PAUL’S CHARGE TO THE CHRISTIAN RICH
(I Tim. 6:17-19)
Overview of I Tim. 4:1-6:19
4:1-2 How False Teaching Enters the Church
4:3-5 Common Grace
4:6 Word of God in Life of the Believer
4:7a Godliness – Divine / Human Role
4:7b Train Yourself to be Godly
4:7c Spiritual Disciplines (The Word of God)
4:7d Spiritual Disciplines (Devotions, Worship)
4.7e Spiritual Disciplines (Church Attendance, Journaling, Practicing Presence of God)
4:8-9 Why Godliness Has Great Value
4:10 Putting Our Hope in the Living God
4:12 Setting an Example for Believers
4:13 What a Christian Worship Service Looked Like in the First Century
4:14 Neglecting the Spiritual Gift God has Given Us
4:15-16 Getting Home Before Dark
5:1-2 So, How Should We Describe the Church?
5:3-16 God’s Tilt Towards the Disenfranchised
5:3-16 Sorting Out those Worthy of Relief – A Biblical Approach to Social Welfare
5:3-16 The Biblical Rationale for Providing for Relatives
5:5-16 The Tale of Two Widows – A Biblical Approach to Pleasure
5:9-10 The Good Works of a New Testament Woman
5:11-14 The Younger Widows – Breaking Celibacy Vows
5:11-14 The Younger Widows – Gossiping False Teaching
5:15 Satan’s Effort to Keep Jesus from Fulfilling His Mission
5:17-18 Honoring the Work of Elders
5:19-20 How NT Church Discipline Illustrates Cultural Formation
5:21 Partiality – A Christian Problem?
5:22-24 Selecting Church Leadership
5:23 The Christian’s Use and Abuse of Alcoholic Beverages
6:1 Honoring God’s Name
6:1-2 A What In Christianity Undermined Slavery?
6:1-2 B The Evangelical Awakening and Abolition of Slavery
6:1-2 C Masters and Slaves / Employers and Employees
6:3-5 Why Do Some Christians Become False Teachers?
6:6-8 Christian Contentment
6:9-10 For the Love of Money
6:11 Holiness – Living on the Run
6:12 Fighting for the Faith; Holding on to Life
6:13-14 What Motivates the Christian – Part A
6:15-16 What Motivates the Christian – Part B
6:17-19 Paul’s Charge to the Christian Rich – Part A
17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
INTRODUCTION:
1. The remainder of this letter has Paul issuing five charges:
a. To False Teachers (3-5)
b. To the Christian Poor (6-10)
c. To the ‘man of God’(11-16)
d. To the Christian Rich (17-19)
(1) Dangers that face the wealthy Christian.
(2) The special responsibility of the wealthy Christian.
(3) The wealthy Christian’s motives for giving.
e. To Timothy (20-21)
Paul seeks to make the rich Ephesian Christians aware of three aspects of handling their wealth :
1. Dangers that face the wealthy Christian.
2. The special responsibility of the wealthy Christian.
3. The wealthy Christian’s motives for giving.
In 6:6-10 Paul writes to those “who want to get rich.” Here in I Tim. 6:17-19 he is writes to “those who are rich.”
The Rich in Ephesus
“Paul’s readers also knew economic disparity. The Ephesian church consisted of slaves (6:1-2), poor widows (5:3-15), well-to-do women (2:9-10) and householders (where the fellowship meetings were held) and some of these could be categorized as ‘the rich’” (Towner, 147).
“Sometimes we think of the early Church as composed entirely of poor people and slaves. Here we see that even as early as this it had its wealthy members.” (Barclay, pg. 147)
Two examples might be Lydia, “a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira” … “After Paul and Silas came out of the prison they went to Lydia’s house” (Acts 16:14,40) and Philemon, a slave owner whom Paul asks “Prepare a guest room for me, …” (Philemon 1:22).
Materialism – Asceticism
The Ephesian church was challenged concerning asceticism by the false teachers, “They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods ….” Which Paul refers to as “things taught by demons” (4:2-3).
Guthrie writes, “These words would incidentally provide an answer to excessive abstinence, for if God has ordained everything for our enjoyment “who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” the ascetic approach cannot be right” (Pg. 130).
Though asceticism is not a lifestyle set before the Christian neither is materialism. We are not to exchange asceticism for materialism. Paul is not ascetic but neither is he a materialist.
We do not have problems with asceticism but we do have major problems with materialism. Also we in the World Community class are wealthy. Out of a 100 people we would be in the top 2-3 percent of the wealthiest people in the world. In the USA we are probably in the top 25% if not higher.
In I Tim. 6:17-19 Paul seeks to make the rich Ephesian Christians, and us too, aware of three aspects in relationship to wealth:
I. DANGERS THAT FACE THE WEALTHY CHRISTIAN
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, … (I Tim. 1:17a).
ARROGANCE – Wealth gives birth to vanity.
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant ….” (I Tim. 1:17a)
“Tell those who are rich in this world’s wealth to quit being so full of themselves …” (I Tim. 6:17).
Pride is so subtle that it reveals itself even when we are unaware of its presence. Wealth makes us think we are a step above others and have certain rights.
ILLUSTRATION: Robert Burns the Scottish poet was walking with a wealthy friend in a city in Scotland. While walking he met a man in a worn out, torn and dirty coat on the street. Mr. Burns stopped and had a long discussion with the old man. When we resumed his walk his wealthy gentleman friend asked, “What were you doing talking to a man with such an old and worn out coat?” Robert Burns replied, “I was not talking to the coat, I was talking to the man.”
“Rich people are constantly faced with the temptation to put on airs or superiority. Riches and pride are frequently found together, and the wealthier an individual is, the greater the temptation. It is exceedingly difficult to be wealthy and have a humble spirit. The temptation is to view others as mere servants since wealthy people tend to hire others to do everything for them” (MacAthur, Pg. 281).
….. and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God ….. (Deut. 8:13-14).
By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud (Ezek. 28:5).
A poor man pleads for mercy, but a rich man answers harshly (Prov. 18:23).
We may not answer harshly but we have probably been impolite to the poor in the past.
QUESTION: Why does wealth tend to produce arrogance?
APPLICATION: It is very difficult for a person to be rich and/or in a position of power and remain a humble individual.
PUTTING HOPE IN UNCERTAIN WEALTH
Command those who are rich in this present world not … to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain … (I Tim. 1:17a).
Jesus warned about the ravages of moth, rust and burglars in Matthew 6:19. We would want to add fire and inflation as further hazards (Stott, Pg. 161).
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal (Matthew 6:19).
ILLUSTRATION: Inflation has now jumped over 4% …. Which means a loss of any savings that are earning less than 4%.
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 (Prov. 23:4-5).
“A … temptation is to rest on the security given by possessions, feeling comfortable that, if all else fails, at least one has a healthy bank balance. So the bank subtly usurps the pace that God alone should occupy” (Griffiths, 121).
ILLUSTRATION – READ: The Rich Fool – (Lk. 12:16-21).
16Then he told them this story: “The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. 17He talked to himself: “What can I do? My barn isn’t big enough for this harvest.’ 18Then he said, “Here’s what I’ll do: I’ll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I’ll gather in all my grain and goods, 19and I’ll say to myself, Self, you’ve done well! You’ve got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!’ 20″Just then God showed up and said, “Fool! Tonight you die. And your barn full of goods–who gets it?’ (Luke 12:16-20, The Message).
QUESTION: Where is the balance between planning prudently for the future and trusting in the Lord for His provision?
We are to avoid being a sluggard!
I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest – and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man (Prov. 224:30-34).
We are to save for the future
Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? When will you get up from your sleep? (Prov. 6:6-8).
Command those who are rich in this present world … to put their hope in God, … (I Tim. 6:17b).
ILLUSTRATION: We work hard every day in our small business, certainly putting in forty hours plus. And we track the numbers very carefully. At the end of every month I have good reason to praise the Lord because for the past 8 years we have never had a losing quarter or a quarter when sales did not increase. Yet at the end of every month worry still hits me and I have to intentionally put the matter of my family’s welfare back into God’s hands.
STINGINESS
Command them to …be generous and willing to share (I Tim. 6:18).
QUESTION: What were the sins of Sodom?
Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen (Ezek. 16:49-50).
I. DANGERS THAT FACE THE WEALTHY CHRISTIAN
II. THE UNIQUE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WEALTHY CHRISTIAN
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share (I Tim. 6:18).
Not a confusing verse to understand – Do good, rich in good deeds, generous, willing to share.
“The teaching of the Christian ethic is, not that wealth is a sin, but that it is a very great responsibility. If a man’s wealth ministers to nothing but his own pride and enriches no one but himself, it becomes his ruination, because it impoverishes his soul. But if he uses it to bring help and comfort to others, in becoming poorer, he really becomes richer.” (Barclay, pg. 138)
QUESTION: Based on Paul’s letter to I Timothy 5, how are the rich to use their wealth?
Taking care of parents and grandparents (5:4)
Provide for relatives and immediate family (5:8)
Care for widows in the family (5:16)
Care for widows through the church (5:16)
Support the elders of the church (5:17)
God’s laborers in the field (Phil. 4:16-17)
Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need (Phil. 4:15-16).
Taxes (Romans 13:6-7)
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue … (Romans 13:6-7).
There is no question that God champions the poor throughout the Bible (I Cor. 1:27-29) and rebukes the rich (I Cor. 121:20-22). Yet Paul was a beneficiary of the rich, staying in their homes (Philemon).
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share (I Tim. 6:18).
The word for “share” is koinonikous and relates to the Greek term for “fellowship” (koinonia). “We can experience a deep fellowship when believers make their resources available to one another” (Life Application, Pg. 138).
ILLUSTRATION: Have you ever thought of your checkbook or credit card statement as a diary? Or a picture? Like pictures, the checkbook entries speak a thousand words. If a stranger came into possession of your checkbook, what would he or she conclude about your values? About your stewardship? About how you honor God? (Life Application, Pg. 127).
ILLUSTRATIONS:
Adele Blackmer: Her husband was not a believer so she worked 4 hours a day at a school lunchroom so that she could provide money for missions.
Man at Lima Baptist: Decided to drive an old car one more year so that he could give more to missions.
My own song: He had committed himself to giving several thousand dollars to purchasing some land in Indonesia for the Bible College. I asked if he could increase that amount and he readily agreed. I apologized for asking him for more and he replied, “It’s not my money.”
APPLICATION: “Every spending decision is a spiritual decision” (Ron Blue).
SO WHAT????
1. It is not a sin to be wealthy.
2. Wealth brings along with it the dangers of arrogance, misplaced trust in wealth and not God and stinginess.
3. The wealthy Christian is God’s steward. He is responsible to provide for his extended family, the leadership of the church, the propagation of the good news and through the payment of taxes, the government.
17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
INTRODUCTION:
1. The remainder of this letter has Paul issuing five charges:
a. To False Teachers (3-5)
b. To the Christian Poor (6-10)
c. To the ‘man of God’(11-16)
d. To the Christian Rich (17-19)
(1) Dangers that face the wealthy Christian.
(Arrogance; Putting hope in wealth; Stinginess)
(2) The special responsibility of the wealthy Christian.
(3) The wealthy Christian’s motives for giving.
e. To Timothy (20-21)
Paul seeks to make the rich Ephesian Christians aware of three aspects of handling their wealth :
1. Dangers that face the wealthy Christian.
2. The unique responsibility of the wealthy Christian.
3. The wealthy Christian’s motives for giving.
I. DANGERS THAT FACE THE WEALTHY CHRISTIAN
II. THE UNIQUE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WEALTHY CHRISTIAN
III. THE WEALTHY CHRISTIAN’S MOTIVES FOR GIVING
Christians should always give because of Christ giving His life for us. That is how Paul motivated the Corinthian Christians to give when He said, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (II Cor. 9:15). But Paul sets forth some further motives for giving:
GOD HAS GIVEN ALL THINGS FOR OUR ENJOYMENT.
…… God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment (17b).
God wants us to have a good time, to “enjoy” life.
ILLUSTRATION: Paul Little – Some Christians feel God looks over the banister of heaven and sees us having a good time and shouts, “Are you having a good time? Cut it out!”
All the things beyond eternal salvation that God provides us with for our enjoyment is often referred to as “Common Grace.” These things are called “Common” because they are given to (common to) the whole human race for their enjoyment. We looked at “Common Grace” when we studied I Tim. 4:4 –
For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving … (I Tim. 4:4).
We too often live in our world like a blind man in a supermarket. We don’t “see” all of God’s good gifts.
ILLUSTRATION: My wife told me that she would call her ex-husband out to see a sunset and he would say “Yeah” and turn around and walk back in the house.
ILLUSTRATION: For myself, when I became a Christian the whole world around seemed so different. When I first sang the following hymn I could say, yes, that is true of me too:
Heaven above is softer blue,
Earth around is sweeter green;
something lives in every hue
Christless eyes have never seen:
Birds with gladder songs o’erflow,
Flowers with deeper beauties shine,
Since I know, as now I know,
I am His and He is mine.
Yet, we tend to take God’s creation for granted. Poets can help open our eyes to these good gifts.
RENASCENCE – Edna St. Vincent Millay
We talked about that God is both omniscient and has feelings and the poet imagined she was omniscient and because she felt all the misery in the world, she wished for death … and died. Now she speaks from the grave. It is starting to rain and she hears the patter of the rain above, on the roof of her grave.
The rain, I said is kind to come
And speak to me in my new home.
I would I were alive again
To kiss the fingers of the rain,
To drink into my eyes the shine
Of every slanting silver line,
To catch the freshened, fragrant breeze
From drenched and dripping apple-trees.
For soon the shower will be done,
And then the broad face of the sun
Will laugh above the rain-soaked earth
Until the world with answering mirth
Shakes joyously, and each round drop
Rolls, twinkling, from its grass-blade top.
How can I bear it; buried here
While overhead the sky grows clear
And blue again after the storm?
She prays to be delivered from the grave and a thunderstorm comes and washes away the grave. She continues …
I know not how such things can be;
I only know there came to me
A fragrance such as never clings
To aught save happy living things.
….
The grass, a-tiptoe at my ear,
Whispering to me I could hear;
I felt the rain’s cool finger-tips
Brushed tenderly across my lips,
Laid gently on my sealed sight,
And all at once the heavy night
Fell from my eyes and I could see, —
A drenched and dripping apple-tree,
A last long line of silver rain,
A sky grown clear and blue again.
…
I know not how such things can be! –
I breathed my soul back into me
Ah! Up then from the ground sprang I
And hailed the earth which such a cry
As is not heard save from a man
Who has been dead, and lives again.
About the trees my arms I wound;
Like one gone mad I hugged the ground;
I raised my quivering arms on high;
I laughed and laughed into the sky,
APPLICATION: Have you ever felt like that, hugged the ground, wound your arms around a tree, reveled in a rainstorm, the feel of rain on your body. Have you ever thanked God for these wonderful gifts? These are unbelievable gifts given to us for our enjoyment.
A couple of stanzas from another poet, John Greenleaf Whittier who wrote, “The Barefoot Boy.” He is probably thinking about his own boyhood and writing about a six or seven year old. Maybe children understand better than any of us that “God has given us all things for our enjoyment.”
O for boyhood’s time of June,
Crowding years in one brief moon,
When all things I heard or saw,
Me, their master, waited for!
I was rich in flowers and trees,
Humming-birds and honey-bees;
For my sport the squirrel played,
Plied the snouted mole his spade;
For my taste the blackberry cone
Purpled over hedge and stone;
Laughed the brook for my delight,
Through the day and through the night;
Whispering at the garden wall,
Talked with me from fall to fall;
Mine, the sand rimmed pickerel pond,
Mine the walnut slopes beyond,
Mine, on bending orchard trees,
Apples of Hesperides!
Still, as my horizon grew,
Larger grew my riches too,
All the world I saw or knew
Seemed a complex Chinese toy,
Fashioned for a barefoot boy.
APPLICATION: Is that how we see the world, the creation, as God gift to us? As a complex Chinese toy?
Finally we see the barefoot boy sitting on the door stone of his home eating bread and milk at dusk watching the setting sun. Here is how someone who truly appreciates God’s creation would describe the situation:
Oh for festal dainties spread,
Like my bowl of milk and bread;
Pewter spoon and bowl of wood,
On the door-stone, gray and rude!
O’er me, like a regal tent,
Cloudy-ribbed, the sunset bent,
Purple-curtained, fringed with gold,
Looped in many a wind-swung fold;
While for music came the play
Of the pied frogs’ orchestra;
And, to light the noisy choir,
Lit the fly his lamp of fire.
I was monarch: pomp and joy
Waited on the barefoot boy!
APPLICATION: These simple poems speak to me because I pass through my days without noticing the wonders of God’s creation nor enjoying them as God intended.
John Stott:
“We should determine, then, to recognize and acknowledge, and appreciate and celebrate, all the gifts of the Creator: the glory of the heavens and of the earth, of mountain, river and sea, of forest and flowers, of birds, bees and butterflies, and of the intricate balance of the natural environment; the unique privileges of our humanness (rational, moral, social and spiritual), as we were created in God’s image and appointed his stewards; the joys of gender, marriage, sex, children, parenthood and family life, and of our extended family and friends; the rhythm of work and rest, of daily work as a means to cooperate with God and serve the common good, and of the Lord’s day when we exchange work for worship; the blessings of peace, freedom, justice and good government, and of food and drink, clothing and shelter; and our human creativity expressed in music, literature, painting, sculpture and drama, and in the skills and strengths displayed in sport”(Stott, pg. 115)
G.K. Chesterson:
You say grace before meals.
All right.
But I say grace before the play and the opera,
And grace before the concert and the pantomime,
And grace before I open a book,
And grace before sketching, painting,
Swimming, fencing, boxing, walking, playing, dancing;
And grace before I dip the pen in the ink.” (Stott, 115).
ILLUSTRATION: We need to read God’s invisible billboard that is posted everywhere: “FOR YOUR ENJOYMENT” (God)
APPLICATION: We give to others because God has given us eternal life along with all things for our enjoyment!
GIVING IS A WAY FOR US TO STORE UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN, FOR THE LIFE THAT IS TRULY LIFE.
19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
THE PARABLE OF THE SHREWD MANAGER
1Jesus told his disciples: “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. 2So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.’ 3″The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg— 4I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’ 5″So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’
6″ ‘Eight hundred gallons[a] of olive oil,’ he replied. “The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’ 7″Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’ ” ‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.
“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’
8″The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. 9I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.
It is important to note that this parable does not teach that we are saved from sin by doing good works or good things. The Bible is very clear how a person is saved from sin:
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast (Ephesians 2:8-9).
But this is a difficult parable to interpret. It is a story about as choice a set of rascals as one could meet anywhere. The Steward was an embezzler and the debtors were liars (Barclay, pg. 207-208).
J.C. Ryle’s lesson: The wisdom of providing against the future
“Perhaps the best commentary on I Tim. 6:19 is Jesus’ parable of the unjust steward or shrewd manager. He used his influence in the present to secure his future and Jesus commended him for his prudence, though not for his dishonesty. It is a question of perspective and of proportion. Which is the more valuable? Is it to be rich in this age or in the age to come?” Stott, pg. 162).
“Over and over again a man will expend twenty times the amount of time and money and effort on his pleasure, his hobby, his garden, his sport as he does on his church. Our Christianity will begin to be real and effective only when we spend as much time and effort on it as we do on our worldly activities.” (Barclay, 208)
19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Verse 19 is plainly reflected in the teaching of Jesus:
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Mt. 6:19-20).
“Responsible living in this life is a necessary building block or stepping-stone to the coming age. For the rich, responsible use of wealth (sharing, giving) is evidence of genuine faith. In this way they “work out their salvation” in this age” (Towner, 148).
The verse plainly states that every time we give we increase the riches laid up for us in heaven, when this life comes to an end.
Ambrose, an early Christian leader, commenting on the rich fool who built bigger barns to store his goods, said, “The bosoms of the poor, the houses of widows, the mouths of children are the barns that last forever” (Barclay on Luke, pg. 209).
I would add one more “barn” …. The hearts of those that come to Christ because we have invested our money in their salvation.
Is there a soul who died, who died because of me,
Forever shut away from heaven and from Thee;
Because I tightly clutched my little earthly store
Nor sent Thy messengers unto some distant shore?
APPLICATION: When God calculates what we have stored in heaven’s bank it will not be based on the amount we gave but more on percentages. Jesus said that the widow who gave two pennies into the temple treasury
SUMMARY: PAUL’S TEACHING ON MONEY IN I TIM 6
Looking over both the paragraphs about money, the apostle’s balanced wisdom becomes apparent. Against materialism (an obsessions with material possessions) he sets simplicity of lifestyle. Against asceticism (the repudiation of the material order) he sets gratitude for God’s creation. Against covetousness (the lust for more possessions) he sets contentment with what we have. Against selfishness (the accumulation of good for ourselves) he sets generosity in imitation of God. Simplicity, gratitude, contentment and generosity constitute a healthy quadrilateral of Christian living (Stott, pg. 162-164).
SO WHAT????
1. If we really start appreciating all of the good things that God has given us we will find giving of our material wealth a way to say thank you to our loving creator!
2. Having a correct perspective on this present life as it relates to the life that is really life in heaven forever will motivate us to give generously of our possessions.