Over the past few weeks, in our worship services, we have read
sections from St. Paul’s first letter to Timothy. Paul was Timothy’s mentor –
Timothy was the leader of the church in Ephesus, a city in modern-day Turkey.
There were many problems in the Christian community of Ephesus, so Paul’s
letter offers both advice and correction for Timothy and the members of his
churches. This morning, the section of the letter we read focuses on the
problem of valuing wealth more than we value our relationship with God:
Proclamation of the Scripture 1 Timothy 6:6–19
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.
Those who want to get rich fall into
temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that
plunge people into ruin and destruction.
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.
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and
pursue righteousness, godliness, 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 appearing of our 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 treasure for
themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take
hold of the life that is truly life.
Here ends this
reading of the word of God for the people of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Prayer for Understanding
Give us your Spirit of wisdom, O God, so that we may hear your word speaking through the Scriptures with ears that understand and hearts moved to love. Amen.
For
we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
Vane Scott, a child of the Great
Depression, told this story from his childhood in Ohio:
“One evening when we went down to check
on the bank, there were hundreds of people out front yelling and crying and
fighting and beating on the locked doors and windows. They had fires built in
the street to keep warm and there were people milling around all over the
downtown.”
There are few people left in our congregation who grew up during the
Great Depression, but all of us had relatives -- parents, grandparents, great-grandparents -- who lived through the
worst financial period in US history. And
they told stories of runs on banks, of going to bed hungry, of only having one
pair of too-small, worn out shoes to wear.
After the growth of the Roaring 1920s, with flappers and jazz music and
voting rights for women, everything went downhill. The economy crashed and
people all over the world faced hardships and struggles
A sudden change in
circumstances caused by the stock market crash was devastating for thousands of
people. They instantly felt the reality of today’s scripture – We can’t depend
on money or wealth – these are temporary. As Paul said: Do not put our “hope in
wealth, which is so uncertain, but our hope I God, who richly provides us with
everything for our enjoyment.”
For
we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
In our reading from
Paul’s letter to Timothy, Paul spends a portion of the letter talking about
money. As followers of God, our faith in
God must be our priority. Many people are distracted by the things the world
makes sexy – power, privilege, money – but none of the temptations of the world
are as important as getting things right with God and practicing our faith.
Paul says “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” We can all
think of examples of money becoming a problem….people who are so caught up in
obtaining money or the things money buys that they inadvertently mess up their
lives --- people who can’t pay their mortgages and lose their houses because
they develop an addiction to gambling – people who become so engaged in their
professional jobs that their work-a-holism leads to them missing out on their
children’s and family’s activities – people who fall into terrible debt because
they spend their money on status symbols – people who get to the end of their
lives and regret the time they spent on keeping-up-with the Jones instead of enjoying
time with their spouses and loved ones…We can become seduced by wealth and
obtaining more and more money that they lose sight of what is truly important –
our faith, our families, and our relationships with those we love.
In Luke chapter 12,
Jesus is recorded as saying: “From everyone who has been given much, much will
be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will
be asked.” Paul echoes this in his message to Timothy. -- He cautions those who have wealth to be
generous with their resources. He says: “Command them to do good, to be rich in
good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
As
Americans, we are all wealthier that most of the people of the world, even if
we aren’t wealthy compared to our friends and neighbors. It is our responsibility to do good for others
and to be generous and willing to share.
We are called to be generous with people in financial need. We are
called to be generous with people who are different ethnic and social groups
than our own. We are called to be generous and welcoming to people who live in
other countries or who are new to our country. We are called to share our
resources, share our wealth, to share what we have.
As Christians, we always have to balance
our faith priorities with our practical priorities. We have to support
ourselves and our families and earn enough money to pay for our living expenses
– our rent or mortgages, our food, our utilities, our cars and gas – all of our
essentials. And, we are also allowed to have fun – our money doesn’t just need
to be spent on our living expenses. But, we need to be mindful that we are
called to be generous – to share our extras, to support people in need, to
support the work of the church. And, we have to pay attention to what we are
motivated by in our lives – are we too caught up in comparing ourselves to our
wealthy neighbors; are we trying to buy the right clothing and accessories so
that we look like the Kardashians or the popular kids at school; are we
choosing our cars or our phones or our houses because we are trying to impress
other people? Where do our motivations lie? Are we focused on our faith or on
the priorities of the world?
Paul’s words remind us that we can’t take
our stuff or the contents of our savings accounts with us to Heaven. For
we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
We must work to keep our focus on God and be generous with what we have been
given.
May we do so with love in our hearts and
love in our actions. Amen.
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