Instructions To The Rich Like You
17 “Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. 18 Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, 19 storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:17-19 NKJV
Verse 12 in this chapter instructs us to fight the good fight of faith. That is always inspiring but did you know that in context this verse is speaking about money? Yes, the principle behind it is true and it can be applied to all areas of our daily Christian walk. But in the context of this chapter, it is really telling us to fight the good fight of faith in regards to our finances, specifically about our attitude towards money and towards giving. In fact, in verse 17 instructions are given to the rich. You may think that lets you off the hook because you are not rich. However, it is referring to you and you are considered to be among the rich.
While we may not feel as though we are rich when we view things from the perspective of the world’s economy, the reality is that even those considered poor in our country are rich by compared with the rest of the world. Our poorest are richer than 90 percent of the rest of the world. Almost everyone in this country has enough to eat today and most have a place to sleep. Even those who don’t can find relief from the Government or other charitable organizations. Those things are not true across much of this world.
When things go bad in our economy, we adjust our spending and fretfully decide that there are things we can no longer do. Unfortunately for many that may mean that they give less back to Jesus in the form of tithes and other offerings and gifts. When this happens we are tying ourselves to the world’s economy and not to God’s economy. Our actions suggest that we have more confidence or trust in the world’s economy than we do in God’s economy. It says we have more trust in money than we do in the Lord’s ability to provide for us all we need.
Paul tells us through his letter to Timothy that those of us that have anything financial, even if it is ten dollars in your wallet, that we need not trust in that money but to put our confidence totally in Him who “gives us richly all things to enjoy”. Jesus has much for you and He has it for you for you to enjoy, so look to Him and not to the money of this world. If we truly trust in Him then we will be quick to do good and help others and we will support the work of Jesus we witness in our churches or other ministries. You are rich in Him whether you have seen it yet or not. If you are not living that reality then it is time to start to do more giving and less holding on to money which is not your source anyway. Give and experience the riches of this life which He has for you.
J Todd Hostetler