Richard

The nineties have been known as the boom years. Many young entrepreneurs have become millionaires by starting dot.com and other tech companies. Wealth was a hot topic in the nineties. Though the year 2000 has brought a rather severe correction to Wall Street, large numbers of people are still striving to climb the wealth ladder and stake their claim.

The prosperity of western culture generates several reactions and emotions. Greed is always a temptation, but so is the other side of the coin: fear of what might happen if prosperity ceases. For those who build their hope on material things, security is tied to wealth. Paul’s instruction in 1Timothy 6:6ff is relevant for Christians and non-Christians alike. He makes it very clear that the overarching purpose of the Christian life is neither financial gain nor wealth. Rather it is godliness with contentment. The root meaning of the word “godliness” is piety toward God and respect. William Hendriksen translates contentment as “soul-sufficiency.”

For those who are in the acquiring stage of life, there is ample warning from Paul. He first states a fact -“we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we are not able to take anything out of it.” You do not see any U-Hauls in a funeral procession. The Lord’s provisions of food and clothing should lead to contentment, but such thinking is very hard to practice in our materialistic society. Those who are eager to get rich face many dangers. They crave the material pleasures and possessions that the world has to offer. As an angel of light, Satan tempts Christians even as he tempted the Lord when he took him to a high mountain and offered him the kingdoms of this world. The hymn “All For Jesus” describes such danger, “Worldlings prize their gems of beauty, cling to gilded toys of dust, boast of wealth and fame and pleasure…” There is no godliness in that lifestyle.

Paul says very forthrightly, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” It is especially sobering to note that this warning is directed toward church members. They have wandered from the faith and have experienced many pains. This love of the material is often accompanied with dissatisfaction, anxiety, envy, and selfishness. Such a love propels the person into thinking of himself as the center of his universe. Do you need to take heed to Paul’s warning about money?

In 1 Timothy 6:17-19 Paul instructs Timothy on how to teach and lead people who are already rich. Because of what wealth often does to people, they need to be dealt with forthrightly. Paul tells Timothy to “command” or “charge” them how to view and handle their wealth.

First, they are to remember that riches are transitory; therefore, they should not be arrogant or snobbish toward others. Humility and thankfulness are the more appropriate reactions to wealth. The temptation for the rich is to put their hope and trust in their wealth, yet Paul says they must be reminded to put their hope and trust in God. God in his sovereign mercy provides “everything for our enjoyment.” Neither wealth nor money is inherently evil, but when they become idols, which one loves and trusts then they become evil. Jesus said that a man cannot have two masters (God and mammon); he will love the one and hate the other. The parables of the rich landowner (Luke 12:13-21), and the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31) teach the pitfall of putting one’s hope in earthly riches.

Second, what are the wealthy to do with their riches? Timothy as a pastor/teacher was to command them to do good and be rich in good deeds, to be generous and share with those in need. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution recently ran an article entitled “Philanthropy Basics 101.” The article reported that in this time of unprecedented prosperity, parents are searching for ways to instill the value of giving in their children. It quoted the author of a new book which said, “Parents have become more affluent, and they worry that because they have a big house and fancy car that their kids only know that level of living. They worry that their children don’t have a sense of what others are going through and don’t know how to share their wealth.”

This concern is growing across the nation. One private school is even offering a high school course in philanthropy. Studies show that children are more open to giving and volunteering, which is a good sign. The church should be on the forefront of teaching parents and children the importance of giving to those in need. The subject of money has been taboo in families for generations; now the barriers are coming down. One eighteen-year- old said, “The course showed me how blessed I am, and being so blessed, how important it is to help others.” How is your congregation taught about the subject of money? Do they understand that giving in this world is the way to lay up treasure in the age to come? Do they really understand that giving to others is the way to truly strike it rich?

Living in a time that is short on commitment and sacrifice, Christians are often unaware of how much we are subconsciously affected by postmodern culture. This is particularly true when it comes to stewardship. We often lack a biblical world and life view when it comes to being good stewards of our time, spiritual gifts, and financial resources.

God tells Job in 41:11, “Everything under heaven belongs to me.” And in Psalm 24:1 David testifies, “The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” It seems that Christians believe this truth about God in a general way, yet when it comes to the everyday routines of life, it is hard to think of ourselves as stewards rather than owners. The thought of having to give an account to God for what we have done with the gifts He has given is lost in the actual managing of those gifts.

The worldly message that constantly bombards our minds is “Get it while you can!” Before we know it, we are caught by the twin vices of accumulation and consumption. H. Norman Wright in his book Simplify Your Life describes the consumer oriented person as someone “who drives a bank-financed car on a bond-financed highway on credit-card gas to open a charge account at a department store so he can fill his savings-and-loan financed home with installment-purchased furniture.” To some degree we have all been enticed to spend more than we earn, and thereby create indebtedness rather than wealth. Inappropriate accumulation and consumption of things lead to poor stewardship of time, spiritual gifts, and financial resources. These vices often lead to workaholism; there is no time for family or worship. People are so busy working to get out of debt that they don’t have time to build relationships with those they love. There is no time to use spiritual gifts to edify the body of Christ. And finally, there are no financial resources to be given to kingdom work because of the need to retire debt or accumulate more things. These are just some examples of how the lack of a Christian world and life view will stifle generosity and lead to poor stewardship in every area of life.

Ron Blue in his book Generous Living defines generosity as “the willingness to give or share what you have to benefit others.” That means your time, your abilities, and your financial resources. He also says that generosity is the one ingredient that makes true freedom possible. As a matter of fact, he says if he could boil down to one sentence everything he has learned, it would be this, “Generosity and financial freedom are inextricably linked.”

The Apostle Paul uses an agriculture principle to challenge the church in regard to generosity in showing mercy. “Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously…. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written; he has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” As we choose what we want to give to the poor, we should keep in mind this principle of sowing and reaping. The choice we make will also testify to our faith in God. Paul says in verse 8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you…”

If we give sparingly, we may be making a statement that God is not able to make His grace abound to us in all things, in all times, and in all we need. When opportunities arise to show mercy to the poor and those in need, do we really believe that God is able to take care of us by providing all we need, so that we can abound in every good work? Obviously the Philippians did because Paul wrote in Philippians 4:19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Paul has already shown in 2 Corinthians 8:3 that the Macedonians believed God was able because they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability. Could it be said that our generosity depends on how big a view of God we have?

Again, Ron Blue says, “We know when we are being financially generous-it is evidenced by the dents in our checkbooks.” Does your checkbook reveal dents in accumulation and consumption, or commitment and sacrifice?