A Word to the Wealthy, 1 Timothy 6:17-21
I
don’t normally read novels. Frankly, I
find genuine history more thrilling anyway.
However, sometimes fiction can educate us. The novel, The Testament, is one of these.
It contains perhaps one of the best descriptions of the futility of
wealth as a source of one’s ultimate happiness.
Though the man who speaks these words is a fictional character, the sentiments
really are not fictional at all. The
novel begins with the words of a dying billionaire, Troy Phelan:
Down to the last day, even the
last hour now. I'm an old man, lonely and unloved, sick and hurting and tired
of living. I am ready for the hereafter; it has to be better than this.
I own the tall glass building in
which I sit, and 97 percent of the company housed in it, below me, and the land
around it half a mile in three directions, and the two thousand people who work
here and the other twenty thousand who do not, and I own the pipeline under the
land that brings gas to the building from my fields in Texas, and I own the
utility lines that deliver electricity, and I lease the satellite unseen miles
above by which I once barked commands to my empire flung far around the world.
My assets exceed eleven billion dollars. I own silver in Nevada and copper in
Montana and coffee in Kenya and coal in Angola and rubber in Malaysia and
natural gas in Texas and crude oil in Indonesia and steel in China. My company
owns companies that produce electricity and make computers and build dams and
print paperbacks and broadcast signals to my satellite. I have subsidiaries
with divisions in more countries than anyone can find. I once owned all the appropriate toys-the
yachts and jets and blondes, the homes in Europe, farms in Argentina, an island
in the Pacific, thoroughbreds, even a hockey team. But I've grown too old for toys.
The money
is the root of my misery.[1]
That
last sentence is almost a paraphrase of Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6:10: “For
the love of money is the root of all evil.”
The experience of guys like Troy Phelan has been duplicated in real
individuals over and over again. It
gives one pause to think how much evil wealth has actually caused some people.
It
is naïve, however, to try to remove the misery caused by wealth by saying that
we should just all be poor.
Unfortunately, at some points in its history the church has taught that
there is a sort of saintliness to poverty.
We sometimes think that a Christian with no money is somehow more holy
than a Christian with a lot of money.
But
that would be wrong.
You
see, the problem with Troy Phelan was not that he had a lot of money. In fact, his last words are really a
misdiagnosis of the problem. Though his
words are close to Paul’s, they are in fact different. Paul didn’t say that money is the root of
misery; he said that the love of
money is the root of misery. It’s not
the possession of money that is the problem, it is a wrong attitude associated
with its possession that is the problem.
Phelan’s problem can be summarized in the words of Jesus to another man
consumed with the possession of wealth: “Take heed, and beware of covetousness:
for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he
possesseth” (Luke 12:15).
But
how does a wealthy person who is a believer live a consistent Christian life,
given the temptations that wealth brings with it? Now I think this is a very relevant question
for all of us, because in the West, we are
wealthy compared to most of the rest of the world. We are probably even wealthy compared to the
wealthy in the first century church of Ephesus.
So when we read these words, it is unhelpful to think of Donald Trump or
Bill Gates, or even the millionaire neighbor who lives down the street. It doesn’t matter if you are considered
middle class in America. The fact of the
matter is that these words are for you and me.
It’s
possible that Paul penned these words because he didn’t want people taking the
wrong conclusion away from verses 5-10.
Though it is wrong to set your heart on money or to use wealth in the
wrong way, it’s simply not wrong to have wealth if you possess it in a way that
is consistent with faith in Christ. And
that is what Paul shows us in these verses.
He shows us what we are to be
– having a God-centered mindset, verse 17; what we are to do – embracing a giving lifestyle, verse 18; and why we are to be
and to do in this way – expecting a gracious reward, verse 19.
A God-Centered Mindset
Paul
exhorts Timothy in verse 17: “Charge them that are rich in this world, that
they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God,
which giveth us richly all things to enjoy.”
There are two common sinful attitudes that often attach themselves to
those who are wealthy: a false sense of self-importance and a false sense of
security.[2] Paul addresses both in this verse.
First,
he warns against a sense of self-importance: “be not highminded.” Paul uses a similar word in Romans 12:3, when
he warns Christians in general about thinking too much of themselves: “For I
say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to
think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly,
according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.” So though this is a problem for everyone, it
is accentuated by wealth. Apart from
grace, we would tend to think that our life does
consist in the things we possess, so that the more we possess the better we are. We begin to think we are superior to others,
that we get to play by different rules.
But God
is not pleased with pride. “Pride goeth
before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov. 16:18). The apostle John warns of “the pride of life”
(1 Jn. 2:16). If we begin to let our
possessions blind us into thinking we are something, then we are just setting
ourselves up for a big disappointment. And if you belong to Christ, you can be sure
that he loves you too much to let your wealth get in the way of worship.
Consider
what happened to Enron, a huge corporation that collapsed into bankruptcy in
2001 through unethical practices and questionable accounting schemes. Thousands of shareholders lost everything
they had as a result. One commentator
has made the remark that “[t]hose who ran Enron to the position of becoming one
of the most admired companies in America are referred to in book and film as
‘the smartest guys in the room.’ Apparently, they themselves thought the same
thing. A culture of superiority permeated the Enron corporation, due in no
small part to their success. But the reason for Enron's decline also has to do
with that culture. Although Enron famously had a code of ethics in place, they
just as famously ignored it. Enron's top priority was profitability. As long as
even the illusion that money was being made held, nothing else mattered.”[3] It was their false sense of self-importance
that led to their demise. If we’re not
careful, this same attitude can lead us into real spiritual problems.
Another
problem that often comes with wealth is a false sense of security. Thus, Paul says that the rich are not to
“trust in uncertain riches.” The irony
here is that at the end of the day, everyone knows that wealth is
uncertain. Nevertheless, if we are not
careful, we will begin to put our trust in what we possess. We will begin to think if we just had a
little more money, then all our problems would be solved. When we get to this place, we need to hear
the words of the psalmist: “if riches increase, set not your heart upon them”
(Ps. 62:10).
It
is true that while some people lose it all, yet some people live and die
wealthy. During this life, at least,
money provided for all their needs.
Nevertheless, we must not overlook the fact that in the end everyone
does lose it all. Death is the great
bankrupter. That’s why Paul prefaces his
words with the phrase, “Charge them that are rich in this life….” The wealth
that we possess now will not follow us into the age to come. Therefore, it just doesn’t make any sense to
hold onto it.
The
way we root these sinful attitudes out is by following Paul’s advice: instead
of adopting an attitude of arrogance and finding our security in riches, we
need to “trust . . . in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to
enjoy.” We need to remember that, even
if we have a lot of land, or money in the bank, or profitable investments, it
is God who gives us everything that we have.
God wanted the Israelites to understand that is was he “who fed thee
with in the wilderness with manna, which they fathers knew not, that he might
humble thee, and that he might prove thee, to do thee good at thy latter end”
(Deut. 8:16). On the other hand, he did
not want them saying, “’My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this
wealth.’ But thou shalt remember the
LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deut.
8:17,18).
It
is far more reasonable to trust in God than it is to trust in our wealth. For riches may depart, but God never forsakes
those who belong to him and put their hope in him. The author of Hebrews exhorts you to “let
your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as
ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee or forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my
helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me” (Heb. 13:5-6). Ryken puts it well: “The only safe place to
put our trust is in God himself. All
prosperity comes from him. Daily bread
comes from him, not from one’s paycheck.
Tuition payments come from him, not from a scholarship fund. Security for old age comes from him, not from
a retirement account. Thus, the only
place to put all true confidence is in God, in whom we have everything we
need.”[4]
In
fact, I think that the way to truly enjoy our earthly possessions is not to
find our security in them but in God. We
are often like a child who is given a toy as a gift, but because he doesn’t
want to lose it to another sibling, ends up holding onto it or fighting over it
instead of playing with it. It is very
difficult to enjoy something onto which you place your security and sense of
meaning. You will end up spending all
your energy trying to protect your investment and worrying over it instead of
enjoying it. I remember a man telling about
his father-in-law who was so good at hoarding money and not spending it, that he
died a millionaire, even though he never made a lot of money during the course
of his life. Yet he never really enjoyed
much of it at all. He spent all his time
trying to keep it that he never really got to enjoy it.
It
is only when we can say, “Lord, even if tomorrow you take everything that I
have, I still have you, and therefore I will still have joy and hope and
peace,” that we will be able to truly enjoy what God has given us. That is why Paul says that God is the one who
gives us “richly all things to enjoy.” We are rich because God made us rich, and
therefore we are free to enjoy those riches.
But since our hope is in God and not in the riches, our hope is not
destroyed when the earthly riches go away.
A Giving Lifestyle
John
Wesley once said, “Get all you can. Save
all you can. Give all you can.” If you can do the last, you can do the first
two without covetousness. Thus, Paul
goes on to say that along with being
a certain way, we are to be doing
certain things and these things can be summarized under the banner of
giving. He writes: “that they do good,
that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate”
(verse 18).
Notice
that the first two items have little or nothing to do with money. Doing good is what characterized the ministry
of Jesus (cf. Acts 10:38), and he certainly had little money! This is important because we so often equate
doing good with throwing money at something.
Sometimes all that is needed is your time and a willingness to invest
your gifts in others. Everyone,
regardless of where they fall on the pay-scale can do good and be rich in good
works. But of course Paul is telling
those who are rich in worldly goods to not forget that they also need to be
rich in good works.
That
being said, we should also be “ready to distribute” and “willing to
communicate.” These two phrases do
involve putting our wallets toward good causes.
The ESV translates these two phrases by “to be generous and ready to
share.” A giving lifestyle is the
natural outflow of a God-centered mindset.
If our hope is in God, and not in what we possess, and if we recognize
that God has given us freely and richly all things to enjoy, then would it not
be the greatest contradiction if our lives are not characterized by
generosity?
I
know that I am not as generous as I should be.
I want to be more generous, to always be ready to share. That is going to take some intentionality on
my part if this is to characterize all
of my life. It will take some
intentionality on your part as well. For
some of us, it will mean that we think about how to spend our time more for
others; for others, it will mean that we think about how to spend our money
more for other. We need to be like the
Good Samaritan and to hear the words of Jesus: “Go and do thou likewise.”
A Gracious Reward
In
verses 17 and 18, Paul is telling us what we are to be and do. Now he tells us why: “Laying up in store for
themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold
on eternal life” (verse 19).
It’s
important to get this verse right. Paul
is not saying that we can buy our way into heaven, or that if we give enough
money to the poor or spend enough time doing good deeds, that we will earn
enough points to get eternal life. That’s
not the reason they should be generous. Rather,
he is saying that those who put their hope in God and out of that hope give
generously of their time and money are the kind of people who are setting their
affections on things above and not on things on the earth (cf. Col. 3:1-3). These are those who are “looking for that
blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus
Christ (Tit. 2:13). It is in this way
that we store up treasure for ourselves for the future and take hold of that
which is truly life.
So
why should be generous? We should
because no matter how much we give away now, our true treasure cannot be taken
away. In fact, this kind of mindset is
put on display by the author of Hebrews.
Some of his audience had lost a lot of earthly possessions because of
their care for other persecuted Christians.
But they did it anyway. Why? We are given the reason in Hebrews 10:32-34:
But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye
were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; partly, whilst ye
were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst
ye became companions of them that were so used.
For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling
of your goods, knowing that he have in heaven a better and an enduring
substance.
Our
hope is in God, who gives not only good things now to enjoy, but eternal life
in his presence. And this gift is a gift
of grace, given to us through Jesus Christ who purchased salvation and bestows
it freely on all who believe on him. In
other words, if you believe the gospel of grace, you are going to be a generous
person.
And
in the end, the gospel permeates everything we do. At least, it ought to. Perhaps that is the reason Paul ends this
epistle the way he does: “O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust,
avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so
called; which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee. Amen” (verses 20-21). “That which is committed to thy trust” – the
deposit – is nothing less and nothing more than the gospel which Paul committed
to Timothy. It is so important because
it not only makes us wise to salvation, but it shows us how to live and why to
live the way we ought.
Let’s
be faithful to the gospel. Let’s live it
out in lives of grace to others. Let’s
tell it out to others in words and deeds.
In so doing, we will find that God’s grace is truly with us.
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