David's Blog

How to handle the gifts of God.....not least money - Midweek Message 26th August 2020

 


Dear Friends,

Command 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.  Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In 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. (1 Timothy 6.17-19)

There are so many warnings on the lips of Jesus and in the writings of his apostles about the dangers of money and wealth. As we saw last Sunday, Jesus warned his disciples against seeking treasure on earth which does not and cannot last, but rather encouraged them to seek lasting treasure in heaven. Yet that raises the question of how here on earth, a Christian is to handle their money, their wealth. It’s relevant question given that though we may not regard ourselves as particularly wealthy or rich as we compare ourselves with our immediate neighbours, yet relative to our global neighbours, we all undoubtedly belong to the richest section of the world’s population.  

In these words to Timothy above, Paul echoes much of what Jesus says in Matthew 6.19-21 as he warns Christians from putting their hope, their trust in money  (i.e. giving their heart to money) and encourages them rather  to foster an outward looking  and open-handed lifestyle which doesn’t store up treasure on earth for selfish purposes but rather seeks to give of itself and its wealth for the sake of others and by so doing lays up treasure…for the coming age. Yet that doesn’t mean despising or feeling guilty about the wealth, the money we have, for notice Paul also speaks of the character of the God in whom we are to put our hope as one who richly provides everything for our enjoyment. Earlier in the letter, he also warned Timothy of an unhealthy and unholy ascetic spirit which refused the gifts for example of food or marriage and reminded him everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving  (1 Timothy 4:4)  

So how do we handle good things, created things, God given things that come to us in this life, including money and wealth? In answer to that I hope a further look this coming Sunday at Matthew 6.19-24 will shed some light on this but in the meantime I wanted to complete the quote from CS Lewis, which I included Sunday past, for I think he strikes the right balance:

'Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for those desires exists. A baby feels hunger: well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim: well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire: well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world. If none of my earthly pleasures satisfy it, that does not prove that the universe is a fraud. Probably earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy it, but only to arouse it, to suggest the real thing’…..and then he continues:

‘If that is so, I must take care, on the one hand, never to despise, or to be unthankful for, these earthly blessings, and on the other, never to mistake them for the something else of which they are only a kind of copy, or echo, or mirage. I must keep alive in myself the desire for my true country, which I shall not find till after death; I must never let it get snowed under or turned aside; I must make it the main object of life to press on to that country and to help others to do the same.’

Yours in seeking that balance,

David