STRUGGLING WITH MONEY

1 TIMOTHY 6:17-19

STRUGGLING WITH MONEY

Americans struggle with money. Personal bankruptcies are at an all time high-over 50% more than just 10 years ago. National consumer debt has reached an all-time high of over 1 trillion dollars. Credit card debt accounts for about 400 billion dollars of that figure. We understand that many of these struggling with money are believers. Many have come to love money way too much. The Bible teaches in verse 10 of this chapter that the love of money is the root of all evil. Not money, the love of money. If you make money the center of your universe, then there is no end where that desire will take you. Money problems hurt. I have seen money problems ruin many a life, many a marriage and many a family. Don’t let it happen to you. Listen to God’s wisdom on riches.

Paul is talking to the rich in our passage. “Those who are rich” describes those who more than the mere essentials of food, clothing and shelter. They have discretionary dollars. That’s us! So this means that Paul is speaking wisdom to us today. Listen closely so you can overcome your struggle with money.

I. GOD MAKES US SOMEBODY, NOT RICHES. (17)

Arrogance is the first danger of riches that can derail us from the real life that God has for us. “Proud” means “to have an exalted opinion of one’s self.” Rich people are constantly faced with the temptation to put on airs of superiority, and that’s why riches and pride are frequently found together.

But God is the only one that can make you a better person. Riches don’t make us better than others. As a matter of fact many times riches really tend to make people worse, don’t they? As Americans we must be careful not to judge ourselves according to our wealth. This is going to be difficult because the world judges people MAINLY through what people have. We can’t fall into the trap that makes us go out and kill ourselves getting rich enough to be considered “somebody” by our world. Only God can make you a “somebody.” Quit the rat race today and come to God where everybody is “somebody.”

II. GOD IS TRUSTWORTHY, NOT RICHES. (17)

Another danger we face is trusting in our wealth more than we trust in God. No matter how many riches you gain, they are not trustworthy. Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:18: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” In verse 7 of this chapter he reminds us that we brought nothing into this world and we will carry nothing out of it. Have you ever seen a U-haul behind a hearse? Have you ever thought about the fact that no one in the world will die a millionaire?

The more we have the easier it is to trust in our riches and the harder it is to trust God. We don’t see how great our need is for God because we don’t have to depend on Him as much. We are lulled into a false security that makes us think we can take care of our selves. It doesn’t take but one catastrophe to end that charade.

In today’s world certainly we can see the need to put our trust in God and not possessions. When we look at the stock market, at business and at our world hovering in a prelude to war we certainly can see that everything we have can be gone in a heartbeat. On the other hand, the world can’t take away our Savior from us! He is totally dependable through any catastrophe that might come our way. Do you need to repent today of relying more on your money than your God?

III. USE YOUR EARTHLY TREASURES TO GAIN ETERNAL ONES (18-19).

You may be asking, “then what place should our riches have in our lives?” God has entrusted you with all the many blessings that you have. But while you are here on earth God blesses you with many blessings. Notice in verse 17 that God gives us these blessings to enjoy. That is the way He is. He has given us our spiritual blessings to enjoy. He has given us the nature to enjoy. He loves us and gives us our material blessings to enjoy. Our joy gives him joy. We are all quick to understand and practice this verse.

But what do we do with verse 18? We are to handle our money in such a way that we enjoy it and ALSO have enough money left over to support the ministries of Christ that He lays before us. (2 Corinthians 9:7-8) Notice that we are to give freely to others. To all of you who squeeze a nickel until the buffalo screams when you are asked to help others, you are giving a terrible testimony. We are to exhibit Christ’s generosity to our world. We are to be like a dam and hold some for our enjoyment, but allow the rest to flow through us to bless others.

It would probably be safe to assume that most of us here today would love to know of an investment that guaranteed great returns forever. I know an investment like that. Would you be interested? Well, here it is: invest your money in the souls of men and women, who will be in Heaven to greet you and thank you for helping them find Jesus as their Savior and Heaven as their home.

Rewards in Heaven are to be one of our motivations to give our riches to help others. Paul tells us to actively seek to get the reward that will result from our giving alms. He is enticing us to give by mentioning the rewards that will result. Some will say that this is not true, but Jesus himself gave rewards as a basis for our actions of giving. (Luke 14:13-14; 16:10 -11) Jesus actually commands it.

Of course this is not to be a giving simply to get a reward. It is meant to come from a heart that wants to please the Savior who gave His all for us. But it also is a way of investing our lives that will bring eternal reward to us AND to those who find salvation because of our faithfulness to give!

Rather than throw your money away for things that are only temporary, use it to gain eternal rewards in Heaven. God tells us to quit being stingy with HIS money! Give His tenth to your church and be ready to give more of His money as He brings the opportunities our way. Don’t miss out on real riches!

If we are going to do this, then we must change our budgets. We are going to have to quit spending as though our self-worth depends on it. We are going to quit working like riches is the only thing we can trust. We are going to have to decide what we need and then budget the rest to the ministries of God around the world and make real investments that will last throughout eternity.

CONCLUSION

When Charles B. Darrow proposed a new board game called Monopoly to Parker Brothers in 1934 the all-knowing executives rejected it due to “52 design errors!” Darrow started printing and selling the game himself. The rest is history. Even if you don’t like the game, all of us know about it.

John Orberg, a Christian author, writes of growing up with a grandmother who was a ruthless competitor at Monopoly. She played against her grandchildren and won nearly every time. One day John managed to win. As most kids will do, he made the most of his rare victory; he raked all the play money, tokens and markers toward him and gloated in his triumph. His grandmother smiled and said, “Just remember, John. It all goes back in the box. All the money, all the hotels and motels and game tokens; at the end of the game, it all goes back in the box.”

It’s also that way with the game of life. If you invest yourself in gaining only the riches of this world, then it will all go back in the box when you leave this world. But if you invest in the ministry of Jesus Christ, you will carry all of those investments into the halls of Heaven and be rewarded by Jesus Himself!

Ridgecrest Baptist Church | 7469 Old Canton Rd. | Madison, MS 39110 phone: 601.853.1090 fax: 601.853.1092