Rich in Good Deeds

            

            Today we are diving into 1 Timothy 6:6-10 and 11-17 which contains the verse that we have been focusing in on as our theme during this stewardship season. Yes, our scriptural theme this season has been 1 Timothy 6:18: “be rich in good deeds.” It’s a really meaningful teaching. But this teaching is actually found in the midst of a rather large section teaching on the topic of money. And it focuses on 2 warnings about money and 2 recommendations about money. And we’re going to look at all of it…

            The first warning that Paul gives is that wealth is not lasting. Just as we came into this world with nothing, we will leave this world with nothing. And this teaching shows up so many places in the Bible that the truth may seem obvious to us nowadays. It showed up in our call to worship from Psalm 49 that told us we cannot carry our riches into the next life. It shows up in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6 where Jesus says, “Don’t store up your treasures on earth where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal.” And James, alluding to Jesus in our readings from James 1 and James 5, spoke of how the rich will one day perish and how gold and silver will rust.

            This teaching that we cannot take our wealth with us should be ingrained deeply in the Judeo-Christian imagination. The best riches can do is provide temporal goods. But, interestingly enough, this type of thinking was not actually universal throughout the world. Take ancient Egypt for example. They thought they could bring riches with them into the afterlife. And so they went to great lengths to build enormous pyramids for their pharaohs so as to provide them with everything that they needed for the afterlife. They were buried with riches and with food. Some were even buried with games so that they would have ways to continue to find entertainment in the next life. There is even evidence that at least some pharaohs may have buried their servants alive with them so as to have servants in the next life. 

            A similar way of thinking was found in ancient China. Look at the mausoleum of China’s first emperor: you’ll see there the terra cotta warriors, over 8,000 life-size soldiers made of clay. There were other figures made of acrobats and musicians for entertainment and of officials for giving wisdom. The emperor similarly must have thought that his wealth and power could extend to the next life.

            It’s a shame. As these rulers neared the end of their life and grew old it should have brought them humility. They should have seen death as the great equalizer where the great and insignificant alike are brought low. And this truth should have perhaps made them more empathetic and compassionate towards the lowly they lorded over. Instead they remained prideful till the end, working their servants hard and using great expense, not to help others, but to build majestic tombs for themselves. And in the end, what did they trust in? Could the clay soldiers protect them? Could money be spent in the afterlife? In ancient Egypt, Jesus’ warnings about thieves breaking in and stealing often came true as grave robbers were rampant, looting the pyramids. Good luck protecting the possessions in your tomb thousands of years after your death.

            Now, it is easy to criticize how foolish the ancient pharaohs and emperor were, and yet whenever we think that we will be more secure by stockpiling earthly riches rather than by prioritizing doing acts of spiritual good, we make the same foolish mistakes they do, just to a lesser extent.

Well, the second warning Paul makes about money is that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Now this verse is actually pretty commonly known in the popular consciousness of our society, but the form that it is known in is actually a misquotation. What people think this verse says it that money is the root of all evil. This is an unfortunate misquotation because it seems to imply that money or greed is the cause of all evil actions. And though greed is often the cause of evil actions… people will do all sorts of things for money: steal, defraud, engage in immoral business practices... we also know that evil sometimes doesn’t have any clearly financial motives. For example, Adam and Eve found ways to sin before money or currency ever existed. The Bible doesn’t say that money is the root of all evil, but the root of all kinds of evil. In other words, though money isn’t the cause of all evil, there are many evils of nearly every sort that can be traced back to financial motivations. A corrupt government could spring from a politician who takes bribes. A false preacher could be teaching unbiblical things because he knows that that is what will bring the people and money in if they say what the people want to hear. Money can lead to all kinds of evils.

But, again, one more correction, the verse isn’t merely that money is the root of all kinds of evil, but that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. In other words, money isn’t inherently bad. It is only the inordinate love of money that is bad. Yes, money isn’t inherently bad. There are a lot of good things you can do with money. You can use money to help others out. You can use money to provide for your family. But there are some who love money wrongly. Perhaps they love money for its own sake. Some view their net worth as a marker of self-worth; if they are richer than others, they feel superior to them.

But Paul goes on to teach the opposite mindset of an inordinate love of money. The opposite is to have a heart of contentment. Yes, Paul’s first recommendation to us about money is to learn the secret of contentment. Now, one step towards contentment is the simple wisdom to know the difference between wants and needs. Some things really are just frivolous and unnecessary to living a good life. But there are some things that we don’t wrongly desire, but we rightly desire because they are necessities of life. So, for example, if I see that my neighbor owns a private jet, I shouldn’t be envious of this. I should realize I don’t need it, that a good life can be lived more locally, without having constant ease of access to traveling across the world. But food and clothing, those are needs according to Paul. We might add shelter to that list. We need those things. We should be beyond grateful whenever our basic needs in life are met, and we should learn to not be envious when our all our wants aren’t fulfilled.

Because envy is one of the quickest routes to discontentment. And envy is insatiable. For example, I’ve found that it’s extremely rare for a person to get so wealthy that they are finally content. Like, sometimes we think, if I could just have 10 million dollars, I’d be content. Or if I could just be a billionaire, I’d be content. But in reality, it seems like every time you reach one milestone, you just find another rung higher you want to reach. I can almost guarantee that if you go up to Bill Gates or Warren Buffett that even their lives are not free from envy. Sometimes this is because there are things money simply can’t buy, and other times it’s because there are things that even they don’t have quite enough money to get.  

Practicing contentment is a reminder that our happiness is far less about how much you have, and more about your mindset towards what you have. It’s like how I’ve seen some children find far more joy in playing outside with sticks and acorns than I’ve seen other children find joy amidst a game room full of every type of brand new toy and gadget. What might contentment look like? Contentment could look like being happy with lentils or ramen for dinner, and not always having to have an expensive or elaborate meal. Contentment could look like finding joy more in friends and family than in objects. Contentment is being happy for others and what they have, but being thankful and grateful with what you have. Contentment is being ok that your job might not make as much money or wield as much power or sounds as impressive as someone else’s job, but being grateful that God has given you a means to provide for yourself or your family. The content person is willing to seek to do a good job in whatever tasks they are given and patiently wait till tasks of greater importance are given to them to do.

So, yes, Paul warns against those who want to be rich and the problems that that can cause. We should rather be content. But, there is one way in which we should desire to be rich, and that is that we should desire to be rich in good deeds. That is Paul’s second recommendation about money: be generous, be rich in good deeds. In other words, if you want to know who is truly wealthy in God’s eyes, it is not the one with a wallet full of cash, but the one with a heart full of love.

Jesus says in Luke 6:38 that if you give, it shall be given to you. And in Proverbs 11:24 it says when one gives freely they gain all the more. This is one of those counterintuitive and upside-down aspects of Christian living: it is in sharing and giving away that we become rich in the ways that really matter. When we stop focusing so much on storing up treasures for ourselves on earth, we may find that we are living in ways that are storing up many treasures for ourselves in heaven.

Now, as a quick aside, when people like Jesus or Paul talk about storing up treasures in heaven, some people take this very literally. They think each good deed, for example, might result in an extra gold bar for them when they get to heaven, or an extra room in the mansion awaiting them in heaven. I’m not sure that the language about treasure in heaven is supposed to be literal. I think the treasures of heaven might be far better than gold bars or big mansions, for the greatest treasures of all might not be anything material, but may be spiritual things, like a deep relationship with God, a life of gratitude and love, and the like. A treasure in heaven may be someone who is your friend for eternity because of your kindness to them. A treasure in heaven may be hearing God say to you, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”

Give and it will be given to you, give and you shall gain all the more. This is perhaps why Paul talks about how one reason that we should be generous is that it allows us to be able to take hold of the life that is really life. I love that phrase. Take hold of the life that is really life. All of us here are living. And yet some us are just barely surviving, and others are really thriving. Think of a moment in your life where you felt really alive. That’s the type of life God wants for us. Jesus said he came that we might have abundant life. But the only way to get that is to live in the counterintuitive, upside-down ways of God. Give and you will receive all the more.

            So, as we live into this stewardship season here at church, as you ponder how you might be able to contribute to the mission of God and the mission of this church, ponder Paul’s teaching. Ponder if you are living for the things of this world or the things of heaven, ponder if you are ever tempted to let the love of money lead you to compromise on your morals, ponder if you could be content with less, and ponder what things you might be able to gain if you give generously and are rich in good works. Give generously, for you have nothing less to gain than the life that is really life, the eternal life that all can receive who, in faith, set their hope not on the uncertainty of riches but on the certainty of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.