions demand that you take care of them.
Possessions also change your relationship with others. You
discover that
people are treating you differently because you have something that is
a symbol
of prestige or status. People no longer treat you for who you are; they
are
treating you for what you have, so you begin to get suspicious of your
friends
and your friendships. You can even get involved in court cases,
lawsuits, etc.
All this enters when the love of money starts to possess you. That is
the snare
involved.
Second, the apostle says, such people fall into "senseless and
hurtful
desires"; damaging things happen to them and to those they love. For
years
a television program aired,
One episode told of J. R.'s
son, who had left
him and gone off to live with J. R.'s
business
rival. J. R. was trying to force his son to come home. Not
understanding
anything about personal relationships, the only way he had of doing
this was to
put on the squeeze by applying financial pressure. As the situation
unfolded,
some of the results of J. R.'s
heartless, cruel
actions became apparent. One of the family members was driven to the
very edge
of suicide; another faced financial ruin; J. R.'s
mother despised him. The episode ended up with J. R. looking
very solemn,
dimly aware that somehow he had made everybody unhappy.
The love of money encourages cruelty, callousness, neglect and
shameful
indulgence. People get involved in things they never dreamed they would
do, all
in the name of power, or greed, or pleasure. I was informed that just
last week
about a man who had lost a huge sum of money. When asked how it
happened, the
man's answer was, "Through greed. I turned down the street called Greed
and I just kept right on going." "Senseless and hurtful desires that
plunge men into ruin and destruction," the apostle says. Paul lists the
final results in Verse 10:
For the love of money is the root of all evils; it is
through this
craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced their
hearts
with many pangs. (1 Timothy
When one is living to be rich, breathing it every day, working
at it as the great
objective, that, Paul
says, is a deep root of evil in
your life. You know what a root is. If you find a big, luxuriant weed
growing
in your back yard and you cut it down, although it looks like you have
gotten
rid of the weed you have not because the root is still there. After a
while the
root will send forth another shoot, and if you are not
Johnny-on-the-spot, soon
there will be another weed the same size or bigger than the first one.
That is
what the love of money is like, the apostle is saying. You can
eliminate some
of the problems that it creates but there will be another one along
very
shortly, because the root is still there, constantly producing evil in
your
life, creating situations that are disastrous to you and to others.
The second thing the love of money causes, the apostle says,
is a "wandering from the faith." The love of money drives us away
from the faith.
The final result is that such people have "pierced their
hearts with
many pangs," Paul says. Some of the
There comes a day when a final realization dawns on those who
give
themselves to the amassing of riches -- they finally come to the place
where
they have to give it all up. They can take nothing away, Paul says.
What must
be the awful feeling of an individual who awakens at last to the
realization
that his whole life has been lived for nothing! He has to leave
everything to
others to waste and spend as they like. He goes before the God of Glory
with
absolutely nothing to show for living. That is what Scripture faces us
with.
I have often referred to destination sickness
as the common illness
of our day. Destination sickness is arriving at your destination, being
where
you have always wanted to be, having everything you always wanted to
have, but
not wanting anything that you've got. Thousands of people around this
area
today are suffering from this.
Now we are going to skip down to Verse 17, because in
the intervening
paragraph the apostle deals with Timothy personally in a great passage
which we
will take next Sunday to close this study. Having said these personal
words to
Timothy, evidently Paul realizes that he has been rather negative about
riches;
perhaps he has left the impression that it is wrong to be rich. So he
adds this
postscript, in Verses 17-19, and answers the question that is
on
everyone's heart, "How should an affluent person act?" Paul answers
in two realms -- a rich man's attitudes, and his actions. First,
his attitudes. Verse 17:
As for the rich in this world, charge them not to be
haughty, nor to set
their hopes on uncertain riches but on God who richly furnishes us with
everything to enjoy. (1 Timothy
The first thing someone who has money ought to remember is, do
not let it
swell your head; do not let it make you feel you are better than
someone else.
Do not credit your cleverness, your education and your ability to spot
a good
investment as the reason you have these riches, because there are a lot
of
people just as clever, just as well educated who do not have riches.
Never
forget that being rich does not change you; you are no better than
anyone else.
When I was a boy, the symbol of snobbishness for a rich person
was a
lorgnette -- a pair of glasses on a stick (a dirty look on a stick!)
through
which a socialite would look down her nose at people. That was the sign
of
haughtiness. Today it is a patronizing smile.
The Lord Jesus spoke about "the deceitfulness of riches,"
(Matthew
I read the other day about an old Mexican laborer in
Then the second thing Paul says is, do not count on your
riches. Riches can
disappear overnight. Many wealthy people in
The third thing Paul says is to remember that it is "God who
richly
furnishes us with everything to enjoy." God is the giver. Many people
forget that. They believe the lie their own heart tells them, that they
are
responsible for their own wealth; they earned it; they performed better
than
other people. But it is God who allows that wealth to come. God is the
ultimate
giver; and he gives, as this verse says, that we might enjoy riches.
Both the Old and the New Testaments clearly indicate it is not
wrong to be
wealthy. A group of Christians today are basically working at trying to
convince us that it is wrong to have wealth at all, that the Bible is
against
it, and that we ought to give it all away. But the Bible says that God
makes
some people wealthy so that they might enjoy it. Watch wealthy people
and see
if they are enjoying their riches. If they are spending their wealth on
themselves, heaping on more and more luxury, they are not enjoying
their
riches; their riches have become dull, commonplace, and boring --
nothing but
anxiety and worry are created by them.
How do you enjoy riches? By making somebody happy with them;
that is how.
The only enjoyment riches can give is to use them in such a way that
others are
helped and blessed. That is what creates a sense of joy and gladness in
the
heart -- to know that you have been used of God to make somebody else
happy,
comfortable, relieved of distress, freed from bondage, given the food
and
shelter they need. Riches are given so that some may have the unique
privilege
of doing that.
Notice how the last verse confirms that and tells what actions
to take if we
are affluent, or if we have any money at all. Verse 18:
They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds,
liberal and generous, thus
laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they
may
take hold of the life which is life indeed. (1 Timothy
6:18-19 RSV)
There are three things: First, do good; that is, use your
money in a way
that helps people. There is a rather impersonal note there. It does not
necessarily mean to be personally involved at this point. It means use
your
money wisely to help people. And do it. Do not just talk about it, do
it. Give
funds to relief of famine, to help the needy, to set up training
schools, to
encourage the spread of the gospel, to support missionaries, to
minister to the
weak and the retarded, the old, etc.
Second, "be rich in good deeds." That has a personal element
to
it. It implies that wealthy people are to be personally involved in
things that
are good and helpful. They are not merely to give their money to good
causes,
but to personally do something. I was encouraged by reading in the last
issue
of Christianity Today an article about wealthy
Christians in
Then, finally, be "liberal and generous." There is no worse
testimony than a rich Christian who is a stingy, flint-hearted Scrooge,
grasping at every penny, squeezing every nickel until the buffalo
yells! A
Christian is to be liberal and generous. Our Lord put it best when he
said,
"Freely you have received, freely give," (Matthew 10:8b KJV). Paul
closes with two great results that will follow: First
(Verse 19a),
...thus laying up for themselves a good foundation
for the future,
(1 Timothy 6:19a RSV)
What will survive this life and carry over into the next? Not
things (we
have seen that), but there is something that will: It is people. When
you
change people's lives you are laying up treasures in heaven, and they
will be
there to meet you when you get there. That is the force of one of the
parables
of Jesus. He said to use your money to win friends so that when the
money fails
they will be there to greet you when you get to glory. That is "laying
up
treasures in heaven," (Matthew
...so that they may
take hold of the life which is life
indeed. (1 Timothy
6:19b RSV)
That is, in the present -- using wealth in such a way that you
are filled
with adventure, excitement and joy right now. That is "life indeed,"
abundant life, a full and satisfying life. There is nothing that can
contribute
more to that than using money to help people now. That is what Paul is
talking
about. Obviously, it is only to Christians that a word like this is
addressed,
because they alone can lay hold of that "life which is life indeed."
To use your money properly, as God gave it, to enjoy it to the fullest
degree
and thus use it to bless others' lives is to experience the excitement
and
adventure of the life that Jesus Christ has come to give us.
These are very practical passages. Everyone has to work them
out in terms of
his or her own situation; we cannot sit in judgment on each other in
these
areas. We must all live with the realization that some day we must
leave
everything behind and only that which we have given away will we have
in
eternity.
Thank you, Lord, for the practicality of these words. May they
help us
correct our viewpoints, and resist the badgering, bloated
misconceptions of the
world around us. Make us
willing to be joyful and
useful servants. Thank you for the gift of wealth that you have given
some
among us. We pray that all of us may use it wisely, and not live to
make money,
but live to be righteous men and women. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.