Letters To Leaders- Character Series

INTRODUCTION

• MOVIE CLIP

• SLIDE #1

• Today as we continue with our Letters to Leaders series, we will delve into a subject that is important for all of us to consider.

• When we dig into our text today, it will appear that we are talking about one thing, when we are actually talking about another.

• Our text will deal with the issue of money and what can happen when we have an unhealthy obsession with it.

• For context, Paul is talking to the young Evangelist Timothy about dealing with false doctrine, qualifications for Elders and Deacons, and then he moves to the subject of greed in 1 Timothy 6:7-10.

• Before this text, he speaks of Elders who are worthy of double honor, speaking of those who, along with their other duties, spend a great deal of time preaching and teaching.

• Look at 1 Timothy 6:9 with me, this gives us some depth and context for what we will unravel today.

• SLIDE #2

• 1 Timothy 6:9 (CSB) — 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction.

• When you first look at this, it appears we are going to talk about money, which we are, in the context of wanting to get rich.

• Even though the direct application of the passage, though dealing with money, the deeper issues is the issue of character.

• Leaders, as well as all Christians, must be aware of how they live life. Conduct, ethics, habits, actions all reflect the inner life we have with God.

• Our ethics reflect our true theology.

• Passages like 2 Timothy discuses training in righteousness. 1 Timothy 4:7 tells us we need to train ourselves in Godliness.

• God's Word not only gives us a correct belief but also directs our habits and actions.

• Our character will be what determines what we do with no one is looking, it will determine what we think when no one can read our mind.

• I remember taking business trips where folks were not with their spouses, and they made it clear to the group that they were going to do what they wanted to since no one was around to see.

• We have all seen and heard of folks who were taken in by the subject the text covers today. We have seen lives, families and even churches ruined because of it.

• The Bible speaks a great deal on the subject of character, ethics.

• The subject we will deal with today will not be a problem for us if we all our faith to shape our character.

• I shared this before, but when I was in one of my counseling classes, we had to write a paper and mine was on the subject of why marriages end.

• My premise I constructed my paper on was the thought that money issues that plagued many couples was the reason for so many divorces.

• I read many papers on the subject, I looked at some of the statistical models, and I wrote an exceptional essay.

• When the paper was graded, I probably received a good grade, but my profession pulled me aside and told me I missed something important.

• All my research was solid, but what the articles and statistical models did not show was the ROOT cause of the marital breakups.

• The couples already had issues, and the money problems are where the proverbial dam broke.

• In other words, many of the troubled couples may have survived the financial struggles if they had a stable marriage that could withstand the problem.

• What we need to know is this, our actions should be motivated by a character shaped by God’s Word.

• Let’s turn to our passage this morning, 1 Timothy 6:10

• SLIDE #3

• 1 Timothy 6:10 (CSB) — 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

• SLIDE #4

SERMON

I. The danger of the pursuit of money.

• The first observation we make from the passage is this, For the love of money, is a root of all kinds of evil,

• The word FOR ties back to verse 9, this tells us what happens to the person who wants to be rich.

• Back in verse nine, the word WANT means to DESIRE something which one has in mind to acquire.

• Wanting to be wealthy is not the problem, doing well is not the problem, and money itself is not the problem.

• The problem comes when our want is so unhealthy, we will be tempted to do things that we should not do to gain what we think we want. We can easily be snared into doing things we usually would not do.