A sermon by Dr. David C. Gibbs Jr.

Read part one of this sermon on the Blessings of God. 

I Timothy 6:17-19

Americans, who are truly blessed by God, are also truly rich. I Timothy 6:17-19 gives God’s action plan for how we as Christians are to handle wealth and prosperity. As Americans, we are all amazingly blessed. We should thank God every day for His graciousness to us. When compared with other countries, the United States of America has more industry, a better military, a better economy, better everything, than most of the world. How can we live in such a place? We are here in this free nation only by the grace of God.

In today’s world, when you receive a wedding invitation, you can go online and find out what the couple is asking for. I remember years ago we had to call the mother or father of the bride or groom and ask what would be a blessing or a help to them. Now, the couple has everything listed on Internet bridal registries. I find it very strange what today’s young people list on these registries.  I’ve sat and looked at them and half the things these young couples want, my wife and I still don’t have after 42 years of marriage. There never seem to be any vacuum cleaners or toasters or other things we use every day on these lists. These modern couples want silver.

After my wife and I were married about 30 years, we were in South Carolina.  A pottery store was having a sale on silver. It was a beautiful set, but you know, we have never once used it. We made a discovery. When you get ready to use real silver, it’s all dirty, and you’ve got to sit there forever and clean every piece. That’s why most people today get stainless steel. But these couples online today want things like sliver cake sets.

Honeymoons today have also become a much larger event than ever before. My wife and I got married on a Saturday afternoon in Cleveland, Ohio, drove 130 miles to Detroit, spent the night in a Holiday Inn, and got up in the morning and went to church. In the afternoon, we went to the Henry Ford Museum, went to church that night, and drove back to Cleveland. Today’s couples go on honeymoons to Aruba. There’s nothing wrong with that, but if you don’t understand how unreal that opportunity is, there’s a lot wrong. We are so remarkably blessed in America that these young people can even consider going to so many fancy places. 

Paul's Charge to Timothy in I Timothy 6

Verse 17 begins with the words, “Charge them.” God says, “I want you to make a point about this. I want you to keep bringing it up.” “Charge them that are rich in this world.” The fact that we live in America today automatically means that we are rich. If you make $20,000 a year, including benefits, you are in the upper tier of compensation in the entire world! Ninety percent of the people on planet earth get less. Using this standard, just about every one of us is rich. Four commands follow under this charge—two “don’t”s and two “do”s.

The Two “Don’ts”

1.    Don’t be Highminded

“Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded.” I Timothy 6:17a

“Highminded” is a very specific word.  It means we think we’re something because of what we have. “Well, if I had a car like that, a house like that, a boat like that”—those are highminded thoughts, and God forbids them. You are not what you possess. The real value of you only becomes clear when all your possessions are taken away. That’s the real you. Don’t think you’re something because of how much you make or the position you hold. Lester Roloff once told me, “David, be careful or you’ll start to believe the introductions, and both you and God know better.” Don’t get highminded.

You and I have no talents apart from what God has given us. He gives us every breath we take. God, who gave us everything, says not to be highminded about the things He has given. A man with good apparel and position comes in, and we say, “You sit here.” That’s fine, but if we treat someone not wearing the very best any less, God says, “That is despicable in My sight.” What triggered that was highminded thinking.

2.    Don’t trust in uncertain riches

“Charge them that are rich in this world that they be not highminded or trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;.” I Timothy 6:17

All riches on this earth are uncertain. They are never given, only entrusted. Our lives are uncertain as well. One little brain aneurysm, and you may never talk again. One little stroke, and you can’t stand up.  We don’t know what tomorrow holds. That’s why we sing that great song, “I don’t know about tomorrow, but I know Who holds tomorrow.”  Riches are always uncertain. God reminds us not to trust in riches, because we are not made up of what we have. It was a tragedy in the 1920s when the stock market crashed. People committed suicide because they thought they had lost themselves, not just their money. God says all these riches are uncertain; they can come and go.

We should not think we are anything more because of what we drive, where we live, or what talents we have. Have you ever see someone singing in church and all they are doing is saying, “Hey, Look at me”? God gave them that talent, and God could remove it. He explains in Scripture that he wants our total confidence to be “in the living God Who giveth us all things richly to enjoy.”

Most nations that have experienced prosperity have self-destructed because they became comfortable trusting in their prosperity instead of trusting in God. Unlike other nations in the world today, almost no one in America has to trust God to eat tonight. Almost no one prayed this morning, “God, you’ve got to come through for me today so I can eat! I need your provision to bring food for my family and me today!” We don’t have to trust Him at that level. Nevertheless, God reminds us here to keep trusting in Him for daily provisions.  Riches are uncertain, but He is always faithful.

The Two “Dos”

1.    Do good, and Be rich in good works

“That they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;” I Timothy 6:18

God says, “Don’t be highminded. Don’t trust in uncertain riches. Be rich in good works.” Earthly riches could easily just evaporate. One automobile accident could mean poor health and money gone for the rest of your life. Where we live in Florida, all kinds of airline captains had retirement homes. Because of industry financial difficulties, many are now saying, “I’ve lost my retirement, everything I thought I had! It was all supposed to be so secure.” Do not put your trust in those things. Trust in God.

After He tells us not to trust in those uncertain riches, God says He wants us to be rich in the certain riches. The command is, “be rich in good works.” No one ever does good works by accident. We only do them by design and decision. My wife challenges me on this. She says, “Honey, we need to do more good works, something that’s not expected, just something that would please God.” God says that is the kind of wealth He wants us to have, a good works wealth. Ask Him what good works you could do this week, and then write it down. Tell Him that you want to do good for His glory, to make deposits in His bank in heaven.  Jesus told us to store up our treasures in Heaven, not in our earthly barns.

2.    Do good, and Be ready to distribute

“Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” 1 Timothy 6:19

God wants us to jump at the opportunity to do good. Imagine two runners at the starting gate or two horses posted to race, and one breaks early. That is the attitude requires in this verse. Have you ever come to church and said, “Would you please pass that offering plate over here right away?” Has that ever been your passion? Believe it or not, God commands us to jump at the chance to give. Suppose you say you have already given a lot, so other people should be giving more too.  The Scripture here is an ongoing continuum. God tells us to forget about what we have done in the past. Forget about those uncertain riches in your pocket, and give to His work. Give to things that glorify Him.

So How Rich Are We, Really?

Scripture tells us we should lay up treasures in heaven because uncertain riches will never be certain. We only ever get to keep what we give away. All of us have been guilty of being highminded. We all love to have things. God says, “These earthly riches are fleeting; I don’t want you to trust in them—I want you to trust in Me for everything. On top of that, I want you to use what you do have for good works and giving. I will reward you in the time to come.”

Let’s think about this carefully. How rich are we in America? Where are we putting our trust?

It would be much easier to trust God if we lived in a country where we didn’t have anything. We would trust Him then because we would have to trust Him. Our problem in America is that we can get very comfortable not having to trust God for things. God reminds us not to become highminded or to trust in those things, because we also live in a place “where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal.” My prayer for Americans is that we would understand this lesson from God’s Word and that we would all become truly rich.