1 Timothy 6:17-19
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.
In the aftermath of the massive and deadly tornado in Oklahoma, millions of Americans reached out in compassion by donating millions of dollars to the relief effort. I even saw where one professional athlete pledged $1,000,000 of his own money to aid the devastated community.
When tragedy strikes in the form of a tornado, a flood or some other calamity, most people seem to be willing to respond with compassion and generosity. And that’s a very good thing.
But where does that response come from?
Why do so many respond with generosity in times of crisis when our culture is so consumed with gathering wealth and possessions?
I think it’s because whether we acknowledge it or not we are created in the image of God, and part of that image is the capacity to both care about others as well as to express that care through generosity. And this desire to respond to bad news with goodness is an expression of the gospel.
One of Jesus’ most well-known parables is the “Parable of the Good Samaritan” in Luke 10 in which Jesus tells the story of a despised Samaritan who stops to help a stranger who had been beaten and robbed. The point of the story is that this is what it means when God tells us to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and (to) love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27).
It occurs to me that such love is both an expression of the gospel and a result of the gospel.
Paul writes in 1 Timothy:
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.
Notice the “upside-down” nature of the gospel!
Our culture tells us to put our hope in wealth; calling it “financial security.”
The gospel tells us to put our hope in God; who gives us all things and who provides us with eternal security.
Our culture tells us that the goal is to be rich in money and possessions.
The gospel tells us to be rich in good deeds.
Our culture tells us the key to life is to store up treasure for ourselves.
The gospel says the key to life is store up treasure for the “coming age” (which refers to heaven) by being generous and willing to share.
So, when it comes to money, financial planning and material possessions, the question is not so much how much we have, but rather who or what establishes our values and guides our decisions?
If more possessions and more wealth is the goal of life then it makes no sense to be generous at all.
But if the gospel of Jesus Christ not only tells us of God’s great love for us, saves us from our sin and grants us the great hope of eternal life, but also shapes the way we live in every area of our lives, then generosity not only makes sense but is the pathway to joy, genuine worship and what Paul calls “the life that is truly life.”
Pastor Brian Coffey
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