Sermon Text: 1 Timothy 6:17-21
Date: July 30, 2023
Event: Proper 12, Year A (The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost)
1 Timothy 6:17-21 (EHV)
Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but rather in God, who richly supplies us with all things for our enjoyment. 18Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they are storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
20O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you, turning away from godless, empty talk and the contradictions of what is falsely called “knowledge.” 21By professing it, some have veered away from the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.
Seek True Treasure
Can you distinguish between something valuable and something that is kind of worthless? Between something rare and something common? Maybe if you look through a handful of change, your eyes are tuned to be able to spot the differences between all those quarters that are just worth 25 cents and the quarters that are special and worth a lot of money. Maybe your ears are tuned to know the difference between a sedan driving past you on the street that is completely stock from the factory and the one that had an incredible amount of work done and new parts added under the hood that are not evident just by looking at the vehicle. Perhaps your eyes are sharp enough to be able to tell the difference between a luxury pair of shoes or bag and one that is a knockoff, made to look like the original, but made of far lesser materials and perhaps more likely to fall apart with use.
You probably don’t have an awareness of every difference in every field, but your expertise could be useful. If you know cars, perhaps you help a friend buying a car to buy something that is actually worthwhile and not a waste of time or a likely money-pit. Helping others with your knowledge and experience to make sure they are getting the most for their money or getting the most value out of something they already have is a real blessing, because it’s not evident to everyone what something’s value is or how to even determine that.
This morning, we are focused on the concept of the true value of true treasure. So many things in this world sparkle and glimmer and pull our eyes away from things that are truly worthwhile. These shiny things often turn out to be no better than fool’s gold. But as Jesus talked about doing everything possible to acquire a real treasure, so the Apostle Paul, in our Second Reading, encourages Timothy to help others to seek after real wealth, which he says is truly life.
Paul’s closing words in this letter to Pastor Timothy serve as a kind of summary of the work he is supposed to be doing: Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but rather in God, who richly supplies us with all things for our enjoyment. There’s a couple of things that we can learn from this single verse which will be a blessing for us moving forward.
Let’s begin with Paul’s second point, God… richly supplies us with all things for our enjoyment. There is no mandate from God for asceticism, for getting rid of earthly blessings or needing to feel guilty for material things. In fact, Paul is clear, that if God has given you these things, he wants them to be enjoyed. That’s not to say that everyone will get the same number of things in this life, or that we should expect to have every wish fulfilled, but what God has given he’s given because he loves us and wants them to be for our good.
However, Paul does warn about enjoying these blessings to a fault. He said: Instruct those who are rich in this present age not to be arrogant or to put their hope in the uncertainty of riches, but rather in God. What is the danger with the enjoyable things of this life? They can take our hearts and eyes off true treasure, true wealth, and lasting comfort. Sure, a bank account with a lot of numbers in the balance may make you feel secure, but what happens if some economic disaster befalls the world and inflation destroys the value of that money? What happens if some bad actor gets access to your accounts and can siphon it all away so that you have nothing left and no way to get it back? What happens if you make a bad investment and the whole bundle of things you had saved disappears?
Has God disappeared? Do these situations mean that he is no longer willing or able to fulfill his promise of daily bread? Hardly! But if we recognize God as the source of those original blessings, and that our comfort and assurance come from him in whole not simply from the gifts that he gives, then those problems, while difficult to deal with, will not be impossible. We will know that the God who gave those blessings can certainly return them, give different ones, or see us through our earthly lives in a different if less comfortable way. If when we look at a bank statement or other expression of material blessings and see God as the source behind what is there, then if it disappears, we will find it easier to join Job in saying “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will return. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. May the name of the Lord be blessed” (Job 1:21).
So, when we have material blessings, Paul says, don’t let those produce arrogance in your heart. Instead, see them as an expression of God’s graciousness to you. He loves you and has provided those things for your temporary enjoyment and use. However, if he hasn’t given you much in that way, that is not an expression of what he thinks about you—that is, if you are barely making ends meet it’s not that God doesn’t care about you or love you. It’s simply that he chosen to bless you in other ways, because he always knows what is best for you and for me. What Goes knows is best for may not be exactly what we have in mind.
So, earthly treasures and blessings are certainly not sinful, but they should not dominate our hearts and minds. Instead, Paul says, that we should put our hope in God. What does a trust in God for now and eternity produce in our lives here? Paul goes on: Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and willing to share. In this way they are storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
Rather than focusing on earthly things that have a tangible benefit now, Paul leads us to consider the more important things of generosity and a life filled with good works. Why? Because those good works are only possible with faith in Jesus as Savior. If you are doing things that God considers to be good, they are done in thanksgiving to God, not just for earthly blessings, but for the far more important eternal blessings, for the true treasure that he gives.
And that’s what Jesus was getting at with the parable of the treasure in the field. Even in earthly matters, if you have enough money to buy one piece of property, but you knew that once you bought that piece of property, you would be able to dig up a treasure worth 1000x more than what you paid for the land, wouldn’t you do it?
How much more than when we consider the temporary nature of this life and the eternal blessings that are coming in heaven! Shouldn’t Jesus and his forgiveness be our focus rather than the things of this world that will pass away? Shouldn’t the eternal be more important to us than the temporary? And yet, how difficult it is for us to keep that kind of perspective. We can’t see heaven—we can’t even see God—and so the things that we can see and hear and feel tend to dominate our thoughts and actions. We seek after treasure that passes away rather than true treasure.
This is why seeking the treasure of God’s Word and his promises in that Word are so very important. Without this revealed knowledge of God, we can’t see what is coming, we don’t know what he has done. But when we prioritize his Word above the other things in this life, things start to fall into place in a godly way in our lives. We are reminded of Jesus’ complete forgiveness that has been given to us without charge. And that, then, directs our lives to thankfulness to God and rejoicing in what is coming—while at the same time enjoying what is in front of us.
Jesus’ life and death in our place mean we have forgiveness for every sin, even those times when the earthly has been more important to us than the eternal. God forgives your sins and my sins of neglect of his Word, of materialism and greed, of dissatisfaction and malcontent. These and all other sins are washed away in the blood of Jesus. This assurance of forgiveness is the true, lasting treasure that we yearn for and seek after; this is the true treasure that God freely gives.
So, as we consider the treasure that we have been given in the gospel message, let us do what Paul encouraged Timothy: guard what has been entrusted to you. Don’t let the things of this world be more important than eternal life—and let us use the blessings of this world to share this good news with others. So many don’t know what God has done for them; let’s prioritize not only valuing that for ourselves but sharing it with the world! Amen.
