The Burden of Wealth

The Cure for Affluenza

Clay Smith JFBC

I Timothy 6: 17-19

Watch the message here.

We don’t think of ourselves as rich because we compare ourselves to those with more money, but we are better off than 99% of the rest of the world. We have so many first world problems. Long lines at coffee shops, etc. Chick-fil-A isn’t open on Sunday.

We need to have a wealth theology, how to handle our money, whether we have a lot or a little. Greed hides itself from the victim. Wealth is a stewardship and I am accountable . We should be responsible in handling God’s resources.

The burdens and benefits of wealth…

1. V 17a don’t be conceited.

Or haughty. Prideful. That we are more than we are. V 9-10 often misquoted. Doesn’t say money is evil, but that the love of money can lead to ruin. Gahasi tricked Naman.

2. V 17b don’t set your hope on money. Hope is a confident expectation that God will do what he says he will do. Money and possessions are not certainties. 80% of athletes go broke within 3 years of retirement. Many struggle with greed. Fruit from a tree depends on the roots. Idols of power, affirmation, etc.

We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.

3. V 17c  set your hope on God who richly provides for all our needs, perhaps not like we expected.. God supplies us with all things to enjoy. Only God is worthy of our love. Matthew 6 don’t store up riches on earth. We can’t serve God and mammon.

God gives us our worth. Exc 5:18 God is faithful.

4. V 18a be rich in good works. Use your resources and platform for good. Do good deeds, menial tasks like washing other's feet.

The best way to know if you are a servant is to see how you respond when you are treated like one.

5. V 18b be generous. Zacheus first gave after giving his life to God. Jesus got onto the Pharisees for forgetting the heart of giving, making it so legalistic. God doesn’t want us to be enslaved by money.

6. V 19 invest in eternity. Earthly things are not true live, only putting your faith in Jesus.

2 Cor 8:8-9 Jesus gave up being God to become man, so we could be with him for eternity. Generosity starts with an understanding of the gospel. You are accountable.

God propels me not to increase my standard of living, but to increase my standard of giving - Randy Alcorn in The Treasure Principle.

What is your next step?

Additional resources…

1. Redeeming Money, by Paul David Tripp

2. The Giving Crisis - Andrew McNair

Dan Rice runs and doesn’t grow weary. I want that for my life.

Three former Clemson QB’s are starting at other schools this fall. One spent last season as a backup at GT, so he transferred to UMass where he could see more action. I’ll have to remember to track these guys TQBR this fall.

A 77-year old man in Vegas has over 2000 football helmets in his house. Not just in his basement. In the hallways, bathrooms, bedrooms, and kitchen. Circling his jacuzzi. He’s been collecting them for 50 years. There by the grace of God goest me.

CHIPPER JONES [SABR Bio] was the first third baseman to have 100+ RBI in six consecutive seasons, from 1996-2001. He was the first player to have more than one multi-home-run game against Randy Johnson (on 05-Sep-1999 and 05-Sep-2000) but was the only player to strike out three times in Johnson’s perfect game, on 18-0May-2004. Chipper once said that to qualify for an award like a league Rookie of the Year, a player should not have played in another major league before. When Hideo Nomo came to MLB from the Japanese Leagues and won the 1995 NL Rookie of the Year Award, Jones, who would have won otherwise, let his philosophy on the subject be known.