More Stewardship Research

the first danger facing those who are rich is that they will become conceited. Conceited is from hupsēlophroneō, a compound verb meaning “to think lofty,” “be haughty,” or “have an exalted opinion of oneself.” Looking down on those lower on the economic ladder is a distressing trait of fallen human nature. Rich people are constantly faced with the temptation to put on airs of superiority. Riches and pride are frequently found together, and the wealthier an individual is, the greater the temptation. It is exceedingly difficult to be wealthy and have a humble spirit. The temptation is to view others as mere servants, since wealthy people tend to hire others to do everything for them. Proverbs 18:23 describes what often transpires: “The poor man utters supplications, but the rich man answers roughly.” That happens because “the rich man is wise in his own eyes” (Prov. 28:11).

The opposite of being conceited is having “humility of mind” (Phil. 2:3). That virtue was scorned by the haughty Greek culture, with its glorification of pride. Paul wants the rich in the Ephesian assembly to avoid that cultural iniquity and be humble.[1]

A second danger facing the rich is the temptation to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches. To base their hope on the uncertainty of riches, instead of God, is foolish. Proverbs 11:28 warns that “he who trusts in his riches will fall.” Proverbs 23:4–5 adds, “Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, cease from your consideration of it. When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings, like an eagle that flies toward the heavens.” Once again, this is especially a temptation for the rich. Those who have a lot tend to trust in it, while those who have little can’t trust in what they have, and so are more likely to turn to God in hope that He will supply.

In the parable of the rich fool, the Lord Jesus Christ warned of the foolishness of trusting riches (Luke 12:16–21):[2]

Paul urges the rich to consider the end result of properly handling treasure. By sharing their earthly treasures with others, they are storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future. Apothēsaurizō (storing up) could be translated “amassing a treasure,” while themelios (foundation) can refer to a fund. The rich are not to be concerned with getting a return on their investment in this life. Those who lay up treasure in heaven will be content to wait to receive their dividends in the future when they reach heaven.

Those who invest in eternity show that they have taken hold of that which is life indeed. Real life, life indeed, is eternal life. Believers must live their lives in light of eternity. That is why the Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke 16:9, “Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Christians should invest their money in the souls of men and women, who will be there to greet them and thank them when they arrive in heaven.[3]

1 Timothy 6.17.

The rich in this world are the members of the Christian community who are wealthy. In this world can be interpreted to refer either to physical existence as contrasted to spiritual existence, hence TEV “rich in the things of this life,” or to the present age contrasted to the coming one, hence NRSV “who in the present age are rich.”

The word for charge is the same word used in 1.3 and 4.11 (“command”). In this context it carries the meaning of “warn” or “strongly urge.” Haughty is literally “to think of exalted things” but with the meaning “to be arrogant,” that is, to act in such a way as to give the impression that one is more important than anyone else. Other ways of rendering haughty are “in their hearts they think they are great,” “they think that they are chiefs,” or figuratively “have rising hearts.”[4]

When rich believers share, what they actually lay up (as if it were a treasure) is a firm foundation for the coming age. The building metaphor with the time reference communicates an important truth. Responsible living in this life is a necessary building block or stepping-stone to the coming age. For the rich, responsible use of wealth (sharing, giving) is evidence of genuine faith. In this way they “work out their salvation” in this age. This practical evidence of new life provides unshakable certainty that one’s future hope is secure. Thus it becomes possible for them to take hold of the life that is truly life, which is the same possibility held out to Timothy (the faithful minister, the faithful believer) in 6:12. It is true of each that responsible behavior is closely tied to realization of the Christian hope of eternal life. In the case of wealthy Christians, by exchanging temporary material wealth for spiritual wealth, they may exchange this fleeting life for eternal life.[5]

[6]

Verse 10 does not teach that money is the root of all evil, or even that the love of money is the root of all evil; but that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Money itself is not neutral; it is basically defiled. Jesus called money “unrighteous mammon” (Luke 16:9, 11), and Paul called it “filthy lucre” (1 Tim. 3:3, 8; Titus 1:7, 11). Money can be invested for eternity by bringing Christ to lost people, or it can send a man to hell by becoming his god. You find both examples in Luke 16. Every one of the Ten Commandments can be broken because of money. Because of a desire for money, people have denied God, blasphemed His name, stolen, lied, murdered, committed adultery, and so on. A lust for material things makes people wander (err) from the faith, and this leads to shipwreck. They look for pleasure but find pain and sorrows.[7]

Author Tony Campolo tells how he disembarked from a plane only to discover he was scheduled to speak to a group of women at a World Day of Prayer event he had forgotten about. He rushed over to the meeting—held at a large, wealthy church—and arrived exhausted, not knowing what to say to the women gathered for the conference. Before calling him to speak, the leader of the meeting produced a letter from a missionary in Venezuela. Campolo relates:

She read this letter from this missionary who had a hospital, and they needed $5,000 desperately to put an extension on the hospital because they couldn't handle all the patients. She turned to me, and she said, "Reverend, would you please lead us in prayer that the Lord would provide for our sister in Venezuela?" And I said, "No!" She was taken back by that. I stood up, and I said, "I'll tell you what I will do"—and it was a good day to pull it off because I was only carrying $2.25—I pulled out my wallet, and I pulled out the two dollars and a quarter, and I slapped it down on the pulpit and I said, "That 's all the money I'm carrying. Madame Chairman, I want you to put all the cash you're carrying on the pulpit." And there were about 1,000 women in this group. I said, "I'm going to ask each of you to do the same. No checks. Just the cash you're carrying. Bring it up. Lay it on the altar. We'll count up the money, and if we don't have enough, I will ask God to write out a check for the difference." The woman took out $110 of unadulterated cash and put it with my $2.25. A hundred and ten dollars in cash! Why didn't I marry somebody like that? I said, "We're on our way; we've got $112.25." I said, "You're next," and I pointed to a woman on the front row. She looked around. I said, "I'm serious. Come up here and put your money on the altar." You see, I come from a black church, and you know that's the way you take up an offering, you see. And she sheepishly came up and put her money on it, and I said, "Okay let's line up and do it one by one." And they did it! Money kept on piling up and piling up and piling up. When it was all over, we counted the cash. And we had over $7,000, instead of the five that was being required! And I know we didn't get it all because I could see women giving me dirty looks as they walked by. And I said, "The sheer audacity of asking God for $5,000, when God has already provided more than $7,000."

Citation: Tony Campolo, from remarks made at the Religious Liberty Council luncheon (6-27-03); source: http://www.bjcpa.org/Pages/Resources/Pubs/Campolospeech..html; submitted by Eric Sparrman, Shawnee, Kansas

A husband and wife team of researchers, the founders of Empty Tomb, Inc., in Champaign, Illinois, have tracked American and American Christian expenditures as well as global needs. John and Sylvia Ronsvalle have estimated that $70-$80 billion a year could meet the most essential human needs around the world. "Projects for clean water and sanitation, prenatal and infant/maternal care, basic education, immunizations, and long-term development efforts are among the activities that could help overcome the poverty conditions that now kill and maim so many children and adults."

The Ronsvalles go on to write, "That figure of $70-$80 billion may sound like anything but good news. God may be generous, you may agree, but has he been that generous? Consider this: If church members in the United States would increase their giving to 10 percent of their income, there could be an additional $86 billion available for overseas missions."

Citation: Craig L. Blomberg, Preaching the Parables (Baker Academic, 2004) p. 51. Updated statistics from www.emptytomb.com.

In Brazil, my wife and I met an 85-year-old Brazilian woman who wore a ring that looked as if it were made from inexpensive tin. The ring had on it a name I didn't know and then a date: 1932. I was getting ready to ask about the ring when my wife, Katherine, beat me to it saying, "Dõna Maria Julia, what does that ring signify? Where did that ring come from?"

She leaned back in her chair and told us that in 1932 the states of Brazil were erupting into a kind of civil war. The other states were coming against the state of San Paulo, whose people were saying, "We want a constitution. We want a document that will defend the rights of the people of San Paulo."

Dõna Maria Julia told us with fierce pride and passion, "I'm a Paulista. I'm a member of the San Paulo state, and I always have been. When the rest of Brazil was coming against our state, we knew we would stand to the last man if we had to. The governor of San Paulo put out an edict: 'Give your gold for the good of San Paulo. We need weapons. We need the ability for soldiers to stand up against the onslaught that's coming.'"

Dõna Maria Julia said, "My mother and my father, along with married couples across San Paulo, took off their golden wedding rings and gave them to the state. I went into my room, and I searched my belongings for something that I could contribute as an eight-year-old girl for the good of San Paulo." She found a silver hairbrush that had been given to her by an aunt. In place of the wedding rings that her parents gave, in place of the silver brush set that she gave, they were given a ring with the date 1932. The inscription on the ring said, "I gave my gold for the good of San Paulo."

Where's your gold going? To what movement, to what revolution, to what credit card company, to what car leasing agency, to what restaurants, to what mortgage is your gold going? That's the question Jesus asks.

Citation: Stewart Ruch, from the sermon "Kingdom Investment," delivered at Church of the Resurrection, Wheaton, Illinois (2-1-04)

In a sermon on giving, Dave Ferguson, pastor of Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, read this letter from Jeff and Julie, who attend the church:

Julie and I started attending Community Christian Church in January 1993, after moving here from California.

We moved here for a business opportunity that ended up not working out, and we soon found ourselves in a desperate financial situation. We were behind in our rent and our car payments. We had back-IRS payments, 16 credit cards with more than $40,000 in debt, and not enough food in the fridge to keep our tummies full. And on top of all that, we decided to start a business.

Well, in the middle of this, Jon had challenged us to include our finances in our commitment to following Jesus, and I really struggled with this. It wasn't that I didn't want to support CCC or set an example for others to follow. It was, in fact, that on occasion Julie and I were so broke that we ended up going to a friend's restaurant to ask for free food. I thought, If I'm struggling to keep my family, how can I commit what I don't have to God? What am I supposed to do; just write a check for ten percent of my income and hope that something happens? Jon urged me to trust God and give it a shot.

After prayer and discussion, we decided that God would get the first portion of every check and not just what we were willing to give up each week. We learned to make God the first priority in our lives, and we had no idea how we'd get by.

During the week after this decision, my brother and I were dropping off flyers at a construction site looking for work. We'd started a carpentry company. We met a builder, and he asked if we would be interested in doing their work. He had a house that was ready for us to start immediately and about twenty more to do during the next twelve months.

Julie and I no longer questioned how we'd honor our financial commitment. Julie and I decided to increase our giving.

If our story ended there, it would be a good story. However, you cannot outgive God. Over the next couple of years through a complicated and divinely orchestrated series of events, Julie and I also went from renters to homeowners. Owning a home has given us the ability to restructure our debt and give us some security and stability. I felt the need to tell our story. The story is much, much more than about finances. It's about faith, stepping out and trusting God with all that we have—our lives, our future, our relationship, and even our finances.

Now as I reflect on this story and what we experienced, I'm still trying to answer one question. What was it that we sacrificed?

Citation: Dave Ferguson, pastor of Community Christian Church in Naperville, Illinois, from sermon "Here Is My Investment Strategy"

In Leadership, pastor and author Stu Weber writes:

My youngest son is the third of three boys. The first two are high-powered; the third is not any less high-powered, but he's the third out of three. By the time you've had a brother who's All-Conference this and another brother who's All-Conference that, there's not much left for you to do.

As a father, I worried about our caboose. He is the most sensitive of the three. To encourage him, I spent a lot of time with him in the outdoors—camping, hunting, fishing. Anybody who has spent time in the outdoors knows that a pocketknife is essential gear—the man with the best blade gets the job done. So, whenever you're setting up camp, you're always looking for the knife.

My son Ryan had a pocketknife that became his identity. His older brothers always had to ask him to use the knife as we were setting up camp. That became his status in the tribe. He was the man with the blade.

My birthday came around one year, and my family was planning a party for me. Earlier in the afternoon my youngest walked into my office at home where I was studying. At first I didn't hear him; I felt him—I could sense his presence—and I turned around.

He had chosen this moment because he wanted to give me a birthday present, but not at the birthday party. He wanted it to be just me and him. He handed me a present, and I opened it—it was his knife.

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[1]MacArthur, J. (1995). 1 Timothy. Chicago: Moody Press.

[2]MacArthur, J. (1995). 1 Timothy. Chicago: Moody Press.

[3]MacArthur, J. (1995). 1 Timothy. Chicago: Moody Press.

TEV Today’s English Version

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

[4]Arichea, D. C., & Hatton, H. (1995). A handbook on Paul's letters to Timothy and to Titus. UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (Page 160). New York: United Bible Societies.

[5]Towner, P. (1994). Vol. 14: 1-2 Timothy & Titus. The IVP New Testament commentary series (1 Ti 6:19). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

[6]Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1993). 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus. Cover title: 1 & 2 Timothy & Titus. Life application Bible commentary (Page 138). Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House Publishers.

[7]Wiersbe, W. W. (1997, c1992). Wiersbe's expository outlines on the New Testament (Page 636). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.