This week's Bible study will be 1st Timothy chapter 6

Setting the Record Straight About Wealth and Money

[1^st Timothy chapter 6]

Last week when we finished chapter five of 1^st Timothy, we read the apostle Paul warning Timothy about entanglement in the sins of others. Some sins, Paul wrote, go ahead of those who are sinning, which is the true origin of a bad reputation. Other sins, Paul wrote, follow after those who are sinning, and so those who are on the receiving end of those type of sins don't find out until it's too late. So, the really sneaky sinners – who do so deliberately and repeatedly – are (sometimes) clever enough to conceal the true purpose of their activities. The ones whose sins go before them, who have the worst reputations, aren't as innovative or imaginative, but they are so ruthless about achieving their objectives in life that they often don't care who knows what they are up to or not. So Timothy, who was likely in his twenties at the time the apostle Paul was writing this, was being warned about shady characters who ingratiate themselves within churches for their personal gain. Bearing that in mind, in this sixth and final chapter of 1^st Timothy, Paul moves on from direct threats within the Body of Christ to the root cause of the above mentioned sins – greed.

“All who are under the yoke of slavery should consider their masters worthy of full respect, so that God's name and our teaching may not be slandered. Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers, and dear to them. These are the things you are to teach and urge on them. If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree with the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to Godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about the words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain. But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and have pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1st Timothy chapter six, verses 1-10, NIV)

As to verse one where slavery is mentioned, some would dismiss this as something from a bygone era when slavery was an institution and a way of life. In actuality, this first verse of chapter six is very applicable today in an era of falling wages, long-term unemployment (particularly for the older and most experienced workers), human trafficking, and the epidemic of homelessness. To put this into perspective, the Federal Reserve was established a century ago in 1913. Using that as a benchmark for the buying power of the dollar and figuring economic inflation into the equation, one dollar in 1913 is worth four cents today. (By the way, that works out to an inflation rate over the last 100 years of just over 2,000%! So, if you hear anyone in or out of church that says hyper-inflation is coming because it's mentioned in Biblical prophecy, I've got some news for those people. Hyper-inflation is already here, it started 100 years ago, and it was done in a really sneaky way. Wake up, people! The economic futures of your grand-children have already been stolen from them!!) At any rate, this ties in with modern slavery around the world. Individual take-home pay no longer covers even the most basic essentials for modern living. If your income is less than your monthly expenses, you're a slave, like it or not. I would rather be vilified for telling the truth than be popular for telling a lie, but that's just the way it is. But due respect is still due to your employer despite all this. You don't have to like them, but that does not excuse us from being the best employee we can possibly be. Remember that God is watching us. The best revenge in such circumstances is to save up enough money to start your own business.

“Those who have believing masters are not to show less respect for them because they are brothers. Instead, they are to serve them even better, because those who benefit from their service are believers ... These are the things you are to teach and urge on them.” If your boss or supervisor is a born-again believer like yourself, we are to be good workers here on earth while maintaining our Spiritual equality, since all are equal in the sight of God. Lead by example to your co-workers, and if you have children then that goes double. Do it all for the glory of the Lord as a Spiritual act of praise to Almighty God, and He will reward you. Trust me on this point because I'm speaking from experience. “If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree with the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to Godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about the words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men … who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” Sounds familiar, doesn't it? If anyone teaches subject matter in or out of church that contradicts the Word of God, they are guilty of propagating false doctrines and bogus “religion”. Today in the US alone there are well over 400 different Protestant denominations alone, and all are teaching just as many different versions of Christianity. All of these various divisions within the greater Church even preach against one another, and some even condemn each other. They are forgetting that judgment and condemnation (or not) is God's job and not ours. Instead, we are to love our enemies because Jesus said that this is mandatory, not optional. “If you love me”, Jesus said, “keep my commandments”.

There are those “who think that godliness is a means to financial gain”, and these people are seriously in error, to put it mildly. This looks and reads like the modern-day purveyors of the so-called “prosperity gospel”. If you want to get anything from God, they tell us, you must first give, and money is the primary thing they seek to obtain. The truth of the matter is that God doesn't need our money. Granted, the church needs some positive cash flow to remain solvent. The rent or mortgage on the building must be paid, ditto for the light bill, plus the pastor's needs and those of his/her family, and let's not forget about community outreach while we're at it. But giving to the church for the sole express purpose of getting something back in return, such as a new car and a bigger house that probably wasn't really needed in the first place, is diametrically opposed to the teachings of Christ as well as the writings of the apostle Paul. In point of fact, quite the reverse is true. When we give, we do so out of an intense desire to help support the church of our choice. Nothing is expected in return since our contributions are done not out of a sense of duty, but out of love for God, as it is written, “God loves a cheerful giver”. Those who think that financial success and the Gospel of Christ go hand-in-hand are way off the mark. They have been completely deceived. Break the chains of the prosperity gospel and set yourselves free! Remember what Jesus said: “You cannot worship both God and money”.

“But Godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap ...”. There you go, everyone, the proof is in the Spiritual pudding. As you can see, Paul – like Christ before him – was what we would call a minimalist in the early 21^st century. They, like myself, scoff at those who think that material wealth somehow makes one a better person. In fact, quite the reverse is true as you can see. I try to practice this very thing myself. I'm retired and on a fixed income. I don't derive a salary from this website, or from whatever blog you may be reading at the moment. It's not that I don't need one, but it's nice that once in a while somebody comes along and makes a donation or purchases a book or a t-shirt. Still, the fact that I'm not very prosperous usually doesn't bother me much. I no longer own a car and I have never owned property. I use Atlanta's public transit system to get around. I sneer at million-dollar houses and cars with six-figure price tags. And I, as an unpaid but nevertheless well-rewarded ambassador for Jesus Christ, have also in recent years become a minimalist who has no use for the phony trappings of material wealth. I have sufficient food and clothing, a nice new apartment, but few material possessions. I quit the rat race of capitalism for the simple life, and I'm glad I did. Try it for yourself and you'll see what I mean. Hint: the simple life lowers your blood pressure.

“For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and have pierced themselves with many griefs.” This is likely the most misquoted verse in the entire Bible. “Money is the root of all evil”, as the old saying goes. But the apostle Paul wrote that “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil”. Although I seriously doubt that God wants us all to be rich, I'm absolutely sure that he does want us to be comfortable and contented. The pursuit of wealth, or materialism, is a trap laid by Satan for all who are convinced that material pursuits are good, maybe even beneficial. But that is true only to a certain extent. For example, I'm a retired IT professional. I owned my own computer store and repair shop all through the 1990's, and I know what it means to have a six-figure income, and what it takes to be able to make payroll, pay the rent and utilities, have enough cash flow built into each sale to replace what I sold and still turn a profit. I've been there, done that, and bought the t-shirt! But my customers were driving me crazy, and competent help back then was very hard to find. My ownership of this business for over 8 years, especially towards the end, was more a curse than a blessing. I seriously doubt whether I will ever own a retail store-front operation like the one I had, and I am not sad about it in the slightest way. I left all that stress behind while I moved on. Those individuals reading this whose lives are dominated by stress would be wise to find a way to do the same. Having said all that, let's move on and finish up 1^st Timothy.

“But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness and faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen. Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.” (1^st Timothy chapter six, verses 11-21, NIV)

The first thing that I notice as I type this Spiritual message is Paul calling Timothy a “man of God”. To have the apostle Paul call anybody – not just Timothy – a man of God would be the ultimate compliment for any Christian. I would surely receive such acclimation from Paul in total humility and thankfulness just as I would if I were told this by Billy Graham or someone else of equal stature. And what does it take to be a Godly person? Paul defined it for us all when he wrote, “... pursue righteousness, godliness and faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called”... We are charged with the task of being a God-loving people who are righteous, faithful, loving and gentle, but with the greatest of endurance. “Fight the good fight of the faith”. We are commissioned to be peaceful and gentle, to be ambassadors for Jesus Christ, but we are also continuing to work on fighting evil, opposing inequality, standing up against social and economic injustice, and being a proponent of world peace.

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God … In this way they will lay up treasures for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.” Here we see Paul reminding Timothy one last time about the futility of the pursuit of materialism. Wealth is so uncertain – just ask anybody who lost money in the stock market, and there's a lot more of them than Wall Street would care to admit. Instead of laying up riches on earth, store up Spiritual wealth in heaven which lasts for eternity – unlike your bank account, which will evaporate when the US dollar gets devalued, which is a certainty by the year 2020 at the latest, and maybe even sooner than that. “ Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge...”. I'm quite sure that Paul was referring to the advancement of science, which in those days proclaimed that the sun revolved around the earth, and that there were only seven planets. This was during a time when over 90% of the population was illiterate. Although science has made several quantum leaps since then, mankind is struggling to catch up. But, that's another topic for some other time. Until then, take good care, and let everything that has breath praise the Lord.