A question for you. Do you think it’s wrong for a Christian to buy a lottery ticket? I’m not asking, “Do you think it’s a good investment? Or do you think you have a good chance of winning it all?” I’m asking, “Is it wrong for a Christian to purchase a chance to become a millionaire?” I’d love to have every one of you weigh in on this topic, but this isn’t really a Bible class, so I can’t do that. So instead, I’ll simply say this. First of all, there is no Eleventh Commandment, “Thou shalt not buy a lottery ticket.” By that I mean that there is nothing inherently sinful in participating in a game of chance. But, let me ask you this. Does anyone actually buy a lottery ticket without wanting to win it? Isn’t that why they’re forking out their hard earned money? They want to become rich. They want to become a millionaire.
Some of you remember a certain game show by that name. Regis Philbin, Meredith Vieira, Cedrick the Entertainer all asked the same question, “Who wants to be a millionaire?” Today in our text, the Apostle Paul asks that same question. He asks, in effect, so…
Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
But in Paul’s case, he doesn’t ask this question rhetorically. He asks it to force us to take a hard look at our own hearts. What’s our attitude toward money—both the money we have, and the money we don’t. Paul focuses on:
- The Danger of Loving Money
- The Responsibility of Having Money
The portion of God’s word that we have before us contains one of the most familiar, and yet, most misquoted passages in all of Scripture. How often don’t you hear it said, “Money is the root of all evil?” But that’s not what the Bible says. Money is not a bad thing. Money is a good thing. God uses money to bless his believers. No, what God actually says about money is what Paul writes here in our text. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
The question is, what does that look like? What does it look like to love money? Does loving money mean kissing every $20.00 I put in my wallet? Or making a pile of the green stuff on my dresser and bowing down and worshipping it? Or maybe I take a bath in it? “I love my money!” No, how does Paul defines the love of money? He writes, People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. Notice who’s on the path to destruction. “Those who want to get rich.” A little later Paul says, Some people, eager for money…. The Greek word there implies a longing for money, a desire for money, yes, a love for money.
But now, maybe you’re still thinking to yourself, “Wait a minute. You’re saying it’s wrong for me to want more money? Is it wrong for me to ask my boss for a raise? Is it wrong to make a career change that brings with at a higher salary? Not necessarily. As is so often the case, it’s not what you do, it’s why you do it that determines whether it’s right or wrong. Can a Christian say, “All I want to do is use my God-given talents to God’s glory and I think Company X gives me a better opportunity to do that than Company Y. And if that company is willing to pay me more because of that good fit, so be it. I’m not really working for the money. I’m working to be a good manager of my time and talents.
On the other hand, if my only goal is to make more money, if my only goal is to become rich, then I’d better heed St. Paul’s warning, People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap…. What kind of trap? Well, let me give you a couple of examples. Sylvia worked as a bookkeeper for the family business. Loved her job. Loved the business. Loved the people she worked with. But Sylvia loved money more. She thought that no one would notice the bogus expenses she was charging to the company, all the while keeping the money for herself. Now Sylvia is doing time in prison.
Or how about Travis? Travis wasn’t happy with the money he was making. He dreamed of a larger house, a nicer car. He started day trading in the stock market. By the time the market bottomed out, he’d not only lost his job and his life savings, he’d almost lost his family. Olivia and her husband had their hearts set on a dream vacation they couldn’t afford, the bedroom set they had no money to pay for, the big screen TV they couldn’t live without. They put them all on their credit cards. They wanted to live like the lifestyle of the rich, without the money to pay for it. They are hopelessly in debt.
My friends, do you see what St. Paul means? People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. And mind you, that love of money, that love of what money can buy, doesn’t just lead to financial ruin. Sometimes it leads to spiritual ruin.
Take Melanie for example. Melanie used to be a regular church-goer. Her faith was alive and growing. But gradually she stopped coming to church. When I asked her about it, she said, “Oh, I have to work.” I said, “Really? You work 7 days a week?” She said, “I took a second job.” I said, “Why?” She said, “Because I need the money.” I’m thinking, “Because you need the money, or because you want the money? You want what money can buy you—and at what cost to your soul? At what cost to your life on both sides of the grave?” How does St. Paul put it? Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
My friends, I share these examples, not so that you can say, “I wonder who pastor is talking about.” Not so you can say, “I think that person over there has a problem with money.” No I share these examples to point out how many different ways that a love of money can show itself in our lives. That constant desire for more stuff, bigger, faster, shinier, fancier stuff—even if it means robbing from God to get it. Even if it means sacrificing my relationship to God on both sides of the grave.
I don’t know about you, but I feel like these words hit close to home. I know that Satan has sown the seeds of discontent in my heart. He gets me to want stuff that I don’t need. He gets me to value earthly treasures over heavenly treasures. And I don’t think I’m the only one that Satan is working on—which is exactly why Paul says what he does here in our text. How does Paul put it? But you, man of God, flee from all this, [that is, flee from the love of money, flee from those temptations, and instead] pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. In other words, Christian, set your sight on things that have true value in God’s eyes: living a godly life, building up your faith by spending time in his Word, and fighting the good fight of faith, as Paul describes it.
And what gives you reason to believe that you will be successful in this spiritual battle against the love of money? Well, remember how Paul begins this section. He says, But you, man of God…. In context, Paul is writing to Timothy who was kind of his understudy, his son in the faith. But in reality, Paul is directing these words to every believer in Christ. He’s talking to you and me. He’s saying, “You who have had your sins paid in full by the blood of the Jesus, you who have been set free from the chains of Satan, you who have been set apart for God’s purpose, yes, you, dear Christian are a man of God. You are a woman of God. And that makes all the difference in the world. In Christ Jesus your Lord, you have everything you need. You can be content with what you have because you have the Lord himself. How did the Psalmist put it? Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. (Psalms 73:25) That puts everything in perspective doesn’t it? I mean once you know you have a mansion waiting for you in heaven, you realize you really don’t need a mansion here on earth.
But now, maybe you’re thinking, “You know, I don’t need a mansion here on earth. I don’t need to be rich. I don’t want to be a millionaire.” But what if, in spite of what you or I want or don’t want—what if God makes us a millionaire anyway? Now, again, maybe you’re thinking, “Yeah, fat chance that’s ever happening.” Are you sure about that? Do you realize that if you work from age 25 to age 65, making an average of $30,000/year, you will have earned well over a million dollars throughout the course of your life. That means that over the course of your life, God will place a whole lot of money into your hands. And I’m not just talking about adults. I’m talking about teenagers and even grade school students. When you compare our discretionary income to a whole lot of people in our world, we’re “loaded.”
Understand, I say that not to make anyone feel guilty. I mean, remember, God is the one who decided exactly how much money you and I would have, or where in the world we would live. No, I say that as a reminder that there are certain dangers, and opportunities that come with riches. In fact, that’s why, in the verses immediately following our text, the Apostle Paul offers some pretty pointed advice to people who are rich. Paul writes, 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. In other words, if you have wealth, don’t flaunt it; don’t boast about it; don’t put your trust in it because it is so uncertain (“here today, gone tomorrow”). Rather, put your trust God who gave you your money, and more importantly, gave you the ability to enjoy your money. How did wise and wealthy King Solomon put it? A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? (Ecclesiastes 2:24-25)
But notice that Paul has another piece of advice for those who are rich. He says, Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. (1 Timothy 6:17-18). In other words, when God gives us wealth—and he’s given us all wealth—he does that so we can do good for others. God’s formula is not “the more you have, the more you can keep.” No, it’s “the more you have the more you can share. What does Jesus say? “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” (Luke 12:48)
Jesus’ point is this. With additional wealth comes additional responsibilities to use our wealth wisely. Or to use the term that Jesus used in our gospel lesson today, use our wealth “shrewdly.” Isn’t that what the servant in the parable did? He used his master’s wealth shrewdly so that when it was gone, there would be people who would welcome the servant into their homes. Jesus applies that parable to our lives when he says, I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed (literally, so that they will welcome you) into eternal dwellings. (Luke 16:9)
What’s the only way to use earthly wealth to make sure that there are people ready to welcome you into heaven? The answer: Use your money to spread the gospel. Use it to build schools and pay pastors and send missionaries to proclaim the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. For in that way, there will be people waiting for you in heaven when you are saved by that same gospel of Jesus Christ.
The bottom line is this. Money is a gift from God—not so that we can love it, but so that we can use it. Invest your money in things will have an impact on where you and others spend eternity. Invest it not according to how the world thinks. Invest it because of who you are in Christ. You are the blood bought, Spirit-filled man and women of God. You are managers of God’s gifts, to his glory, and the salvation of many souls. Amen.