Greed or Generosity - The Life of Faith—Pentecost 16C/Proper 21 (1 Timothy 6)

1 Timothy 6:6-19 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

⁶ Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, ⁷ for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, ⁸ but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. ⁹ But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. ¹⁰ For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

¹¹ But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. ¹² Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. ¹³ In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you ¹⁴ to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, ¹⁵ which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. ¹⁶ It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

¹⁷ As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, ¹⁹ thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

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                For those who envision early Christianity being a revolutionary movement designed to bring down the Roman Empire, the Pastoral Letters are deeply problematic. Not only do they offer problematic guidelines for women’s behavior as well as enjoining slaves to obey their masters. The creators of the lectionary, helpfully avoid both of these elements of the letter. The passages we do encounter, however, appear to embrace a form of quietism that is designed to help the fledgling community evade the attention of a not too sympathetic imperial government. Because of the behavioral guidelines for women and slaves, along with this perceived quietism, many who perceive themselves as being politically progressive, struggle with these letters. For some, by assigning them to a later post-Pauline author, we might be able to reclaim Paul for our more egalitarian message. I understand the sentiment and find it attractive, but whatever the case, there are words of wisdom present in these letters that make them worth exploring. At heart, the author of the letter wants to encourage the reader ancient and modern to pursue a life of faith that exhibits humility and moral virtue. In other words, the witness of the church requires Christians to live lives different from their pagan neighbors. In this reading, the author calls for believers to be content with what they have and thus live modest lives. That is, they should avoid any behaviors that would detract from the confession of faith in Christ.

                The passage we have before us essentially brings this pastoral letter to a close. This letter, which is said to come from Paul (for our purposes we’re going to assume Pauline authorship, even though it’s disputed) offers words of guidance and encouragement to a younger pastor, Paul’s companion Timothy. The message is two-fold. First, Paul calls on the people to live godly lives as they await the “manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time” (vs. 14-15). Secondly, they reinforce the message that the God they serve, the God revealed to them through Jesus, is the one sovereign Lord.

The message here is couched in eschatological language, as Paul offers guidance as they wait for the day when Jesus will be manifested (the second coming). As they await that day they need to remember where they come from. So, as we read in verse 7, a word that applies equally to the first readers and us, since we didn’t bring anything into the world when we were born, and we’re not taking anything with us when we die, therefore, as we live between these two markers, we should be content with what we have. So, if we pursue wealth, we will end up in a heap of trouble. That is, pursuing riches leads to being “trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (vs. 9). After all, the “love of money is the root of all kinds of evil” (vs. 10). In other words, Gordon Gecko is wrong, greed is not good.

While the “love of money” gets us into trouble, Paul doesn’t encourage asceticism either. Unlike Jesus’ word to the young man who asks what he must do to be saved, Paul doesn’t suggest we sell everything and give to the poor. So, on the one hand, this is not a call to follow the lead of St. Francis of Assisi or the Desert Fathers and embrace poverty, but it’s also not a recommendation for embracing the “prosperity gospel.” Somewhere in between giving everything away and pursuing wealth, we find that proper space of contentedness. As we ponder this word of guidance to a group of early Christians and their pastor (Timothy), we might want to reflect as well on the parable of Lazarus and the rich man found in the lectionary reading from Luke 16:19-31. Thus, the two passages could serve as a fruitful starting point for a discussion of wealth (and stewardship).

                These are the qualities the person of faith should pursue: “righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness.” As a reminder of what might be ahead, Paul tells his reader(s) that they should “fight the good fight of the faith” and take hold of eternal life to which the reader had been called and which he gained when he made a confession of faith. In other words, the life of faith involves a struggle. It’s not an easy life. If you’re seeking power and riches, this is not the path for you. That’s because this path has an eternal goal. This is where the eschatological element comes into play. Drawing on his position in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and Christ, who testified before Pilate, Paul charges Timothy to “keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time” (vss. 13-15). What this commandment is, Paul doesn’t reveal, though Timothy surely understood what was meant. Whatever the commandment, it should be kept “without spot or blame.” In other words, he is counseling spiritual perfection.

                As we near the end of the letter, Paul brings a hymn into the conversation. This hymn or confession of faith speaks of God in exalted terms. God is the “blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings, and Lord of lords.” God alone has immortality and “dwells in unapproachable light.” Finally, God is one whom no one has seen or can see. In making use of this hymn Paul makes it clear that God, not Caesar is ultimately the sovereign lord and king. That is, this is the God who alone is immortal and invisible, “the only wise God.”

                Having offered a word of guidance about modest living together with a word that reminds us of the identity of the God we serve, Paul addresses those in the congregation who are wealthy. Remember that we’ve already been told that “money is the root of all kinds of evil (vs. 10), but wealth in and of itself is not a deal breaker when it comes to being part of the community of faith. It’s more difficult, but not impossible. Therefore, in the final three verses, Paul offers guidance to those who “in the present age are rich.” Paul tells Timothy to “command them not to be haughty, or set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (vs. 17). It’s all a matter of priority. Here is where the question of stewardship comes into play. Stewardship is understood here to include doing good. That is, Paul tells Timothy that the wealthy members of the community, instead of pursuing more wealth, should be “rich in good works, generous, and ready to share.” In doing this, they will set up a strong/good foundation for the future. Ultimately, even though Paul doesn’t tell the rich to give away their money, he equalizes things by emphasizing simplicity and contentment. That word is especially directed at the wealthy, who are called upon to live lives of generosity. That’s where the true treasure is found.

Once again, we need to read 1 Timothy with a great degree of discernment, since the chapter does begin with a word to slaves encouraging them to honor their masters, especially those who have believing masters. This is why we can’t read Scripture flatly as if everything has the same level of authority. Some words simply need to be set aside, and the word to the slaves is one, while at the same time recognizing the wisdom of this word about living simple and modest lives.  

Image Attribution: Roman Coin of Caesar Augustus, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=57565 [retrieved September 13, 2022]. Original source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aureus,_Auguste,_Lyon,_btv1b104440369.jpg.