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1 Timothy 6:6 – 10
Healing from Debt
Premise: People are rich in what they ARE, not what they HAVE. Godliness is the truest riches.
(Ill.) “Two ardent fishermen met on their vacation and began swapping stories about the different places they had fished, the kind of tackle used, the best bait, and finally about some of the fish they had caught. One of them told of a vicious battle he once had with a 300-pound salmon. The other man listened attentively. He frankly admitted he had never caught anything quite that big. However, he told about the time his hook snagged a lantern from the depths of a lake. The lantern carried a tag proving it was lost back in 1912. But the strangest thing of all was the fact that it was a waterproof lantern and the light was still lit. For a long time the first man said nothing. Then he took one long deep breath. "I’ll tell you what I’ll do," he said slowly. "I’ll take 200 pounds off my fish, if you’ll put out the light in your lantern."” [Jacob M. Braude, Braude’s Treasury of Humor, (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1964)]
Bragging rights. Bigger is better. Beat the Jones! (Never mind keeping up with them.)
In the “materialism” that fills American society and the American church, we have lost our moral compass. In our quest for stuff we have become addicted to debt and don’t mind it’s abuses.
Definitions:
1. “Godliness” – the internal relationship with God, expressed outwardly.
2. “Contentment” – the satisfaction with what one has, expressed outwardly.
3. “Debt” – the desire to have more, expressed outwardly as a lack of trust in God.
I. The problem with debt.
A. Debt is a symptom of DISCONTENT in life.
1. We want what we want and we want it now!
2. Like the baby who acts likes it’s the center of the universe. It cries loudly until it gets what it wants.
B. Debt is a symptom of DESIRE for more.
1. Not happy with what we have, with what God has provided....
2. Develop a haste to have more, now.
C. Debt is a symptom of “DISTRACTED SPIRITUALITY.”
1. The love of money sits in the driver’s seat of life.
2. We forget what we have.
The Bible says: Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. [Hebrews 13:5]
3. Notice the context of the promise that God will never leave or forsake you. It is about the love of money and contentment contrasted with the promise of God.
4. Christians who become materialist are saying things like:
a. “There is more in life than God”
b. “God is not enough.”
The Message puts it this way: “A devout life does bring wealth, but it’s the rich simplicity of being yourself before God.”
(Ill.) “If you’ve ever seen pelicans in action, you know they’re great fishermen. These pelicans were hanging out near a fleet of fishing boats. The fishermen on the boats would pull into the little harbor, and clean the fish right on the spot, throwing the heads and the rest into the water. The pelicans picked up on this, and began eating the leftovers without having to go out fishing. And if you’re a pelican, that’s good eating. So for weeks, they just sat by the harbor and waited for the fishing boats to come in. After a while, the fishermen found out they could sell the fish waste, and so they stopped chucking it into the water. The pelicans were caught unprepared. They continued to sit and wait for the fishing boats to come in and throw free food in the water. And they grew thinner and thinner and seemed able to do nothing about their situation. Wildlife officials came to check out what was going on, and concluded that the pelicans had forgotten how to fish. So what they did was to bring pelicans in from another area to join the flock and teach the starving birds how to fish again.” [The Reverend Dr. Gary Nicolosi]
***** Our society has provided so much stuff for us that we have forgotten what it means to live by faith and depend on God for our daily bread. *****
II. The issue is the cost of the pursuit not the amount!
A. (v 7) Reality check: we physically brought nothing into the world, we physically take nothing out.
1. All this stuff is temporary.
2. (Ill.) The man who decided to take it all with him... He made his wife promise to put all his money in the coffin when he died. So at his funeral she dutifully wrote a check and put it in the coffin.
3. (Ill.) The man who was given the opportunity to take one thing to heaven. He decided to take a bar of gold. He arrived at heaven and when they say what he was carrying, they asked the man, “Pavement? Why did you bring a piece of pavement to heaven?” [Revelation 21:21 “...The great street of the city was of pure gold...”]
B. (v 9) There are dangers in the pursuit.
1. The progression:
a. Desire brings temptation. (You can not be tempted by something you do not desire.)
James 1:14 – 15 says: “but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. [15] Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
b. Temptation brings a trap.
1.) The trap is to sacrifice or let go of principle.
2.) A principle is a settled issue. Something you do not have to ask yourself about every day.
E.g. You do not get up in the morning and say, “I’m hungry, should I go rob a bank?” Or you do not get angry and say “I really don’t like that person, how do I kill them?”
c. The trap leads to addicition.
1.) The word in the NIV is “plunge.” Literally it means “to sink” as in drown.
2.) This is not just a moral slip. It can wreak the body and it does ruin the soul.
(Ill.) Tell the story of Judas, who was described as a thief. [John 12:6]
(Ill.) Tell the story of Balaam, who for a mountain of money sold out his calling/position as prophet and God’s people. This was after his donkey rebuked him!
The Bible describes errant teachers this way: “[15] They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. [16] But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey--a beast without speech--who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” [2 Peter 2:15 – 16]
2. Like it or not Satan is at work.
a. “foolish” (v 9) – means unintelligent, more commonly known as “stupid.” It carries the idea of unreasonable.
b. The devil is a predator.
1.) The Bible describes him this way: “...Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” [1 Peter 5:8]
2.) The Bible describes the choice this way: “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.” [Genesis 4:7]
C. Ultimately, this problem is a root of all sorts of evil.
1. It can kill spiritually.
2 Timothy 4:10 “for Demas, because he loved this world, has deserted me...” (By implication Demas has deserted God.)
2. I causes grief.
***** When the love of money rules actions and desires, the love of Christ cannot. *****
Jesus said: “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” [Matthew 6:24]
III. Some might argue:
A. Some might argue that debt is a way to get “it” now.
1. God does not encourage us to enlarge our desires.
2. Psalm 37:16 says, “Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked.”
B. Some might argue that prosperity is God’s will for His people.
1. This implies that debt is a means to demonstrate faith... In other words, God will provide this (not God has provided this).
2. Materialism is self-indulgent. And debt is one way to feed the fire.
3. Abundance can become a source of pride and an excuse for contempt for others who have less (physically).
C. Some might argue that debt is easily controlled and not a spiritual problem.
1. If godliness and eternal gain is not enough, and we tie our spiritual worth to our material worth, then there is a serious spiritual problem.
2. The prophet Habakkuk offered this insight: “Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, [18] yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. [Habakkuk 3:17 – 18]
***** John Wesley called contentment “the inseparable companion of true, vital religion.” So how do we rekindle godliness and reclaim contentment? *****
IV. Rekindling godliness and reclaiming contentment is the healing balm for debt.
A. Check and adjust your ATTITUDE toward stuff.
1. Are you content or do you constantly want more?
2. How do you use what you have?
B. Check and adjust your BELIEF about yourself.
1. What really is important?
2. Are you able to delay gratification?
C. Check and adjust your CENTER of interest and activity.
1. What really interests and motivates you?
2. If you had a choice between the citizenship of heaven or the comforts of earth, which would you take?
