Deo Gloria
Sermon for September 18, 2022
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: 1 Timothy 6:6-10,17-19
Theme: Pursue Godliness with Contentment!
- Godliness is the source of true contentment.
- The danger of pursing money.
- Godly people pursue godly things.
It happens every time the lottery jackpot surpasses the $500 million mark: people start buying lottery tickets left and right. Lines form at the local convenience store. People who happen to live in a state where they don’t have the lottery will drive 50, 100, even 200 miles just to buy a ticket—all in hopes of striking it rich.
Something similar happened a number of years ago out in L.A. Perhaps you remember hearing about it in the news. As a promotional gig some famous celebrity or musician announced that he was going to give away $10,000 at a local mall. As he stood there on a balcony overlooking the crowd, he pulled wads of money out of a bag. And the crowd began to cheer. As he waved the money over the crowd, the cheering grew louder and louder. Finally he threw the money into the air, and mayhem broke out. People were pushing and shoving and punching and scratching. Several people even ended up in the hospital. Sometimes I guess it isn’t too hard to see what the world is after.
So how about you? What are you after? What are you pursuing in life? If someone were to follow you around for a week, what would he conclude were your priorities in life? If you were to open up your life and your checkbook or your credit card statement for everyone else to see, what would they say you were after? This morning the apostle Paul reminds us what we ought to be after, what we ought to be pursuing. Unlike the rest of the world, you and I ought to be pursuing godliness with contentment.
Godliness—now there’s a rare and forgotten virtue. Who pursues godliness anymore? A higher education maybe. A lucrative promotion—you bet. Financial security, a cabin on a lake, a trophy fish, a better golf score—I know people who are pursuing things like that. But I don’t know many people who are pursuing godliness. And maybe that’s one of the reasons so many people are unhappy these days. You see, the source of true contentment is godliness.
The word in the original for godliness literally means “good worship” or “good reverence.” It’s used as sort of a one-word summary of our entire Christian life, the kind of life that God would have us live. It’s meant to be a pious and reverent life, a godly and thankful life, a life of service to God. Obviously such a life doesn’t just happen on its own. It flows from the gospel. It comes from good, sound instruction about Jesus Christ our Savior.
Timothy had been instructed about Jesus. Timothy had learned from little on about Jesus Christ his Savior and what he had done for him, that he had suffered and died on the cross to take all of his sins away, that through him eternal life and salvation were his. Paul reminded Timothy of that in his second letter. In ch. 3 he wrote, “…from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus”(v.15).
The same is true for many of us. We too have learned about Jesus from little on. We too know about Jesus Christ our Savior and what he has done for us. We know we would be lost without him, eternally lost and separated from God because of our sins. We know that because of his great love for us he came into this world of ours, took our sins upon himself, suffered the punishment we deserved, and rose again on the third day. We know that because of him our sins are all forgiven, we are children of God, and heaven is our home. We know that because of him we have peace instead of guilt, life instead of death, and eternal hope instead of endless despair.
And that makes all the difference in the world. Knowing our Savior Jesus and what he has done for us changes our entire outlook on life. As Paul states in 2 Corinthians ch. 5, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again”(vv. 14+15). You and I—we don’t live for ourselves anymore, pursuing selfish interests and selfish gain. We live for Christ our Savior. We strive to serve him. We strive to worship him. We strive to thank him for all that he has done for us by living a godly and reverent and pious life. We pursue godliness with contentment.
As Christians, we have many different reasons we can be content. First of all, we recognize that we already have the best: the eternal treasures of forgiveness, life, and salvation. We have treasure in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal. No, we may not have as much as other people have. We may not have the fancy cars and spacious homes and fashionable clothes that other people have. But we have something far better, eternal treasure that can never be taken away.
We also recognize that what we do have does not belong to us. It belongs to God. He may give it to us for a while to use and enjoy, to manage for him, but ultimately it still belongs to him. Notice how Paul emphasizes that in these verses: “For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it”(v. 7). How much did you have when you were born? Nothing, right? How much are you going to take with you when you die? Nothing, right? Could Paul make the point any more clearly? It isn’t ours. It doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to God. So rather than being greedy and selfish and stingy and jealous, we are to be thankful, grateful for what we have because it really isn’t ours. Likewise, we are to strive to make good use of what we have and use it for God’s glory, because it really isn’t ours. It’s his.
Thirdly, we recognize that money cannot make us happy. Does the name Buddy Post ring a bell? Back in 1996 the Chicago Tribune ran a story on Buddy Post, a man who is living proof that money cannot buy happiness. Back in 1988 Buddy won $16.2 million dollars in the Pennsylvania Lottery. Since then, he was convicted of assault, his 6th wife left him, his brother was convicted of trying to kill him, and his landlady successfully sued him for 1/3 of the jackpot. At the time the article was written he was in the process of auctioning off 17 future payments, valued at nearly $5 million, in order to pay off taxes, legal fees, and a number of failed business ventures. As for the future he said he planned on spending his time pursuing lawsuits he had filed against police, judges, and lawyers who he says conspired to take his money. “I’m just going to stay at home and mind my p’s and q’s,” he gruffed. “Money draws flies.” If you’re looking for happiness in money and material things, you’re going to be sadly disappointed. The only place you’ll ever find true happiness is in Jesus Christ your Savior.
Fourthly, we recognize that God has promised to provide for all our needs—not all our wants, but all our needs. Sometimes that’s the problem, isn’t it: we get our wants and our needs turned around? We need a new car. We need a new 4D TV. We need a new Xbox. We need a new computer. We need a new side by side. At least that’s what we think. But do we really need those things? What we truly need are the necessities of life: food to eat, clothes to wear, shelter from the wind and the rain and the cold. And God has provided those things for us. He promises to provide those things for us. So we don’t have to worry. We don’t have to become anxious or upset. Rather as Paul says in v. 8, “But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.”
And besides all of that, we also recognize the danger, the danger in pursuing money and material possessions. Paul warns us about the danger, beginning in v. 9:
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. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.(vv. 9+10)
Need an example? The story is told of 7 of the world’s most successful financiers, who met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago back in 1928. The following were present: The president of the largest steel company, the greatest wheat speculator, the principal broker of J.P. Morgan and later president of the New York Stock Exchange, a member of the President’s Cabinet, the greatest bear on Wall Street, the future president of the Bank of International Settlements, and the head of the world’s greatest monopoly. Collectively these tycoons controlled more wealth than there was in the U.S. Treasury. 25 years later, this is what had happened to them: The president of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, lived on borrowed money the last 5 years of his life and died broke. The greatest wheat speculator, Arthur Cutten, was charged with tax evasion and died of a heart attack a few months later. The man who became president of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, served a term in Sing Sing Prison. The member of the President’s Cabinet, Albert Fall, was convicted of accepting a $100,000 bribe and sentenced to prison. The “Great Bear” of Wall Street, Jesse Livermore, committed suicide. The president of the Bank of International Settlements, Leon Fraser, committed suicide. And the head of the world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger—he too committed suicide. “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”(v. 9).
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs”(v. 10). Remember what happened to Judas? He was eager for money, so eager that he resorted to stealing from the disciples’ moneybag, so eager he betrayed his Lord for 30 pieces of silver—and he lost his faith and despaired of forgiveness, and he went out and hanged himself. There is danger in loving money. There is danger is pursuing money and material possessions, a very real and present danger. There are temptations and traps. There are foolish and harmful desires. And yes, there is even the danger that we could wander from the faith and lose the precious treasures we have in Jesus Christ our Savior.
No wonder Paul advises Timothy to flee! “But you, man of God, flee from all this”(v. 11). That’s what you are too, right, a man of God, a woman of God, a child of God through faith in Christ your Savior? You are forgiven. You are loved. You are blessed with both temporal and eternal treasures.
So how have you been doing at fleeing, fleeing from the love of money, fleeing from those foolish and harmful desires, fleeing from the temptations and the traps that money and material possessions present? That’s one of the sins we need to confess this morning, isn’t it? Instead of fleeing from the desire for worldly things and the love of money, all too often we pursued them. Maybe there were times when making more money was all we really cared about. Maybe there were times when God and his Word had to take a back seat while we devoted all your time and effort to pursuing our career. Maybe there were times when the desire to get rich led us to foolishly waste our money at the casino. Those are sins you and I need to confess to our Lord and ask for his forgiveness.
And then, with his help, we need to get back to pursuing the kind of life he would have us live: pursuing godliness with contentment. Paul writes about that kind of godly life in verses 17-19:
“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.”
That’s where our focus needs to be. That’s where our efforts and our energy need to be directed: on the pursuit of godly things, doing good, being generous and willing to share and helping others; pursing godly and eternal things that will help us win the fight of faith and obtain the prize. By the grace of God the prize of eternal life is already ours. Hold on to it, and don’t ever let go!
There’s a picture I’ve seen of a frog and a crane. Maybe you have seen it too. The crane has the frog in his mouth and is just about ready to swallow him. But the frog is determined not to end up being the main course for supper. He has his hands around the crane’s throat and is squeezing his neck so the crane can’t swallow him. And the caption at the bottom of the page reads, “Never give up!”
That’s the kind of attitude Paul is urging us to take toward our heavenly treasure. Take hold of eternal life. Hang on to it with everything you’ve got. Don’t ever let go. And don’t let Satan tempt you or fool you into trading your eternal treasure for something of only temporary value. Pursue godliness with contentment.
It isn’t very hard at times to see what the world is after. I hope it isn’t hard for others to see what you are after either. If someone did follow you around for a week, if others did have the opportunity to look into your life or your credit card statement, I pray they would see that your priorities and your pursuits are different, that you are pursuing godliness with contentment. Amen.