The Love Of Money 1 Timothy 6:3-19 Series

A Carjacking that was foiled in a Northern Virginia Shopping Mall. It seems as if an elderly grandmother had been given a gun by her son in which to protect herself. On day after she did her shopping she returned to the car where she found four white males seated inside. She dropped her shopping bags and drew her handgun, proceeding to scream at them at the top of her voice that she has a gun and knows how to use it: so get out of the car.

The four men hopped out and ran like mad, whereupon the lady proceeded to load her shopping bags into the back of the car and get into the drivers seat.

And there she discovered a small problem, her key wouldn’t fit the ignition. Upon inspection she realized that her car was identical and parked four or five spaces farther down. She loaded her bags into her car and drove to the police station.

The sergeant to whom she told the story nearly doubled over in laughter and then pointed to the other end of the counter, where four pale white males were reporting a carjacking by a mad elderly white woman.

Where does a penguin keep its money? (In a snow bank!)

Where do fish keep their money? (In a river-bank!)

Where can you always find money? (In the dictionary!)

When does it rain money? (When there's change in the weather!)

What has a hundred heads and a hundred tails? (One hundred pennies!)

Why did the woman go outside with her purse open? (Because she expected some change in the weather!)

It seems like any film which wishes to deal with the issue of money has to play a portion from Pink Floyd’s song on the subject:

Money, get away

Get a good job with more pay

And your O.K.

Money, it's a gas

Grab that cash with both hands

And make a stash

New car, caviar, four star daydream

Think I'll buy me a football team

. . . .

I'm in the hi-fidelity

First class traveling set

And I think I need a Lear [private] jet

Money, it's a crime

Share it fairly

But don't take a slice of my pie

It seems that there were people in the early church with the same problems and challenges with money that we have today. Some were leaders in the church, actually teaching that the Gospel of Jesus is a way to get rich. Paul wanted to warn Timothy about this. He also wanted Timothy to warn rich people in the congregation that money is like a trap, and a godly person must not be caught in it.

3 If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4 he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5 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.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 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. 10 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.

Several years ago, US News and World Report did extensive research on money and its relationship with being happy. They discovered something very revealing concerning what people perceive as rich. The math is simple: you think a person who makes twice as much as you is rich. If you make 5,000 rupees a month, someone who makes 10,000 is rich. If you make 20,000, 40,000 is rich. If you make 40,000, someone who makes 80,000 is rich.

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend yesterday. He said his cousin goes to a church here in Bangalore where the pastor actually told the congregation he expected them to provide him with a salary of 80,000 rupees. I suppose for that pastor, 80,000 rupees a month would make him as rich as he wanted to be. Of course, if the congregation gives him that much, soon 160000 rupees a month will be much better.

WE ARE NEVER SATISFIED WITH HOW MUCH WE HAVE IF WE LOOK TO MONEY TO MAKE US HAPPY.

"It’s all relative. I sit down and say, ‘I’ve got $10 billion, but Bill Gates has $100 billion’; I feel like a complete failure in life" (Ted Turner: People 6/12/00 p. 62).