Text: I Timothy 6:17-19 Intro: The Amazing Limit of Money Wow! Can you believe it s 2017 already?! Hasn t this past year of your life just zipped by at a 7G speed?! Well, At the beginning of each year, as we look forward to the blessings that God has instore, I always deliver a message on money, tithing and giving to help us get and keep our priorities straight. For those of you who have been around for a while, you know that I never make it a habit to harp on money threatening, begging, or promising, people in order to get them to give. As I ve said so often, If a person has a living, loving relationship with Christ, they won t need to be nagged; they will automatically love to give, if for no other reason, simply out of love and gratitude for how Christ has changed their life. Well, Today is no different. I want to talk to you this morning about how to give a soul to your money. That is, how to keep it from becoming a hollow, empty shell with no life to it. What I mean is, so many chase riches, thinking that once they possess them they will magically become happy!
Actually, They discover something to the contrary materialism is a dead, cold corpse, which from a distance, looks alive, exciting and ever so desirable. But once you re up close, you see it s no more glamorous than a coffin of gold and a headstone of silver for all its splendor, it represent death, bereavement, loss devoid of future reward and happiness. So, My first point is: Material success without spiritual perceptive is emotional suicide. I. Gold Without God Equals Grief Jewish king Solomon, A man of unlimited success and wealth, personally found out how empty and meaningless materialism really is. Listen to his rather pessimistic assessment of his life: I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind. So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me.
I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Ecclesiastes 2:4,5,7-9,17-18 Twice he uses the word, hate I hated life. I hated all the things I had toiled for. Pretty strong words for someone so successful! What s wrong with him, you ask? The answer is: He s been there, done that, and knows what so many of us don t know because we ve never reach that destination! But, He doesn t stop there; he also details the obsessive nature of material addiction and its war on contentment, which ultimately kills satisfaction: Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. Ecclesiastes 5:10 Then he provides a case in point: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth. For whom am I toiling, he asked, and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment? This too is meaningless a miserable business! Ecclesiastes 4:8 Ben Franklin once said: Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one.
Ill. In 2010 the Daily Mail carried this story: An Austrian millionaire is giving away his fortune because, as he says, they never made me happy. Karl Rebeder, 47, says he will use the money from his business to fund orphanages and other help-the-poor projects in South America. My cars and plane have already gone, and the rest follows very soon. I can't wait to be free of them. Rabeder claims he is happy living in a small flat and surviving on a modest monthly income. He adds, I realized that I was dying through consumerism. This Austrian, Certainly isn t the only tycoon to awaken to what Solomon said 3,000 years ago, he just was brave enough to do something about it. Secondly, It s important to note that riches, wealth and prosperity are not evil things. I think of what Solomon says elsewhere: The blessing of the LORD makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it. Proverbs 10:22 This is significant, for many a rich man has experienced plenty of sorrow associated with his riches. So, Once again, Solomon provides a spring board for our second point for the day the common experience of money and misery.
II. Common Money Miseries One thing you can say about the Bible, it provides wisdom collected over the ages time-tested reality that apply in every generation and guess what, it won t be any different for the millennials of our day. Here s a list of dangers that arise during any wealth pursuit: But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. I Timothy 6:9-10 Sounds pretty serious: Please notice that money isn t the problem (as some have thought), it s when the heart falls in love with it that goes awry. After all, falling in love is pretty dynamic! You know, people do a lot of crazy things when they re in love. Ill. According to anthropologist, Helen Fisher, there are 13 distinct signs of this phase of life I m not going to list all of them but there is a real parallel with the adoration of money. 1. This one s special, it s different than all the other times This sense is coupled with the feeling that you can never have romantic feeling for anyone else. Neuroscience concludes that this single-mindedness is the result of elevated dopamine levels that promote focus and attention. 2. He or she is perfect
Negative traits are overlooked and only the positive ones are brought to mind. Moreover, trivial objects or moments that remind the person of their beloved, become extremely precious daydreaming is frequent. 3. I m obsessed with him/her People who are in love report spending more than 85% of their waking hours musing over the object of their affections. Such intrusive thinking reduces serotonin levels in the brain, a condition associated with OCD. 4. I ve just got to be with them! Possessiveness, jealousy, fear of rejection or loss of the relationship as well as separation anxiety, are common sensations. The requirement to spurn all other competitors is paramount. 5. I have no control over my emotions Most who report being in love commonly admit that their passion for the other person is involuntary and beyond their control. But, This state doesn t last. When the feelings subside, the partners either go their separate ways, or a long term attachment relationship develops in which mutual dependence results In other words, We now need each other and nothing can break us apart.
Love, Scripture says, Is the greatest of all. No wonder then that we re told: Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. I John 2:15 Love is powerful! Love sacrifices! Love makes unbreakable priorities! Therefore, it s of the utmost importance that we love the right things. See that man, That woman who is in love with materialism. They are obsessed with things! They see the meaning of life tied up in what they possess! They think about money and things all the time! They ve got to have their stuff or they ll descend into depression and unberable separation anxiety! But, Having said all this, let me add some balance to this discussion. Money is neutral meaning it can be used for much good as well as for evil. Yet, while money may be neutral, it s not benign. Money, by its very nature, is a really dangerous commodity on the level of a loaded gun!
Ill. If my grandkids and I are out in the wild and we come across a really angry bear, a 30.6 would certainly come in handy. But that same high-powered rifle can be used to take down a godly cop who is protecting a crowd of innocent citizens it s the same device, different outcomes. Meaning, Money deserves the same cautions as a 357 or an AR15. For if you re not careful, it will harm yourself, your family and many others along the way! And, Please don t miss the fact that Paul says, they pierce themselves with many pains. He doesn t blame God, Others, or Even the Devil He says, We do it to ourselves! However, The good news is: God never leaves us with bad news only. Instead, He gives us a formula for putting life back into our wallets, and disarming the deadly power of the dollar. He informs us on how we can turn wealth into a blessing.
III. How To Turn Wealth Into A Blessing So, if God calls material prosperity a blessing, then we need to ask: When is it so? Well, Immediately after he sounded the warning, he announced the remedy: Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant or to set their hope on the uncertainty of wealth, but on God, who richly provides us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do what is good, to be rich in good works, to be generous, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good reserve for the age to come, so that they may take hold of life that is real. I Timothy 6:17-19 Now notice, Paul s road to material blessing begins with two negatives. What this reveals is that, at our core, is a natural predisposition away from righteousness and what s good, so it must be addressed first. Also notice, The apostle doesn t say it s evil to be wealthy. He never says, Tell those who are rich to give it all away Instead, he outlines an antidote to the dangers of having a lot of money. So, The first thing he points out is how excessive money activates the pride scepters of the human brain. Instruct those who are rich in the present age not to be arrogant Ill.
Paul Piff of the University of California organized a driver-pedestrian experiment. He wanted to see who would be more likely to respect pedestrians, the rich or the poor? Drivers are legally obliged to stop for those waiting to cross the street. Piff reports that none of the drivers of the less expensive cars broke the law, while close to 50% of those in more the expensive vehicles ignored the law completely. His conclusion? Wealth makes you more attuned to your own interests, your own desires, your own welfare. It isolates you in certain ways from other people psychologically and materially. You prioritize your own needs and your own goals, and become less attuned to those around you. In other words You think you a little bit better than the average man. That s pride and arrogance. Now there s a real temptation to envy and imitate them. Even godly people can struggle with this pull. Here s the experience of the author of the 73 rd Psalm: Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from common human burdens; they are not plagued by human ills. Therefore pride is their necklace; they clothe themselves with violence. From their
callous hearts comes iniquity; their evil imaginations have no limits. They scoff, and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression. Their mouths lay claim to heaven, and their tongues take possession of the earth. Therefore their people turn to them. Psalm 73:1-10 Wealth and humility need not be mutually exclusive. Together they present a beautiful picture of God Himself. Secondly, The man of God warns that riches are uncertain. They are extremely unreliable you can have them one day, and they re gone the next! Take Joe Louis, consider by some to be the greatest heavyweight boxing champion who reigned for nearly 12 years...died broke. Then there s actor, Gary Coleman, of Different Stokes. In 1999 Coleman filed bankruptcy. After suffering from kidney failure, heart disease and seizures, he died at the age of 42 after falling downstairs at the time he had virtually nothing to his name. And who among baby boomers doesn t remember Sammy Davis Jr, singer, dancer and actor. Although quite successful, he couldn t hold on to his wealth. Fighting substance abuse and living beyond his means, the celebrity died owing creditors $15 million! Other name can be added: Judy Garlind, Edger Allen Poe, and even Michael Jackson in fact, did you know that the King of Pop left others holding the bag for $500 million?) yes God s right, there really is such a thing as: the uncertainty of riches.
Well, That s all for today come back again next week when we ll talk about how to really put a soul back into your money. But let me close with this pungent quote from German doctor and missionary to central African, Albert Schweitzer. He observed: If you have something you can t live without, you don t own it; it owns you. What, may I ask, owns you?