(1 Timothy 6: 6-19)
When I think about my grandfather Rosekrans, I am reminded of the simplicity of his life. And it’s not, as we like to think, that he lived in simpler times. Born in 1893 he witnessed the first World War, the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918, the Great Depression, the rise of fascism and World War Two, the atomic bomb, the Korean War, the Cold War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Civil Rights Movement, and Vietnam before passing in 1973 while I was in college in Texas. He was a Methodist minister before the Methodist Church combined with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church. After he retired, he and my step-grandmother moved to “The Shack” situated on the banks of the Canandaigua Outlet. It was basically a one-bedroom shack out in the woods complete with a two-hole outhouse which I considered quite a novelty, although I did question the need for two side-by-side seats. My step-grandmother insisted on in-door plumbing before she would take up permanent residence so a bathroom was added that required you to walk down a hallway that had a huge tree growing up through the roof he refused to cut down. I loved spending time at The Shack living a boy’s life exploring the woods and building rafts out of his scrap lumber pile to float down the outlet with my cousin John. We’d go out in the morning to pick wild berries for our cereal or pancakes. For lunch we’d pick fresh vegetables out of the garden, and then have leftovers for dinner. We’d walk up and down the dirt road in front of their house picking up cabbages and vines full of peas that had fallen off the farm trucks, and if I was good, they would treat me to a bowl of Mellorine which they insisted really was as good as ice cream. As far as I could tell, his only vice was watching professional wrestling on Channel 8 out of nearby Rochester. Don’t even think about suggesting it might be fake. Although I didn’t think he had much in the way of worldly possessions he was one of the happiest and most contented persons I’ve ever known. He loved his wife, his kids, his many grandkids, The Shack, his profession, his God, and his life. He was wealthy beyond comparison, and he kept it simple.
And being godly and happy with what you have, keeping it simple is what the Apostle Paul is talking about in our scripture reading for this morning. Paul starts out by saying: Actually, godliness is a great source of profit when it is combined with being happy with what you already have. We didn’t bring anything into the world and so we can’t take anything out of it: we’ll be happy with food and clothing. This statement is the key to spiritual growth and personal fulfillment. Paul is reminding us that, in all things, we should honor God and center our desires on him, and we should be content with what God is doing in our lives. Paul points out that there are people among us who are trying to get rich who find themselves succumbing to temptation. He says: They are trapped by many stupid and harmful passions that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The love of money, he says, is the root of all kinds of evil. He points out that some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal. What is truly amazing to me is that Paul is saying this two thousand years ago. Who says the Bible is no longer relevant? He continues by saying to Timothy: But as for you, man of God, run away from all these things. Instead, pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life—you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses. Take a moment and notice the language Paul uses here. He employs active and forceful verbs to describe the Christian life such as: run away, pursue, compete, and grab hold. He knows that some think Christianity, being a Follower of the Way of Jesus Christ, is a passive religion or belief system that advocates waiting for God to act. This, I think, begs the question: What if God is waiting for us to do what we know needs to be done? We must have an active faith, proper training in the way, a hard work ethic, and a sacrificing spirit in doing what we know is right. Our discipline and obedience in being a Christian largely defines whether or not we will be contributors or merely spectators.
Paul gives Timothy a stern admonishment to obey this order without fault or failure until Christ comes again at a time known only to God. He says to: Tell people who are rich at this time not to become egotistical and not to place their hope on their finances, which are uncertain. Instead, they need to hope in God, who richly provides everything for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in the good things they do, to be generous, and to share with others. When they do these things, they will save a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future. That way they can take hold of what is truly life. Paul is just as concerned with the souls of the wealthy as he is with the souls of the less fortunate, with the poor, with the downtrodden. But he also sees them as an asset to the growth and enrichment of the kingdom if they use their wealth and resources as a way of giving back to God for all of their blessings.
This is the challenge that comes with wealth, to learn to use what we have as tools for growing in compassion and faith. John Wesley, the founder of our denomination, understood this and knew that, as Christians, we cannot stay in faith unless our faith leads to hope for the world and to love for others and for the whole creation that God loves. He wholeheartedly believed that good works were expressions of our faith. They emanate from our new being in Christ, just as a good tree bears good fruit. Our Wesleyan spiritual disciplines exist so that we “take hold of what is truly life” by manifesting our faith through good works, and the wealth and resources we have at our disposal are the means by which we accomplish that which God desires of us in our daily walk with Christ. The Apostle Paul and John Wesley both believed that the pursuit of money was a source of temptation that has led some away from the faith. For them, the person of God flees from these temptations and pursues righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. They knew that finances were uncertain, but that God richly provides for us.
But despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most people still believe that money brings happiness. Rich people craving greater riches can be caught up in an endless cycle that only ends in ruin and destruction. So how can you keep away from the love of money? First, you have to realize that one day the riches will all be gone. You have to be content with what you have and monitor what you are willing to do to get more money. You have to commit to love people more than money, love God’s work more than money, and freely share what you have with others. In doing this, it is often helpful to distinguish between needs and wants. We may have all we need to live but let ourselves become anxious and discontented over what we merely want. The challenge is in choosing to be content without having all that we want.
It’s all about being faithful to God and to learn faithfulness we must learn to give. In the end we will become not what we own but what we do. Good and generous hearts build lives worth living. So, if you have been blessed with wealth, then thank the Lord. Use your money to do good. Be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share. And no matter how much money you have, your life should demonstrate that God controls the wealth that he has placed under your care, so keep it simple.
Let us pray.
Take our lives and let them be consecrated, Lord, to thee. Take our moments and our days, let them flow in ceaseless praise. Gracious and loving Father, move us by your Spirit to worship and honor you above all else. Move us to pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Give us the strength to compete in the good fight of faith. Help us to be contented with what you have provided us for our daily needs so that we may use our abundance generously as we share our blessings with others in your service. In Jesus’ name, we pray, Amen.