Jump Start # 1784

1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

I have been doing some research about money for an upcoming sermon. “Average” in America isn’t looking too good. The amount that “average” saves and the amount of “average” debt is shocking. There are so many verses that address the subject of money, riches and our attitudes about those things. So many of Jesus’ parables were presented in the settings of money. The prodigal wasted his inheritance. The rich farmer who was going to tear down his barns. The slave who owed his master 10,000 talents. The story of the talents. The rich man and Lazarus. Then there are encounters with the rich. Zacchaeus. The rich young ruler. The encounter about paying taxes. The incidents of turning over the tables of the money changers in the Temple. The brother who wanted Jesus to settled the family inheritance. Then there were the explicit principles: life does not consist of possessions; what does it profit if you gain the whole world and lose your soul. Over and over and over Jesus talked about money.

What is interesting is that we don’t. We don’t preach much about money. We shy away from having Bible classes about money. All we see is Dave Ramsey, budgets and money management. Jesus sees greater issues such as greed, materialism, coveting and the love of stuff. Money issues clogs our thinking. We worry. We get stressed. We sit in church buildings but our minds wander to the subject of bills, payments, savings and getting more. The issues with money can be the very thing that is keeping some of us from excelling with the Lord. We can’t seem to move past all the thinking we do about money.

Our verse today is more than just a warning, it is the sad report and proclamation that some have failed because of money. We focus often on the front end of this passage, which is establishing a principle. It’s the backend of this passage that shows the tragic outcome that the lack of this principle has had on some.

Paul, at the end of this verse is talking about Christians. Some stopped their journey with Christ. They were losing their souls. It was not moral issues. It wasn’t false teaching that tripped them. It was money. He points out the three steps into the mine field that caused them to lose their spiritual lives.

First, they longed for money. They did the very thing that they shouldn’t have. The verse begins by warning against the love of money. It’s not money, but the love of it that set them on the wrong course. The verse before states, “those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.” It’s not the money itself, it’s the wanting of it. It’s the attitude about it. It’s the longing for it. It’s the “I’ll do anything to get it.” It’s the selling of the soul in order to have. It’s the pursuit of it. Money won’t save your soul, but it can certainly take your soul!

Now, why do people “long” for money? That’s not hard to understand. Nice things costs money. Big things costs money. With money comes doors that can be opened that were closed before. It’s the thinking that if I had money, then I’d be happy. I’d be happy because I’d drive a nicer car, live in a bigger house, wear better clothes, shop at exclusive stores. With more money, my TV screen would be larger, the square footage of my house would increase and like Luke’s rich farmer, I could sit back and take my ease. I wouldn’t have to work so hard. I could take longer and better vacations. I could eat at nicer restaurants. I could golf at nicer golf courses. This begins to sound really nice. But our ears are beginning more and more deaf to the sound of selfishness and our hearts are becoming more and more convinced that happiness can be bought. That’s the problem. It can’t. If a person can’t be happy in a small house, they will never be happy in a large house.

Something my wife and I have seen all through the years. There are young couples, just starting out, who don’t have much, who live in a small house. Some will have people over. Often, you have to bring your own folding chairs because they don’t have enough. Then there are those who say, “our place is too small. When we get a larger place we will have folks over.” It never happens. Those that have people over in a small home will continue all of their lives to have people over. As they prosper and have larger homes, they continue to have people over. Those who won’t, never do. It’s not the size of the place, it’s the size of the heart.

Longing for money—that’s where these problems begin. It’s thinking that money will fix my woes. If I could only go to Disney for a month, then all will be fine. No, it won’t. You can’t live at Disney, they won’t allow that. Money won’t fix your heart. Money won’t buy happiness. Money won’t build character. Money won’t impress God.

We need money. The kingdom of God needs money. Things costs. However, does the money and the things define us and control us or are we in control of them? That’s the problem. Have we made it an choice between money or God, instead of money and God. Or, better, money with God.

Second, because some Christians longed for money, they wandered from the faith. It wasn’t a direct walking out, like the prodigal. It was not paying attention. It was more like the one sheep who wandered away from the 99, in Luke 15. Their took their eyes off of Jesus. They lifted their foot off the spiritual accelerator. They started looking more and paying attention more to money matters. They stopped feeding their souls. Remember Peter telling us to be sober, be on the alert, Satan is prowling about like a lion? The faith wanderers don’t do that. They are busy sacrificing to make more money. Working on weekends, when they really don’t have to. Spending less time on their knees in prayer and less time with their nose in God’s book and more time at the mall shopping. Wandering from the faith begins with our spiritual life shrinking. It’s very subtle at first. Skip some services. No longer praying much. Thinking about vacations, buying, getting more. We step too close to the edge on things. A little social drinking here and there. That’s what rich people do, so we believe. Buying clothes that are a bit immodest. Taking trips without ever thinking about worshipping while away. Less and less interest in what is happening down at the church building. Less and less contact with the people of God. They have been replaced with friends who are interested in money, buying and going places. Christians now seem boring. Church services seem boring. Guilt keeps you going some, but it’s not the love of the Lord that drives you. You are still convinced that you are a good Christian, but your actions, attitude and passions certainly do not reflect that. You have wandered from the faith and you do not even realize it. The things of God rarely move your needle anymore.

Finally, comes the piercing themselves with many griefs. With God no longer a part of your life, your choices, your behavior and your attitude reflect that. Without a compass guiding you, without an anchor to hold you, you drift and you crash. Your work-aholic husband is no longer making enough money, nor is he fun anymore. Divorce dances through your mind. You would have never thought that years ago. But now, why not? God is no longer a part of your life. Your kids have grown up to be more selfish, more spoiled and more worthless than you are. Alcohol and recreational drugs have become a new god in your life. You can’t live without them. Hob knobbing with fellow stuck up people and trying to impress people has made you forget where you started and has made you forget that you were once a sinner who was redeemed by the blood of Christ. Those “church years” are long gone. They are an unpleasant memory to you. You have nothing but wicked things to say about the Lord’s church and His people. You hide behind your wealth to cover an empty and miserable life that you deny exists. Then one day, comes the greatest piercing possible. Your coming to the end of your journey here. You get cancer. No money can change that. You hide behind one last final whirlwind exotic trip but you fear what happens next. Is this it? Will the selfish kids fight and destroy themselves over what remains of your wealth? What about God? What about Heaven? You have danced and danced with Satan for a long time now. You have laughed and had a grand time. It’s been great, you say. But now, at the end of the journey, there is just you. You walked away from Jesus. You have no faith. You are not even sure what you believe in. And now, this is where your choices have taken you. What awaits is an eternity away from God.

I can write these things because I can put names to these stories. I have seen it. I have been the one who was called to preach the funeral of these faithless people who once believed. It’s a sad, sad story. This is not how the Lord intended for your life to be.

It all started so simply, “and some by longing for it…”

Is it time to take a real look at where you are with the Lord? Have you taken your eyes off of Jesus?

Roger