“Surviving Financial Challenges: How to Handle Your Money Before It Handles You”
1 Timothy 6:17-19
INTRODUCTION
Finances can be a great challenge for all of us. Or, perhaps I should say, MOST of us. One guy said: “I never worry about money. I have enough to last me the rest of my life – unless I buy something.” Maybe you heard me tell before about the wife who had been working over next year’s budget, poring over figures all night. She came out to her husband, who was sitting in the family room watching TV, and said, “Well I’ve worked out the budget, now you work out a raise.”
I guess he decided he would have a go at the budget so he worked on it the next night. He came into the kitchen and told her, “Well, I’ve worked it out but I need a little help. I’ve figured what we’ll need for food, clothing, and shelter. We have a choice of any two.”
The closing verses of this first letter to Timothy contain some of the greatest teaching in the Bible on the use and abuse of money and possessions. Since all that we have actually belongs to God, we are responsible to manage what He has entrusted to us. How are we to handle and use the wealth God has given us? Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, has four guidelines for us here in 1 Timothy 6.
He had already written about the dangers of the love of money in verses 9 and 10. Now, he returns to the subject with a special charge to the rich.
Earlier, he had addressed those wanting to be rich, now he speaks to those who actually are. Of course, none of us being wealthy, we can skip over this section. Or can we? Wealth is relative. Donald Trump wouldn’t see me as wealthy, but 90% of the world’s population would, so he is speaking to us.
17 Tell those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which will soon be gone. But their trust should be in the living God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. 18 Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give generously to those in need; always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. 19 By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.
Please notice here that the rich are not condemned or denounced, they are merely warned. They are not told to give all their wealth away, they are simply told how to use it and how not to.
The duties of the rich are four-fold. First, they are to …
I. BE HUMBLE.
Verse 17 states, “Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty.” Actually Paul says, “keep instructing,” not merely “tell” and the matter is ended. Paul knew that materialism is so deceitful that we must constantly be warned about it.
It is so easy to be caught up in the materialism of this age. Awhile back some hoodlums broke into a Los Angeles department store. They didn’t steal or destroy anything; they just had a wonderful time -- switching price tags. The next morning, customers were puzzled and delighted to find fur coats selling for $5.00. Cold cream was priced at $150.00, a silver service for $1.75, and a pair of ladies hose for $390.00. There were umbrellas for $1,000.00 and diamond rings for $2.00.
Has this happened in our lives? Has materialism crept in and switched the price tags? Are the things of time of more value to us than the things of eternity? Are material gifts worth more than spiritual gifts? We need this constant reminder against materialism.
Sometimes we think of the early church as composed entirely of poor people and slaves. But there were wealthy members who were rich “in this present age” -- in contrast to the age to come. A person may be rich here and in poverty in the age to come.
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is a case in point. The rich man feasted sumptuously every day while the poor man had to beg at his door. But after death it was just the opposite. Abraham told the rich man, “during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.” (Lk 16:19-31)
But a person can be rich both here and in the age to come -- and that’s what Paul is trying to point out here. The rich are usually in a higher class socially. They then tend to develop a superior attitude ... often deluded into thinking that wealth is a mark of Divine favor. Earthly wealth brings a sense of achievement and success ... it also brings power and privilege. The rich face some temptations that the poor don’t face ... and one of the main ones is haughtiness and pride.
But -- if wealth makes a person proud, then he understands neither himself nor wealth. God declares: “Do not say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth’ but you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth.” (Deut. 8:17-18)
Possession of wealth ought to humble a person and motivate him to praise and glorify God. If he becomes conceited because of his wealth, he is clearly using a false standard of measurement.
A little boy came running to his mother, shouting, “Mother, I am nine feet tall.”
His mother responded, “Don’t talk such nonsense.”
“But,” he said, “I really am nine feet tall. I measured myself.”
“Well, how did you measure yourself?” asked his mother.
“I took off my shoe and measured myself with that. It is the same size as my foot, and I am really nine feet.”
With a smile the mother replied: “Now I understand, but I have to tell you that your measure was not the right one. We do not measure ourselves by the size of our own feet, but we must use a 12-inch ruler.”
Paul reminds us that, “Those who measure themselves by themselves ... are without understanding.” (2 Cor 10:12) He goes on to ask: “What do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7)
A lot of people are like the little boy. They are proud of something about which there is really no glory. Usually the things that we are proud of are things about which we had nothing to do. Someone has said that pride is usually pride of race, or pride of face, or pride of place, or pride of lace. Paul tells us that our pride is misplaced.
The only pride that we should have is pride of grace: the marvelous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. The next time that you are tempted to be proud, ask yourself the question, “Proud about what?” Since God is the one who gives us the power to produce wealth, there is no basis for pride.
The second thing we are to do is to …
II. TRUST IN GOD -- NOT IN GOLD.
We must not “set our hope on the uncertainty of riches ... but upon God.”(1 Tim 6:17) You remember the rich farmer in Jesus’ parable? (Lk 12:13-21) He said to himself: “You have much goods laid up for many years to come. Take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” He thought that wealth equaled security. He put his trust in that which he had accumulated ... set his hope on it -- and God declared him a fool! Christ warned us: “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” (Lk 12:15) Yet, we so often put our trust in our possessions ... and you can tell it by how devastated we are when those possessions are wrenched from our grip. Do you set your hope on God -- or on your possessions?
Why not trust in riches? Because they are so uncertain. Solomon, who had plenty of experience with wealth, said: “When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.” (Prov 23:5) Life itself is uncertain -- and wealth cannot be possessed after death. One day a fairy came to a man and told him she would grant him any favor he might wish. The man thought a few minutes, and then said: “My wish is to see a newspaper published one year from today.”
Immediately, the fairy handed him a newspaper printed one year in advance. He turned quickly to the financial page, ran his fingers nervously up and down the list of stocks, and leaping from the chair shouted, “Hurrah, I’m worth fifteen million dollars.” Then, carelessly turning over to the obituary page, his glance fell on a report that made him gasp. “I died two days ago!” (Ency of 7700 Illust p. 836 #3588) There are no pockets in a shroud. The uncertainty of life makes riches uncertain.
But also riches are uncertain because they constantly change in value with the shifting circumstances of life. Jesus said: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroys, and where thieves break in and steal.” (Mat 6:19)
Riches may be lost; they may be stolen, destroyed by fire, devastated by bank failure, business failure, a market crash, or simply eaten up by inflation. How many thousands of dollars were lost in the past two years as the market has tanked?
Did you hear about the modern Rip Van Winkle that awoke in the year 2020? He saw a paper, looked up the financial page, and discovered he was worth millions because of the stock he held. He went to a pay phone to call his broker. He put in his dime and the operator came on a said, “It’s $100,000 for the first 3 minutes.”
We simply can’t afford to trust anything but God. He alone never changes.
Thirdly, Paul tells us to …
III. ENJOY WHAT GOD GIVES US.
He “richly provides all things for our enjoyment.” God is rich. The Bible says that He owns the cattle on a thousand hills. “All the gold and all the silver is Mine, declares the Lord.” (Psalm 50:10; Hagg.2:8) But not only is God rich -- He gives to us according to His riches. We read in Ephesians 1(verses 7-8a): “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us.”
He does not merely give to us from His riches, but according to His riches. He lavishes His gifts upon us. Paul reminds us: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” (2 Cor. 9:8)
Legend has it that a certain country, in search of a king, sent two ambassadors to choose between two infant twins. They found the little fellows asleep, and they noted that one lay with his little fists tightly clenched, while the other had his hands wide open. It was the latter that was chosen … and so great was his generosity that he became known in his country’s annals as “The King with the Open Hand.” We have a God with an open hand -- for “He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32)
And what God gives us, He wants us to enjoy. Jesus came that we might have life, and have it more abundantly. (Jn 10:10) God wants us to enjoy life, not merely exist. Physical pleasure is not in itself sinful when sought within the structure of God’s will and pursued for His glory. This is what the Psalmist was getting at when he said: “You will make known to me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” (Ps 16:11) “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Ps 37:4)
One of the most deceptive lies in Satan’s arsenal is that God calls us away from pleasure to asceticism. A lot of Christians look like they were baptized in lemon juice. The Christian life is to be a life of joy and enjoyment. Did you hear about the church ladies sewing circle that were playing a game to see who could look the saddest, the meanest, and the ugliest? The lady that won wasn’t even playing!
A young girl became a Christian in an exciting revival at her church and was baptized Sunday morning. That afternoon she ran through the house singing and dancing. Her sour grandfather rebuked her: “You ought to be ashamed of yourself! Just joined the church and singing and dancing on the Lord’s Day!” Crushed by her grandfather’s attitude, the little girl went out to the barn, climbed up on the corral fence, and observed an old mule standing there with a sad, droopy face and bleary eyes. As she reached over and patted the mule sympathetically, she said, “Don’t cry ol’ mule. I guess you have just got the same kind of religion that Grandpa has!” (Bonham – Another Treasury of Clean Jokes, p. 3)
The teachings of the Bible are often falsely construed as joy-killing and pleasure-stifling precepts, designed to make us sad and somber. But the Bible has much to say about happiness, joy, and a sense of humor. The only things God forbids of us are those things that, if pursued, would ultimately diminish our joy.
The fourth bit of advice Paul has for us is to …
IV. EMPLOY WHAT GOD HAS GIVEN US.
Here, in verses 18 and 19, Paul is both positive and practical. First -- we are to do good …
A. TO BE RICH IN GOOD WORKS.
Those who are rich already in this world are here told to be rich in a new way. Do you realize that 80% of all the money used for ministry, for evangelism, missions, and benevolence comes from the American middle class! We are the ones God is counting on!!! It has been said that if we could reduce the world to a global village of one hundred people here’s how it would shake out:
· seventy would be unable to read,
· one would have a college education,
· fifty would be suffering from malnutrition,
· eighty would live in housing unfit for human habitation, and
· six would control half of the money of the entire village.
If those of us among the six that are Christians are going to take Jesus seriously, how much longer can we justify controlling, spending, and hoarding half of the resources intended for all 100 of us?
I’m quite convinced that we must face up to the needs of others if we are going to take our faith seriously. All of us should be shocked by the poverty of millions and disturbed by the injustices that cause it. More of us who live in affluent circumstances need to accept our duty to develop a simple lifestyle in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism.
Consciously and intentionally spending less on ourselves -- not in order to exalt asceticism -- but to deliver more help to the poor and more evangelists to the nearly 3 billion people who have not yet heard the gospel of Jesus Christ … developing approaches to simpler, less expensive lifestyles in order to direct more money to helping the poor and spreading the gospel.
This “wealth” that we possess imposes a heavy responsibility -- not only in giving, but also in serving. The first responsibility mentioned here is good works, ministering to people’s needs: helping, loving, and caring.
Secondly - our responsibility is to …
B. BE GENEROUS AND READY TO SHARE.
The Bible -- throughout its pages -- teaches proportionate giving ... that is giving a generous portion (or percentage) of your income. The base percentage the Jews gave under the law was the tithe ... 10% of their income.
When we give proportionately ... the percent we give stays the same -- but the amount we give fluctuates with our income. I read a rather shocking report awhile back. If every church member in America lost their job and went on welfare or unemployment ... and then gave a tithe (10%) of their government check ... giving in U.S. churches would rise by 30%!
That really puts American Christians to shame! Many of us are simply disobedient on this point and not generous. We may simply not be thinking. It might be a fruitful exercise to take the amount you gave last year and divide it by your total income to see what proportion you are sharing.
Several years ago we were home visiting my parents, went to church with them, and I noticed Dad put $20.00 in the offering. At Sunday dinner I asked him if that’s what he usually gave. He said, “Yes” -- he’d been putting a twenty in the offering every week for as long as he could remember, even when I was a kid. Yet his income during those years had nearly tripled. When I mentioned that -- and showed him God’s commands to give proportionately, he said he’d never really stopped to think about it ... and he made the appropriate changes the very next Sunday!
Were you aware that the purpose of our working is to be able to share? Paul tells us, “Let him who steals steal no longer; but rather let him labor, performing with his own hands what is good, in order that he may have something to share with him who has need.” (Eph. 4:28) The generous spirit manifested in the early church should be a constant project of restoration in our own lives. Luke tells us: “And all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common. …
And there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostles’ feet; and they would be distributed to each, as any had need.” (Acts 2:42-22; 4:34-37)
When we are rich in good works and generous with our money we do two things -- according to verse 19. First, we …
3. LAY UP TREASURE IN HEAVEN.
We read in verse 19: “By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may take hold of real life.” Jesus said: “Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt 6:19-21)
Charles E. Fuller once announced that he would be speaking the following Sunday on “Heaven.” During that week, a beautiful letter was received from an old man who was very ill. The following is part of his letter:
“Next Sunday you are to talk about Heaven. I am interested in that land, because I have held a clear title to a bit of property there for over fifty-five years. I did not buy it. It was given to me without money and without price. But the donor purchased it for me at tremendous sacrifice. I am not holding it for speculation since the title is not transferable. It is not a vacant lot. For more than half a century I have been sending materials out of which the greatest architect and builder of the universe has been building a home for me which will never need to be remodeled or repaired because it will suit me perfectly, individually, and will never grow old.
Termites can never undermine its foundations for they rest on the rock of ages. Fire cannot destroy it. Floods cannot wash it away. No locks or bolts will ever be placed upon its doors, for no vicious person can ever enter that land where my dwelling stands. It is now almost completed and ready for me to enter in and abide in peace eternally, without fear of ever being rejected. I hope to hear your sermon on heaven next Sunday from my home in Los Angeles, but I have no assurance that I shall be able to do so. My ticket to heaven has no date marked for the journey -- no return coupon -- and no permit for baggage. Yes, I am all ready to go and I may not be here while you are talking next Sunday, but I shall meet you there some day.” (Ency of 7700 Illust. P. 545, #2183)
That’s the assurance God wants each of us to have. Are you laying up treasure in heaven and building for eternity?
When we do this, we also …
4. TAKE HOLD OF TRUE LIFE - - -
Life with a capital “L,” that which is really life. John says: “The witness is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.” (1 John 5:11-12)
A Texan got very rich quickly when oil was discovered on his ranch. He bought a lavish white Cadillac, with every gadget on it that could be bought. He drove constantly around the community advertising his wealth. Then one day he fell ill. It was evident that he would not recover. Before his death, he asked that he be buried in his white Cadillac. A great hole was dug in the cemetery, and a crane lowered the Cadillac into the grave, with the dead man laid out on its large back seat. As to the strange coffin being lowered into the grave, a man in the watching crowd was heard saying, “Man! That’s really living!” I don’t think I would want to live like that!
How often are the rich fooled ... as they enjoy all the temporal pleasures worldly wealth brings ... and then remark: “Ah, this is the life.” But Paul says: “This is not life at all.” Real life is being alive to God and enjoying the peace and contentment of eternal life in relationship with Him. Riches can lure one into a make-believe world of shallow and temporary pleasure! The Bible tells us not that wealth is a sin ... but that it is a very great responsibility!
If a person’s wealth ministers to nothing but his own pride and enriches no one but himself ... it becomes his ruin, because it impoverishes his own soul! But, if he uses what he has to help, encourage, and meet the needs of others -- in giving of his riches, he receives even greater riches. In both time and eternity our Lord said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) Each of us is accountable to God to manage faithfully and effectively all that He’s given to us. We can survive the financial challenges that we face, if we faithfully follow the principles that God gives us in His word.
He wants us to humbly use and enjoy what we have -- trusting in Him, not in this world -- being rich in good works, ready and willing to share generously with others, laying up treasure in heaven and laying hold of true life as we commit our lives ... all that we are ... all that we have … in service to Him. Have you experienced this real life that God offers?
