INTRO: It’s amazing to hear about the salaries and endorsements the professional athletes make. I heard someone discuss the earnings of Michael Jordan, the famous basketball player, when his earnings were at the peak.
Question: How much is enough income for a year?
Listen to some of these statistics.
>Michael made over $300,000 a game.
>Let’s assume he played 30 minutes of 60 minute regulation; that’s $10,000 a minute for
playing basketball.
>There was $40 million in endorsements beyond salary.
>Michael made $178,000 a day whether he showed up on the courts or not.
>Let’s assume Michael slept 7 hours a night; while he slept he made $52,000.
>When he went to a movie (you know how expensive movies are-7 or 8 dollars); while he was in the movie he made $18,550 dollars.
>Michael decided to make a 5 minute egg. He made $618 dollars watching it boil.
>He made $3,710 watching each episode of his favorite TV show.
>If he wanted to save $90,000 for a Mercedes Benz, it would have taken him 18 hours.
>Michael made twice as much as all of our past presidents – for all of their terms combined.
Question: How much is enough?
»Then there’s Bill Gates. Michael would have to save 100% of his income that I described, and he would have to save it for 270 years in order to have a net worth equivalent to that of Bill Gates.
Moral of the story: How much is enough? There is always someone with more.
Today: This begins a series of messages on the beauty and the beast. You can take out a dollar bill and behind George Washington there is either a beauty or a beast.
Question: How do we bring out the beauty and limit the beast?
-The way we do this is to expose some financial fairy tales and myths because if they go unchallenged it will lead to an unhappy ending to our lives.
This morning: We are going to look at the concept ’more will be enough.’
-Our culture thrives on this. The TV commercials, the ads, the sales all give the indirect idea that you need this; with it you’ll be happier.
Example: A self-made millionaire and big-business man was walking through his company one day and he overheard a couple of his employees talking. One of them was telling the other that if he had 500 dollars more he’d be set. So the owner walked over and mentioned that he had heard what the young man said. He handed him five 100 dollar bills and walked away and as he was leaving he heard the young man say to the other, "Man, I should have asked for a 1,000."
Question: How can I challenge this beast that says, "More will be enough"?
Answer: In one word—contentment. The weapon I can use against this beast is the sword of contentment. -It may take a lifetime to perfect, but I can begin today to implement it.
I. What is contentment? Some people view contentment as laziness (sitting back and letting God do it all). -Untrue, not scripturally true.
A. Difference in working for the beast (more will be enough) than working for the glory of God.
1. Contentment is not laziness. Contentment has to do with one word—enough.
2. When I’m content, it does not affect my work ethic. It does not affect my business savvy. -When I’m content, it releases me to focus on what really matters.
B. How do I learn contentment? How can I learn when there is so much torment from this beast of materialism that says more, more, more, more will be enough?
-This consumer mentality bleeds in the church and we start spectating and asking, "What’s in it for me?" It chokes out our ability to dream God’s dreams.
1. How can I learn contentment—to fight off this beast?
-The great apostle Paul gives us some tactics that will help us learn.
TITLE: Beauty and the Beast – Part 1
TEXT: 1 Timothy 6:6-19
II. First tactic is a consideration of eternity, vv. 6, 7, 19.
A. We must consider eternity on a daily basis. If we want to beat the beast of materialism there has to be a focus on eternity daily.
1. Every day counts. Daily I bring eternity into my consideration regarding what’s important to me—into my passions.
-What’s dictating my schedule? Do I allow stuff to dictate my eternity?
2. The great apostle is saying if you only focus on the now at the expense of eternity, it is foolish because you can’t take anything with you.
-Proverbs 23:4-5: "Do not wear yourself out to get rich; have the wisdom to show restraint. Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle."
B. Living in our culture with our five senses (sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell) we are bombarded every day with materialism; then factor into that the philosophy of ’lucky mud.’
1. Lucky mud is the concept that somehow we arrived at this thing called a human being, we have 60 to 90 years to live, and then we go into this nothingness.
2. This translates: You grab all you can get, all the toys you can; because whoever has the most toys at the end wins.
Point: Daily we need to have an eternal view in regard to our possessions, income, and life.
-C.S. Lewis: "You aim at heaven and you’ll get earth thrown in. You aim at earth and you’ll get neither.
II. 2nd tactic is to develop an understanding of necessity, v. 8. [Read]
A. We need to understand what a necessity is (food and clothing). -Greek saying: "To whom little is not enough nothing is enough."
1. It’s amazing how our definition of necessity changes.
Example: Home shopping network. Isn’t it amazing, you can start watching and see something you never knew existed and before the show is over you can’t live without it.
2. If I’m going to learn contentment, I have to learn what a necessity (the basic) is.
B. So much of our personal life is wrapped up in money and possessions. That’s why I believe Jesus spoke more about money than about heaven and hell combined.
1. 2 views on how to get enough: -Continue to accumulate more. -Desire less.
2. Does this mean we abandon everything to be more spiritual? Not necessarily. We need to place our externals in proper perspective and face the beast.
Summary: The beast of materialism (more is enough) can be held back by the sword of contentment. In order to better learn contentment we need to:
1) have an eternal perspective and
2) have an understanding of necessity.
III. 3rd tactic—an awareness of penalty. Do we know what the penalty is for ignoring the beast?
A. Think "No big deal, I won’t fight." Then you’ll lose.
1. Read vv. 9, 10.
2. The word want, in Greek, means a strong addictive determination, a drawing, an unhealthy appetite.
3. Paul’s concern is slavery of the heart.
Example. You heard about the guy who went bankrupt buying a sofa. He bought a new sofa then put it with the rest of the furniture and decided he needed all new furniture. Then he needed new carpet and drapes. Then he decided the room was too small so he knocked out a wall. He discovered he needed a new house...on and on it goes.
-Let us hear the words of Jesus (Mark 8:36)
: "What good is it for man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul."
IV. 4th tactic in learning contentment is a pursuit of maturity, vv. 11-14, 16. [Read]
A. Maturity is an understanding of what is truly important.
1. We need to understand contentment never comes from externals. Don’t walk to the cadence of the beast.
2. Quote from a football player from Buffalo in a 1980 interview with People magazine:
"I sit in my house in Buffalo. I get so lonely it’s unbelievable. Life has been so good to me. I’ve got a great wife, good kids, money, my own help and I’m lonely and bored. I wondered why so many rich people commit suicide. I don’t wonder that anymore, money sure isn’t a cure all." —Name: OJ Simpson.
(Does it work?)
B. Let us understand toys are great fun in the proper context.
-Remember 2 Peter 2:19: "For a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him."
