How Much is Enough?

1 Timothy 6:6-9

Message No. 0792 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

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Sometimes we are blinded by the good things of this world, forgetting that it’s not all that glitters that is gold. Many people inadvertently sell their souls to the gods of this world when they make material things their only goals in life. In this writing, we caution our motives and suggest that we all need to examine ourselves and get back on track our progress to eternity.

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Many christians misunderstand the words Bless, Blessed and Blessing in the Bible. If you ask the average believer, they probably are thinking about money, riches, wealth, or similar connotations, whereas, the dictionary definition of blessings does not talk about these at all. Rather, you will probably see synonyms of these words to be Favour, Peace, Protection, and other similar words. In Matthew chapter 5, the scripture often associated with the beatitudes, you’ll see many verses beginning with “blessed are the…” “for they shall be…” In verse 3, Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven;” He did not say for they shall be rich or for they shall be wealthy.

Let’s not misunderstand the premise of the above paragraph to mean that God does not want His children to be rich or to be wealthy. Far from it. Does God want His children to be rich? Yes, of course He does. Without money, it will be very challenging to take the message of Christ to the uttermost parts of the earth. So, it’s not a sin to work hard and pursue riches, provided that it is not at the expense of the most important things in life, which are clearly stated in Matthew 22:37-40:

“‘…You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets."

Unfortunately, in our modern world, too much emphasis is placed on money and getting rich, and Jesus’ statements are neglected. There is an apparent lack of contentment and the focus on material, temporary things far outweighs the focus on the eternal. In Luke chapter 12 verses 15-21, Jesus gave a parable concerning a certain rich man whose ground yielded plentifully, and rather than keep only what he needed and help the needy, he sat back and told himself that he had many goods stored for many years and all he needed to do was to relax, eat, drink, and be merry. There was no God in his plans at all, so God told him he was a fool, and his soul was recalled that same night.

The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. It does not say that money is not good, but if all we do is to pursue it, then there’s a problem. When people spend their lifetime pursuing meaningless things (Ecclesiastes 5:10), they neglect the pursuit of their eternal abode, though the Bible warns us to beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist of the abundance of the things he possesses (Luke 12:15).

Christians must never be lazy because our God did not lay a foundation for laziness for us; we should all work hard and be diligent in what we do. However, getting rich at all costs has proved to be one of the best ways to sell our souls to the devil. To avoid this, we must pattern our lives after Paul, who wrote in Philippians 4:11-13:

“…for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Many years ago, I saw a cartoon where a rich man looked at the situation of a poor man and said, thank God I am not poor. In turn, the poor man looked at a mad man and said, thank God I am not mad. And finally, the mad man looked at a dead man and said, thank God I am not dead. The lesson from this cartoon is, there’s need to thank God in whatever situation we find ourselves, because there are countless number of people who are in worse situations than ours.

Are you making the pursuit of money your main focus and neglecting the eternal things? The first letter of Paul to Timothy in chapter 6 verses 6-9 is not only meant for Timothy. The letter is in fact more relevant to us today. In it, Paul wrote:

Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.

Some questions we need to ask ourselves in our daily pursuits are, just how much is enough? Are we still in tune with God or are we in the region of covetousness? If we neglect heaven in our pursuits, how much of our earthly riches can we carry with us to our eternal home?

What to Do?

Sit down a moment and examine yourself: are you still on the path to heaven or have you abandoned this for the pursuit of temporary things?