I Timothy 6:6-19 (NRSV)
6 Of course, there is great gain in
godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that
we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content
with these. 9 But
those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many
senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich
some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
11 But as for you, man of God, shun all
this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the
good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life, to which you were
called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many
witnesses. 13 In
the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in
his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep the
commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus
Christ, 15 which
he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign,
the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16 It is he alone who has immortality and dwells
in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor
and eternal dominion. Amen.
17 As
for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty, or
to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly
provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in
good works, generous, and ready to share, 19 thus storing up for themselves the
treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the
life that really is life.
Year C
September 25-October 1
September 25, 2016
Place: Cross~Wind
Title: Money Matters
September 26, 2010
Cross~Wind
Title: Why Church? Money Matters
1996; 7.0
Introduction
Contentment. This word, contained in
I Timothy 6:6, made me pause for a moment. Maybe one reason it did so is that
the word is rare in the New Testament. It made me think of a few movies. I thought
of the message of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and the movie It’s a
Wonderful Life. A less well-known move is Mr. Destiny (1990). Larry
is a man having a very bad day, ending with the boss firing him. Financially,
he and his family struggled. He did not know what he was going to do. His car
breaks down. He enters a mysterious bar. He starts telling the bartender that
his life would have been so different and better if only he had hit the pitch
in the big baseball game when he was in high school. Well, the bartender has
the power to change what happened, so he receives a look at how his life would
have been different had he hit the pitch. The big change in his new life was
that he did not marry his wife in his other life. However, in his new life, he
eventually meets her and convinces her that they had been married in another
life. At the end of the day, she says to him, “Larry, if we had such a great
life together, why did you want it changed?” Larry says, “I guess I just didn’t
know what I had.”
Contentment is a virtue like that.
It invites us to appreciate the life we have. This virtue reminds us of how
easy it can be to look upon our lives with a sense of dissatisfaction and
discontent. We could always have done something better. We hear the “you should
have” in our heads. I suppose most of us want to be happy, healthy, and at
least moderately wealthy. Human beings are that way. We want more of each as
well, which is also quite human. I know some people who are so content they
have become lazy. I am not talking about that. The proper application of the
virtue of contentment is simple. We appreciate what we have.
Money is an important part of our
lives. One of the responsibilities of the church is to help us consider the
role or place of money in our lives.
Money can
be a rather sensitive topic in churches. A Colorado pastor tells of being in a
grocery store one day and encountering a woman that she had not seen in a long
time. It was uncomfortable, but the pastor finally asked, “Is there anything
our church can do for you.” The woman responded, “Yes there is. You can stop
asking for money all the time.”
Eventually,
the pastor responded by making it the topic of a sermon. The pastor
acknowledged that the church does ask for money all the time. After all, we
never fail to pass the plate. She then enumerated the ministries and missions
of the church. What would a church look like if it did not ask for money? We
would all take turns cleaning the building, providing the music, preparing the
bulletins, doing the preaching and teaching, and spending a year on the mission
field. In winter, you would dress very warmly. It would offer no childcare,
children's church, or youth program. The pastor concluded: “A church that needs
no money would not be much of a church at all. I am glad to be part of a church
that always needs money. It means we are doing something, going somewhere,
making a difference.”[1]
Yes, you
are to “love your neighbor as yourself.” You are also to “love the
Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your
mind” (Matthew 22:37). For Christians, giving out of what we have has as
much to do with the first great commandment as with the second one.
When we
think about money, we need to remember that we are thinking about our own
spiritual well-being. Attachment to money can strangle spiritual life. The way
we use our money is part of the way we love God with all our heart, soul and
mind.
Application
The New
Testament makes it quite clear that we need to handle money with care. We can
too easily become greedy for it and envious of what others have. Giving fosters
a healthy relationship to money. It helps us re-think the notion of ownership,
for you are a steward of all the things you possess. It encourages a spirit of
contentment, thankfulness, and simplicity.
A study
reported in the Washington Times says that Americans who donate and volunteer
in religious organizations provide three-fourths of the “secular charity” as
well. It found that households that gave to a religious organization in 2000
gave 87.5% of all charitable contributions in the nation, an average of $2,100
for each household. “Givers to religious congregations are dramatically more
generous than others," said the report.[2]
Six in 10 American households give to a religious congregation and more than 85
percent of those gave to secular organizations as well. Beyond giving money,
the influence of faith extends to volunteering. 54% of regular worshippers also
volunteer, out of a population in which 32% of Americans attend. One-third of
the people give two-thirds of the volunteer time in this country.
You are
here. You are part of the good news about giving, whether in money or time. No
one has thanked you enough for all that you give.
Many times
in a sermon, I will have things for you to fill out. Today, I would like you to
hear a witness from what some of us might think of as an unusual source.
In 2001,
popular author Stephen King gave the commencement address at Vassar College.[3]
Though most people know King for his horror fiction, which many people will not
touch, many readers have noticed explicitly Christian themes in his novels, and
he has even acknowledged that in interviews. You can find some examples by
simply googling Stephen King and Christian themes.[4]
During our vacation in Sebring, FL, we made regular visits to Starbucks. We made
some new friends. One was a man who was from Maine. He came from the same area
as Stephen King. I became attentive, knowing I would soon have him as an
illustration. He said that people in the area know King and his wife were a
little off base, strange, and weird. People did not know him as a good teacher
of English. If you remember his story, Pet
Cemetery, the area in which King lives has one. The stories of King often
involved parts of the country he knew well. He then clarified. People in the
area know King as a good man and a generous man. In any case, in the Vassar
speech, he made some statements that mirror something Paul said in I Timothy
6:7: “[F]or we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing
out of it.”
While
walking down the road one day in 1999, a minivan struck and severely injured King.
In the speech, he referred to both his accident and to the earning potential of
the graduates, saying:
Well, I’ll tell you one thing
you’re not going to do, and that’s take it with you. I’m worth I don’t exactly
know how many millions of dollars ... and a couple of years ago I found out
what “you can’t take it with you” means. I found out while I was lying in the
ditch at the side of a country road, covered with mud and blood and with the
tibia of my right leg poking out the side of my jeans .... I had a MasterCard
in my wallet, but when you’re lying in the ditch with broken glass in your
hair, no one accepts MasterCard. ... We all know that life is ephemeral, but on
that particular day and in the months that followed, I got a painful but
extremely valuable look at life’s simple backstage truths: We come in naked and
broke. We may be dressed when we go out, but we’re just as broke. ... And how long
in between? ... Just the blink of an eye.
King went on to discuss what the graduates could do with
their earnings in the time they had in that eye-blink:
... for a short period ... you
and your contemporaries will wield enormous power: the power of the economy,
the power of the hugest military-industrial complex in the history of the
world, the power of the American society you will create in your own image.
That’s your time, your moment. Don’t miss it.
Then he added:
Of all the power which will
shortly come into your hands ... the greatest is undoubtedly the power of
compassion, the ability to give. We have enormous resources in this country —
resources you yourselves will soon command — but they are only yours on loan.
... I came here to talk about charity, and I want you to think about it on a
large scale. Should you give away what you have? Of course you should. I want
you to consider making your lives one long gift to others, and why not? ... All
you want to get at the getting place ... none of that is real. All that lasts
is what you pass on. The rest is smoke and mirrors.
Finally, King mentioned a specific local charity called
Dutchess Outreach, which helps the hungry, the sick and the homeless. He said
he was making a $20,000 contribution to it and challenged audience members to
do the same. Moreover, here is one more thing he said:
Giving isn’t about the receiver
or the gift but the giver. It’s for the giver. One doesn’t open one’s wallet to
improve the world, although it’s nice when that happens; one does it to improve
one’s self. I give because it’s the only concrete way I have of saying that I’m
glad to be alive and that I can earn my daily bread doing what I love. ...
Giving is a way of taking the focus off the money we make and putting it back
where it belongs — on the lives we lead, the families we raise, the communities
which nurture us.
Devotional
writer Evelyn Underhill would likely have agreed with King. She once said that
the saints she knew personally were so generous that they were often unable to
keep anything for themselves. Some Christians have taken this to the point of
vows of poverty. Such vows clearly are not possible for most of us, but that
increases our spiritual need not to hold onto wealth too tightly.
Conclusion
In the
church, we often refer to certain practices as important for our growth in the
Spirit. They include prayer, Bible study, confession of sins, worship,
submission, service and others, and we sometimes refer to them as “spiritual
disciplines.” The disciplines help us avoid superficiality in our faith, which
Richard J. Foster, who has written a book on the disciplines, calls “the curse
of our age,” adding “the doctrine of instant satisfaction is a primary
spiritual problem.” He explains that the spiritual disciplines “call us to move
beyond surface living into the depths. They invite us to explore the inner
caverns of the spiritual realm.”
Generosity
is also a spiritual discipline, which means it helps us avoid superficiality in
our faith.
So yes, the
church is always asking for money. However, it is also always asking you to
pray, read the Bible, confess your sins, do good deeds and attend worship. All
those things are good for our souls and help us go deeper into our faith.
In
terms of “Money Matters,” Church helps us to put money in its proper
perspective and gives an opportunity to give generously. Yes, we do so to make
a difference in the world, of course, but we also give for the sake of our own
spiritual well-being and health.
Going deeper
I
Timothy 6:6-19 is a section offering some parting advice around the theme of
wealth.
In context, the passage contrasts God’s
true servants with shameless ministers who imagine that “godliness is a means
of gain” (1 Timothy 6:5b). These greedy pretenders of the gospel are arrogant,
lack understanding, and relish the opportunity to engage in fruitless debates.
Despite well-conceived schemes to impress others with their purported knowledge
of the faith, they nonetheless display a multitude of unsavory attributes such
as “envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, and wrangling” (1 Timothy
6:3-5a). Yet, why do the persons who appear to be teachers in the church engage
in this behavior? Here, we see the temptation that wealth represents. Very simply,
they seek above everything else to increase their own financial status. In
short, the adage — “by their fruits you will know them” — proves to be true yet
again.
After
describing these ungodly teachers, the author will offer an alternative model
for how honorable teachers and ministers of the faith ought to live. Through a
series of contrasts in verses 6-19, he instructs Timothy and other believers in
the art of righteous living. As he puts it in 6:3b, he offers “teaching that is
in accordance with godliness.”
I Timothy 6:6-19 (NRSV)
6:6-10 becomes a homily on
moderation. 6 Of course, there is great gain in
godliness combined with contentment; [The word translated in the NRSV, NIV
and elsewhere as "contentment" [autarkeis] implies, in a positive sense,
self-sufficiency. The only other time we see this word in the New Testament is in
II Corinthians 9:8. Thus, the first attribute that characterizes genuine
believers is that they are content with daily provisions. We seem always to
want what we cannot have instead of wanting what we already have. Paul argues that contentment is a
key to health, that happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you
have. Contentment is recognizing that we are dependent on God's provision
("our daily bread" as Jesus puts it). It is not something we earn,
but is rather a gift from God. False
teachers appropriately think, “godliness is a means of gain” (v. 5b), for it
is, but they are wrongheaded about the type of gain that godliness brings. True
believers know that godliness brings gain — even “great gain” — but only when
“combined with contentment.” False teachers are never content — as evidenced by
their multiple maladies (e.g., conceit, envy, slander, etc.).] 7 for
we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; [Then,
the author offers a bit of wisdom that had already become a popular proverb in
his day and is part of our common wisdom today: we brought nothing into the
world, so that we can take nothing out of it. The author is recalling the words
of Job, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return
there; the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the
Lord" (Job 1:21). Faithful people understand the fundamental reality of a
human life: we bring nothing into this world and we take nothing with us when
we die. Not only that, earthly goods cannot satisfy a human's soul (cf. Luke
12:15-31). Wealth is not essential to one’s well-being. Wealth is not the
proper vocation of the Christian. Consequently, it is senseless to invest one’s
time and energy with no restraint in order to pursue that which cannot last. He
then applies this wisdom in a specific way.] 8 but if we have food and clothing, we
will be content with these. [The translation of "food and
clothing" is weak. The point is that we have what is necessary to meet the
needs of our body: all forms of nourishment, covering for our bodies (garments
and a dwelling). The false teachers obviously wanted more than just food and
clothing; otherwise, they would not have been envious and mistakenly thought
that godliness was a way to secure additional income. Interestingly, he does
not mention shelter as a basic physical need. Beyond that, the passage reminds
us that most of us want more than the basics.] 9 But those who want to be rich fall into
temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge
people into ruin and destruction. [The desire for material riches is
senseless and hurtful. Recognizing harmful desire is an important part of our
spiritual growth. The desire for worldly wealth is a challenge for the
Christian community. The desire to be rich leads to other temptations that trap
humans. One craving gives way to others, and soon satisfying oneself plunges
the self into destruction. Assuming that it was and remains a monumental
challenge for believers — both ancient and contemporary — to put these exhortations
into practice, the next words serve to highlight the contrast between the false
teachers and true believers even further. False teachers who think that
godliness is a means for material gain and “those who want to be rich” incur
greater consequences than just envy, conceit and the like. In the Greek, this
verse has a recurring letter whose alliteration helps to fix this verse in the
mind, and drive home the point that these cravings lead to ruin and
destruction, instead of the "great gain" of verse 6. Those who desire
to be sick fall into temptation.] 10 For the love of money is a root of all
kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from
the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. [He views wealth as a
peril. He begins with stressing that godliness and contentment are great gains
for followers of Jesus. The author knows that a godly person is not interested
in such wealth, but rather in inner resources that are far beyond what earth
can offer. The chain of events in verses 6-10 moves to its ultimate point:
first it is noted that some humans desire the wrong things (material wealth),
then they fall into temptation and are caught up in senseless and harmful
desires, in which they are irrevocably ruined and destroyed. All of this
reflection leads to another bit of proverbial wisdom, both then and now: the
love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Money itself is not the problem. To
use an example from another part of our lives, sugars and fats are not the
problem. The problem is our intemperate use of them. We actually need them to
live. In a similar way, we need money. However, we need it in moderation and we
need it in perspective. He is not arguing that the love of money is the one and
only root of all evil under the sun. The definite article does not occur in
front of the word "root." There are other derivations of evil besides
the love of money. Money will lead to many forms of evil. The verb and object
progression of verse 9 serves to emphasize the full extent of a future disaster
that awaits anyone who loves money, the love of which is “a root of all kinds
of evil” (v. 10a). In their desire to be rich, they wander from the faith confessed
by the church and harm themselves by their attitude and conduct. Though
ominous, these moral warnings resonate with similar ones from other ancient
philosophers.[5]]
[I Timothy 6:11-16 is a charge to Timothy. They
focus upon the requirements placed upon Timothy as an officeholder in the
church.] [Verses 11 and 12 allude to a rite of initiation.] 11 But as
for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith,
love, endurance, gentleness. 12 Fight the
good fight of the faith; [The
present time is the time between the passion of Jesus and the anticipation of
his second coming as the time when the baptized are to engage the battle (II
Timothy 4:7; Philippians 3:12-14; Acts 20:24, 28-32).] take hold of [epilabou] the
eternal life, to which you were called and for which you made the good
confession in the presence of many witnesses. [The second attribute that characterizes disciples
is that they put away harmful desire, the focus on gaining wealth, and the love
of money. Rather than seeking wealth and suffering the consequences that such a
desire entails, a faithful minister like Timothy and other godly people are to
make other virtues the focus of their lives, such as “righteousness, godliness,
faith, love, endurance, [and] gentleness.” Instead of drifting away from the
faith, they are to remain true to the faith they confess in the church and
fight for it. This fight is for eternal life. Rather than being consumed by the
pursuit of wealth, faithful teachers are concerned about those matters that
transcend this world. God calls every godly person into this battle, but
teachers of the church engage in this fight in a personal way. In a sense, the
temptation for teachers of the church is greater, precisely because they spend
so much time with these matters. Moreover, “the good confession [made] in the
presence of many witnesses” — and also “in the presence of God” — acknowledges
that one intentionally participates in this valiant fight.] [Verse 13 contains
a creedal statement about God and then about Christ.]
13 In
the presence of God,
who
gives life to all things,
and
of Christ Jesus,
who
in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession,
[Indeed, fighting the good fight places the godly
person alongside Jesus, who made the same confession before Pilate. It also
bonds the person with Jesus, since they share in a common fight.]
[Verses 14-15 have
some of the qualities of a hymn. The result is that the writer may be recalling
specific aspects of the ordination of Timothy.]
I
charge you 14
to
keep the commandment without spot or blame
until
the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ,
[Instead of succumbing to temptation, being trapped by
desires, and falling into calamity — on account of greed — godly servants like
Timothy are “to keep the commandment (i.e., the pursuit of righteousness)
without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ”.]
15 which
he will bring about at the right time—
he
who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
16 It
is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light,
whom
no one has ever seen or can see;
to
him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.
[This section ends with an elaborate doxology that shows
the author's familiarity with the Hebrew Scriptures.
"the blessed and only Sovereign" (Deuteronomy
6:4; Psalm 41:12; Isaiah 49:12-26; Daniel 4:35),
"King of kings" (Ezekiel 26:7; Daniel 2:37; Ezra
7:12),
"Lord of lords" (Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalm 136:3),
"he alone who has immortality" (Psalm 36:9;
Isaiah 40:28; Daniel 4:34),
"dwells in unapproachable light" (Exodus 24:17,
Psalm 104:2),
"whom no one has ever seen or can see" (Exodus
33:20),
"to him be honor and eternal dominion" (Psalm
41:13; 72:19; 89:52).]
[I Timothy 6:17-19
resumes the theme of those rich in possessions. The passage contrasts with
Christians rich in the age to come. The wealthy are wealthy in this age only.] 17 As for those who in the present age are
rich, command them not to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty
of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our
enjoyment. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good
works, generous, and ready to share, 19 thus
storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so
that they may take hold of [epilabwntai]
the
life that really is life. [The wealthy now receive some advice. Apparently,
these believers are not eager to be rich, but are rich already. They risk seduction
by harmful desire and its disastrous consequences. They have the temptation of
pride and arrogance in relation to others in the church. Their temptation is to
trust riches rather than God. His advice is to keep doing good and in fact
become rich in doing good, which will include generosity with their wealth and
readiness to share. They need to use their wealth correctly, toward other
people. They should do this in the spirit of Acts 2:42-44. The result will be
the treasure that truly matters in that it lasts in eternity. They will have
eternal life. At the time of Judgment, the believer will not have to give an
account of his or her good works; Christ will do it for the one who uses wealth
to do good works (cf. Matthew 25:34-40).]
[In sum, faithful ministers and
believers are engaged in a dramatic contest. Two distinct qualities mark those who
genuinely participate in this struggle for eternal life. The first
characteristic they display is an attitude of contentment. The second
characteristic entails two opposing, but related behaviors. They are to shun
anything that whets their appetite for money and pursue everything that
promotes “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, [and] gentleness.”]
[1] I am sure many of you have heard of the joke, where
one person throws money into the air, and says that whatever God wants God will
keep. [After the coins fall to the ground], Well, I guess God did not want the
money because God let it fall to the ground. The implication, of course, is
that we get to use the money in any way we want. Looking at it in another way,
however, God, who inhabits eternity, has no use for the money. When we are with
God in eternity, we will have no use of it either. Maybe the lesson is that God
wants us to use it right here, as one of the ways we worship and serve God. The
lesson is that we need to learn to place money in its proper perspective.
[2]
Issued by Independent Sector, a nonprofit research organization, and the
National Council of Churches.
[5]
(cf. I. Howard Marshall, The Pastoral
Epistles [ICC; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1999], 652, note 55).
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