1 Timothy 6:7
Introduction: Just as we are now paying very close attention to certain metrics and vital signs of physical health – our temperature, cough, fatigue, 1 Timothy was written to show us what metrics and signs we should be paying attention to for our spiritual health. As we come to the end of Paul’s letter, these last verses give us one final sign of life that wraps up his teaching what spiritual health looks like – Generosity. This passage raises three questions we need to ask ourselves and answer to walk the path toward a life of generosity.
1) Am I Rich?
Paul specifically directs this passage at “those who are rich in the present age”. So our first question must be to ask if his words here even apply to us. For a great many of us, our first reaction is likely to be something along the lines of: “I’m not poor but I’m definitely not rich!”. Similarly for the church in Ephesus, there were some who were poor (such as widows), along with a few who were undeniably wealthy. The rest, like many of us, likely felt that they were (or wanted to be) somewhere “in the middle”. Paul, however, does not give anyone that option; here (and in many other places in the Bible), we are given a binary option: am I rich? Or am I poor?.
The Bible defines a rich person as someone who has more than “enough”. Earlier in 1 Timothy, Paul says “If we have food and [shelter], we will be content with these” (1 Tim 6:8). The implication is that if we have more than these, we are rich!
For perspective: If you make over $32,400 per year, this puts you in the top 1% of income earners in the world. More than 730 million people in the world live on less than $1.90/day. 800 million+ do not have enough food to survive. Over 1 billion people – no regular access to clean water. This perspective can help push us out of the middle towards one side or another
Why does this matter? Paul forces us to acknowledge this reality so that we can reckon with the 2 major obstacles that keep a rich person from being generous.
Arrogance – While he uses a very strong word here, Paul is simply referring to the idea of status based on what we have. When our status is tied to money or things, we tend to take credit for having earned it. Thus it is that much harder to accept if God asks us to give it away
False hope – Paul also calls out what we look to for our security, what we count on when we feel anxious or unsure, and what is comforting us when we do feel secure. When our hope for the future is more tied to how much money we have than on God and his character/calling on our lives, we will not be generous
If we don’t believe we are included in verse 17 (that we are rich), we won’t be able to do what is instructed in verse 18 (to be generous). We must first acknowledge that we are rich before we become generous. But we also cannot skip over the second part of verse 17 – the part that makes all the difference…
2. Is God Generous?
Paul summarizes the God of the Bible, his true character/heart like this: God is “The one who richly provides us with all things to enjoy” (v17). Underline it. Circle it. That is the God of the Bible. Is that your view of God? There really are only 2 views of God:
There is a God - but he isn’t really generous. A god of performance-based religion, which many people mistakenly think the God of Christianity is, can never be described this way. This kind of god is the god who provides exactly what people deserve, what people earn and work for. No more no less. This feeds into arrogance (status – good/bad, deserve/don’t deserve, in/out). We can never be secure with a god whose favor/provision we have to earn and keep. “Religious” people cannot be truly generous - because they don't believe God is truly generous (with a God like this – we get what we deserve, good or bad)
God really is the One who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. “Who richly provides” is present tense (He is always the God who richly provides, and always has been – this is Who He Is). Why does he richly provide all things for us? So that we would enjoy them! Some people seem to be believe that God gave us things to forbid us from enjoying them. No! The word for “enjoy” used by Paul is a very strong word – it means to take great pleasure in something. Hebrews 11:25 also tells us that we don’t get what we deserve, we get far more above and beyond!
If this really is who God is, and if we really believe it, THEN we have everything we need to know in order to be radically generous, to do everything v18 instructs us to do.
To become generous – “to do good, to be rich in good works, share” – is a matter of whether we know God to be this God. The gospel, the good news about Jesus Christ, alone reveals just how generous God really is! If God only gave me what I deserved, I would have nothing because I deserve nothing. Our lives, all we have, all the joy we have experienced in life – it is all a gift from a generous and loving God. We all know it is far easier to be generous to someone who is appreciative than to someone who is entitled and ungrateful – who says, “that’s it?”. But that’s us. The gospel has to get to the root of our arrogance, to make us acknowledge” I deserve nothing”.
In the gospel we have a status and a security that is greater than anything our money/wealth could give us. We are sons/daughters of the generous God who made everything and owns everything. He promises to never withhold anything we need. So is God generous? Far more than we could ask or imagine!
3) What Will Happen if I Generously Give?
If you don’t believe you are in the first verse (rich), you won’t be in the second (generous) and you won’t get what is offered to you in the third (a good foundation and life that is truly life). So what will happen if I generously give?
Here’s that will happen - You will let go of some things and you will give them away. If you are truly generous, it will be HARD, it will feel like sacrifice, but you will take hold of something else. Something else more solid and more real than anything you let go of.
The truth is, to know the answer to this question, you can’t really know until you do it. In a book called the Paradox of Generosity, Notre Dame sociologists Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson share what they call a sociological fact established by their research: “Those who give, receive back in turn…By grasping onto what we currently have, we lose out on better goods that we might have gained.” In that vein, here are 2 paradoxical applications to consider:
Giving (generously) fills us when we feel empty. When we are feeling dry, down and like nothing is there spiritually, very often God will become more real and joy will come as we give. To be clear, this is not always the whole picture but it is something we must not overlook as a very effective ‘treatment’ for anxiety, fears, some periods of depression, etc.
Giving (generously) prepares us for seasons of losing. When our treasures are in heaven, losses of possessions on earth are more easily consoled than when our hopes for this life are wrapped up in these possessions – which can make all the difference in experiencing times of financial uncertainty and even great crisis such as we are now.
Giving (generously) makes us rich. The truth of v19 is this paradox: “Generosity will always make you richer” in true wealth, in what is truly life. It gives us a truly solid foundation for a future that is secure/stable. And as we share and let go of our things, we enter more and more into, and take hold of, what is truly life. And what is that? It’s the life of God Himself. The Giver. The God who gave everything for us so we might share in this life with Him.
DIAGNOSE – Using the handout diagnose one area God has grown you in generosity and one area where He is calling you to grow?
REFLECT OR DISCUSS
Do you believe you are rich? Why or why not? How does the text challenge you in this way
Do you (really) believe God is generous? Why or why not? How does the gospel demonstrate the extent of God’s generosity to us?
Do you believe what this text says will happen when you are generous? Why or why not? What are your fears? In what ways you have you seen this to be true?