Pastor Tim Patoka
September 18, 2022 Serve God With Money 1 Timothy 6:6-10,17-19 1) Be Content With Your Blessings 2) Use Your Blessings for Godly Enjoyment
I’m going to start things off with a riddle today where you tell me what I’m describing. “I’m considered both a necessary evil and the key to unlock your every dream. Though in great demand, I’m always in short supply. I have gone by many different names yet am always the same. What am I?” Did you figure it out? I’ll give you a hint, it’s what our three readings this morning have all mentioned. If you guessed “money” you would be correct. As much as we need money, we also have a love/hate relationship with it. That’s because money often broods division and discomfort wherever it goes. Why if we had our way, there would probably be no such thing as money. Though people may think so, money is not inherently good or bad. Rather, it’s a resource we use to serve a purpose. If the purpose is flawed, then your use of money can only be bad. But if your purpose is noble, then money can be an excellent resource. This becomes all the more important in our purpose to serve God. In our verses this morning from 1 Timothy, we hear great detail about how we can use money to serve God in a good way. It starts with a correct attitude that is content with what God has already blessed us so that we may view money correctly. With content hearts, we then use our blessing of money for godly enjoyment that delights in giving instead of receiving. 1) Be Content With Your Blessings If you were to define contentment, it’s hard to do better than “being satisfied with what God has blessed you.” For one, it puts the focus on God and what he does for us. Secondly, it leaves the door open for God to bless us with more but doesn’t demand such him. But the key thing about contentment is this – it’s an attitude we have no matter how richly God has blessed us. However, when you lack contentment, that’s when a love of money can step in. With money, you can get those desired possessions or memorable experiences to hopefully feel content. With money, you get respect from others because you must have done something right! And that feeling can soothe the lack of contentment. Or perhaps we seek the semblance of security to feel content, so we stock up on riches. 1
Pastor Tim Patoka
September 18, 2022
From this comes a famously misquoted Bible verse, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evils.” (1 Timothy 6:10a EHV) It’s the love of money, not money itself, that becomes one of many sources to produce sins. That greed, envy, and coveting fester into sins of stealing, dishonest dealing, slanderous words, and bodily harm. The time and attention a Christian once put towards God and his Word is misdirected to money and what is offers. If left unchecked, this love of money sends you on the path of temptations, traps, foolish and harmful desires, and ultimately leaves in hell’s complete destruction and utter ruin. I’m sure you can think of any number of people who went from good to worst because of a love of money. And it all happened because they were not satisfied with what God had blessed them. How about you? Are you content right now? Or do you struggle with a love of money? If we’re being honest, there’s at least some love of money in us. We always want more, especially in our materialistic society that bombards us with advertisements for the next best thing. And until you get it, you’re missing out! We fall for money’s allure and false promise of contentment, “If I only had this, then I’d be satisfied!” We look at the problems of our world and how the rich seem to be unaffected by them. So we want their riches to have the same seemingly peaceful lives. Yet I ask you, is there any reason for you to not be satisfied with what God has already blessed you? As our verses say, all we need is food and clothing. And we have that! But God has blessed us with more than just food and clothing. Why, we have our choice of food from around the world and sets of clothing with dated fashions and ill fit sizes! Those of us who live far above the poverty line we have to ask, “How do I wisely manage all these blessings that God has given me?” Not only has God richly blessed us physically, but also spiritually. Our salvation is paid for in a currency far more valuable and costly than any human currency. It’s Jesus’ own blood, suffering, and death that canceled our debt of sin. To this day, God continues to forgive all our wrongs like when we fail to be content because of a love of money. And he will continue to hand deliver these spiritual blessings that money can never buy. Remember what contentment is, an attitude that says, “I am satisfied with what God has blessed me.” No matter how much you have or don’t, this is where it begins to serve God with money – a content heart that views money as a resource for serving God.
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Pastor Tim Patoka
September 18, 2022 2) Use Your Blessings for Godly Enjoyment
The apostle Paul addresses the second half of our verses to “those who are rich in this present age.” (1 Timothy 6:17a EHV) Would you include yourself in this group? While you may not, these words are spoken to all of us in one way or another. As Americans, God has blessed us with so many riches that we confuse our wants for needs. Globally, there are billions of people who would love to make as much as our federal poverty level that starts at $13,590 a year for a one-person household! Besides our annual income, we also have the universal principle of wisely managing our monetary blessings. As Jesus said in today’s Gospel, “The person who is faithful with very little is also faithful with much. And the person who is unrighteous with very little is also unrighteous with much.” (Luke 16:10 EHV) Whether we consider ourselves rich or not, let us listen to what these inspired words say so that we may serve God with whatever amount our money is measured in. Because there are many ways to misuse it. One way to be arrogant, that is, to think higher of ourselves than others. If the Lord has blessed us with budgetary skills, we can take sinful pride in ourselves for outperforming our peers as the respected self-made person. Perhaps we act arrogant because of that status symbol we bought so others can see it – the decked out vehicle, the latest fashion, the rare refreshments. Another way to misuse money is to put our hope in its uncertainty. It’s true that a full bank account can be a safety net, but it’s not foolproof! A drop in the market, a devastating war, or historic inflation can wipe that all out. And don’t forget how riches cannot prevent accidents or failing health. Instead, let us place our hope in God who richly supplies us with all things. Unlike wealth, God is our certain hope for he will always supply us with what we need. That’s why Jesus tells us not to worry in Matthew chapter 6. If you doubt that, remember that God is not stopped by budget worksheets. If he can feed 5,000+ people with just 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, he will certainly provide for you in every upcoming circumstance. God blesses us with more than just food and clothing. We also have his spiritual blessings – forgiveness, peace, joy, life, salvation, and so much more! With our trust in God, we therefore use our money for the purpose God gave it – for our enjoyment. We can rule out all enjoyment that comes from sin. And this is more than the enjoyment that comes from free time and vacation. Rather, our enjoyment becomes complete when we act as God’s helping hand, friendly
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Pastor Tim Patoka
September 18, 2022
face, encouraging voice, and word of forgiveness to our neighbor. For it’s in loving our neighbor that we find our delight and also serve God. 1 Timothy gives us specific instructions to do this. “Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share.” (1 Timothy 6:18 EHV) It may seem strange to you to positively mention “good works” in a Wisconsin Lutheran church, but it’s not out of place. For whenever we Christians do anything according to God’s will with an unselfish motivation, we do a good work. And to be rich in them means it’s a regular habit. To be generous and willing to share means to give of ourselves to others without asking for anything in return so others may delight in it as well. In many ways, this is summed up in Jesus’ own words, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35 EHV) You don’t have to look far to serve God with your blessings for your godly enjoyment. Every Sunday, we have the offering plate as well as 24/7 online giving so that you may delight as you participate in the ministry Grace does to share God’s Word with our community in southern Arizona. There are many fine organizations in Tucson that help people in ways we cannot as a church family. You also have those individuals you personally know. No matter what combination you choose, you make it so that money is the lord we serve but a resource to serve the Lord himself. Conclusion We often have a love/hate relationship with money because of the division and discomfort it broods. Yet money is not inherently good or evil. It’s a tool to serve a purpose. As we seek to serve God with money, we start with a content heart because of how richly God has blessed us. From this content heart comes our hope that is placed in God who supplies us with all things for our godly enjoyment. Since it is more blessed to give than to receive, we therefore delight when we use our money to serve God by loving our neighbor. May we always keep our eyes and hopes fixed on Jesus so that we may always serve our God with money. Amen.
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