The Secret to a Happy Life
I Timothy 6:6-19
September 30, 2007
What is most important to you? Have you ever thought about it? For what would you sacrifice? What in the world would you go out of the way in order to attain? I wonder… and I don’t know the answer to this…but I wonder what you would say today if I walked down among you and asked you what was most important in your life?
Being the good people that you are, and probably wanting to please your pastor, you would no doubt say things that you think I would want to hear. But then I would ask you if there is a difference between what you say and your behavior. You see, sometimes we say one thing, but live in a completely different manner.
For example, I would guess that most of us, if asked about the most important things in our lives, would say that being faithful to God is pretty high on the list. Our behavior however, might say something completely different.
We might take a look at our checkbooks and discover that we spend a much greater percentage of our income on stuff to fill our houses, to put on our bodies, or to cram into our mouths than we give to the church. We might find that it is easier to spend money for a car to drive down the road in style than it is to give to special projects that fed the hungry or house the homeless.
We might look at our calendars and discover that we spend much more time in leisure activities than we do on service and volunteer opportunities that witness to our faith. We might stand on the bathroom scales and discover that we only pay lip service to the idea that our bodies are a Temple of the Holy Spirit.
What are the most important things in life? What is most important to you? I’m a little ashamed to admit this. Matt was home for a couple of days this week. We were watching television together one evening. I don’t remember how the conversation got started – it was something that was said on TV. But Matt asked: “What is it that every man dreams of?” I said, “I can tell you what I dream of. Just this morning, I pulled up at a stop light behind a young babe in a brand new Mustang convertible. The top was down. Her hair was windblown and wild. I couldn’t stop staring…not at the young babe, but at the car.”
What’s most important in life? Many of us, perhaps, would say “to be happy.” In fact, I read of a recent survey of USA Americans that said that a majority of us describe ourselves as “pretty happy” or “very happy.” The demographics of the study suggest that happy people are: married, Republican, evangelical Protestant, upper middle class, Caucasian, and senior citizens.
What’s most important in life? Many of us, perhaps, would say “to be healthy.” We can understand that. Pay attention to our billboards, the covers of magazines, and the infomercials for weight loss products, home exercise equipment, herbal concoctions to give us energy, and potions to help us re-grow our hair.
What’s most important in life? Some would say “to be wealthy.” We dream of riches. We carefully study our 401(k)’s, our stock portfolios, our investment income, our life insurance needs, and our retirement plans. Toni has a subscription to Money Magazine which came free with something else she bought. In the last issue, there was a story of three different couples who were all high income professionals, but were having trouble making ends meet.
They lived in half-million dollar houses, sent their kids to private schools, dressed them in designer clothes, joined the country club, and in the process of trying to keep up with their neighbors, added tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt.
On this past Wednesday morning, the newspaper listed the most frequently checked out books at the library. Number 5 was “The Secret” by Rhonda Byrne. She has been seen on Oprah, Ellen DeGeneres, The Today Show, and Larry King Live as she hawks her repackaged philosophy that you can achieve anything that you dream. She says that your desires determine your reality. In other words, you can be or do or achieve anything you want badly enough. Sort of like “Field of Dreams.” If you build it they will come.
But I wonder: in all of our talk about what is important to us, do we ever stop to consider what is important to God?
Paul wrote a couple of pastoral letters to Timothy to assist him as he led young congregations. In them, he spoke of the meaning of life; what is important and what is not. In the lesson for this morning, he said, “There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment.” Substitute the word happiness for contentment. If you read this section of the letter to Timothy carefully, you will discover that Paul has a different idea of what it means to be content; to be happy.
Paul lays out a case that directly contradicts popular perceptions of reality. First of all, he wants Timothy to know that our possessions will not last; they are transient and will soon be gone with the breeze. You have heard me say this before: there are no pockets in a shroud and I have yet to see a hearse pulling a U-haul trailer. You really can’t take it with you. You leave this earth the same way you came in: bald and naked. All of the stuff we accumulate here stays here.
Jesus reminds us to store up treasures in heaven. Those treasurers are not big cars or fancy homes or big bank accounts; but rather are those things in life that have an eternal impact.
Secondly, Paul wants us to be mature enough to make the distinction between what we need and what we want. The consumer mentality which is encouraged by Madison Avenue is different from the attitude of Jesus. Yes, he wants us to have our daily bread, but having too much of it means that it will spoil. For example: we need clothes, but they don’t have to be designer clothes from Chicago’s Michigan Avenue. We need food to survive, but that food doesn’t have to be T-bone steaks and lobster. We need transportation, but it doesn’t have to be that brand new Mustang with the Pony Package that I was lusting over a few days ago. The goal is not to get more and more, but to be content with what we have.
Don’t think that I am scolding you all here because this is a tough one for Toni and me. For example, she has a hard time passing the Christopher and Banks store at the mall even though her closets at home are stuffed to overflowing. I, on the other hand, have trouble passing Barnes and Noble, even though I have a library card that I can use for free. Even if there is a book on biblical scholarship or theology that is not available at our public library, I can get it at Concordia Theological Seminary or the St. Francis Library. If I think I need it bad enough, I have a library card for the Notre Dame library. So I struggle with my passion for books and my arrogance at thinking that I need to have them all to myself.
I think that Paul is encouraging Timothy – and therefore all of us – to audit our needs, our wants, and our spending in order to determine what we really need and what is superfluous.
Paul’s third contradiction to popular reality is the pitting of the love of money against godly contentment. The pursuit of riches and God at the same time just cannot be done. If you remember the Parable of the Dishonest Manager from last week, you will remember that Jesus said that it is impossible to love both God and money.
To be content means to know that you have enough. To be content means to be satisfied. Paul is telling Timothy that he is ministering in a culture of money, consumerism, greed, and love of possessions. He tells Timothy to choose to be content with what he has. Choose satisfaction. Choose sufficiency. Choose to have enough, regardless of what you have.
The fact of the matter is that Jesus didn’t die to make us happy. Being happy will not get us into heaven. The love of money and possessions writes checks that won’t cash. Being content frees us up from a focus on ourselves, so that we can instead spend our time and energy focusing on Jesus.
That’s the secret to a happy life. Verse 19 says, “…take hold of the life that is truly life.” Life is found not in “stuff” but in Jesus. I hope that we can all sort out what is important from what is not. Our life in Christ demands it.
