June 7

Taking hold of the life that really is life

             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. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 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.

1 Timothy 6:17-19

“As for those who in the present age are rich,”

            Most of us do not consider ourselves rich.  There is always someone out there who has a nicer house, cooler cars and a significantly bigger bank account.  Even if you are currently living paycheck to paycheck, that does not mean that you are not rich.  If you have a college degree you are automatically in the top 10% of the world’s population in income, employment opportunities and quality of life.  If you own a car, own a home, have access to the internet and have food on the table every night, you are rich in the eyes of the majority of the world.

“Command them not to be haughty, ”

            I had to look up haughty.  It means “arrogantly superior and disdainful.”  Don’t be haughty.  Other translations will use “Highminded,” “proud,” or “arrogant.”  Don’t be those things either.  Some have worked for their wealth.  Others have inherited it.  No one has ever done it all by themselves.

“Or set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

            Money comes and goes.  A single catastrophic accident or illness has the potential to strip away our wealth in an instant.  God is constant.  God does not change.  God loves to lavish good things upon us for our enjoyment.  Notice the passage did not say “For our Mission,” or “For our Service.”  Our enjoyment of this life is a significant factor in God’s mind.  He gave us our life for our enjoyment.  He gave us our kids for our enjoyment.

  “They are to do good, to be rich in good works,”

            We are to use the life that we have been gifted, with all of its resources and opportunities, to serve the world around us and make it a better place.  We are not to hoard and only give when we are certain that people really deserve it.  We are to be rich in service; lavish in good works; having a reputation for assisting our communities.

“Generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future,”

            Sharing our time and our money and our resources is not lessening ourselves, it is investing in our future.  Our generosity here translates to a larger treasure in eternity.  I don’t think that the treasure is a larger crown or a fancier house or a bigger pile of gold to sit on.  The currency of Heaven is not precious metals.  It is people.  It is relationships.  The more that we invest our earthly treasure into making the lives of others better, the better chance that we will have to be rich in Heaven’s currency.

“So that they may take hold of the life that really is life.”

            Life is more than birth, job, taxes and death.  It is more than market share and net worth.  It is more than productivity and efficiency and spreadsheets and resumes.  Life is about how we use our gifts and talents and passions and resources to lift others up.  Definitely our families and children…but others as well.  My wife was inspired one day to draw our daughter’s preschool class as superheroes.  It probably cost about $5 worth of supplies and took her a couple hours to complete.  She sent it to the teacher and then moved on with our daily lives.  Fast forward four months to preschool graduation.  The kids’ certificates all have my wife’s picture as the background.  The teacher loved the image and was inspired.  The kids all loved the picture and were inspired.  The parents and grandparents all loved the picture and were inspired.  That was a ripple effect of over 30 lives made better by a small investment of time and resources. 

            That is a picture of life, and as Paul calls it, “A life that is really life.”  Not an existence where we are isolated and absorbed by all our own issues and problems…real life is connected with others, building each other up and sharing each other’s burdens.  A life that is really life sees our families with all of their special needs integrated into the life of our church and community.  It sees all of us able to give what we have and receive what we need.  It sees us able to rejoice with our brothers and sisters who are celebrating and weep with those who are suffering.  A life that is really life has relationships that do not end with time or distance or death.  Eternity will be filled with men and women eagerly welcoming us home. That is the treasure that we spend this life investing into.

    

A moment to reflect:

How could you invest in eternal treasure this week?