Bible
Study: Timothy 6, 2 to 12 and Luke 8, 1 to 3.
As popular
as today’s first reading may be, it is important to bear in mind that when Paul
was writing these lines, he was speaking directly to a young man, Timothy who
had just become a Bishop. Yesterday, Paul admonished him not to feel
intimidated by his age but go on to show good example to all those under him.
So in today’s passage, Paul is warning Timothy against persons who have sought
to indulge in the ministry for the sake of making money.
Paul says
that such persons “have a morbid craving for controversy, and for disputes
about words, which produce envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions …
imagining that godliness is a means of gain.” How else can one explain the
attitude of ministers who pick up quarrels with their boss and then break out
to form their own churches? Or how else can one explain the fact that there are
thousands of new worship centres opening up every day?
As much as
God has not stopped calling as many people as possible into ministry, as much
as there are millions of genuine ministers out there who are doing a lot to
bring people closer to God, St. Paul is writing to discourage us from placing a
priority in money. The mere desire to be rich should never be the sole objective
of entering into ministry. This is because according to Paul, “those who desire
to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and hurtful desires
that plunge men into ruin and destruction.”
Most times,
those who enter into ministry do so without a single desire to be rich. They come
in simply to save souls but no sooner had they come in, Satan tempts them with
lots and lots of money, they stop focusing on how to care for the soul and turn
their attention to how to feed the body. They stop talking about sin as evil,
they start talking about poverty as evil. Just as Satan tempted Jesus to turn
stones to bread, many ministers today not only turn stones to bread, they now
have bakeries!
Some ministers
have so much intoxicated themselves with money that they even boast about it
and flaunt their personal assets such as private jets, houses in exotic
locations and so on. When we compare the lifestyle of today’s ministers with
that of Jesus (who as our Gospel passage this morning acknowledges), depended
on the substance of certain women who accompanied them, we see a whole world of
difference. If Jesus had allowed himself to fall into this temptation of using
godliness as a means of making money, he would have made it big but he was more
concerned with salvation of souls than becoming a Political Messiah.
Mind you,
St. Paul did not say money by itself is evil. What is so terribly evil is the
DESIRE or LOVE for Money. Money is like a butterfly, it flees when you try to
get it but when you are focused on other things, it comes to perch on your
back. Yes, it is true that we cannot avoid being rich as the people to whom we
minister, are themselves rich and they do not like to see us live from hand to
mouth, but, as the Psalmist says: “Do not set your heart on riches even when
they increase.” Psalm 62, verse 10.
There is
grave danger in making money a priority in our lives. “But as for you, man of
God, shun all this; aim at righteousness, godliness, faith love, steadfastness
and gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith. Take hold of eternal life.” How are
we going to succeed in not allowing money control us? The answer is CONTENTMENT.
As a minister, never long for that which you do not have, always remember that
we all brought nothing into this world and we shall all leave taking nothing
out of the world. This means we are all equal no matter what we have externally.
Let us
pray:
Lord
Jesus, may I never be ruled by money but continue to serve your people in
sincerity and truth. Amen.
Good morning.
Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you.
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