Sermon -- Stewardship: A God-Lived Life #4 (January 9, 2022)

1 TIMOTHY 6:6-19

A GOD-LIVED LIFE PURSUES WHAT IS OF REAL VALUE. 

In the name + of Jesus.

     It does not take much for us to get our priorities out of whack.  St. Paul addressed that in his letter to Timothy.  If you want to sum up what St. Paul has to say, we can do that with two verses.  First, there is the warning: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.  It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10).  Then there is the instruction: “But as for you, O man of God, flee these things.  Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness” (1 Timothy 6:11).  These two verses are enough to keep us focused on what really matters.  A God-lived life pursues what is of real value.  But it does not take much to lose that focus.

     Consider this: What hopes do you have for your children?  We usually have their lives charted out in our minds and guide them on that path.  They are going to go to school, study hard, and get good grades.  Maybe they will excel athletically.  But then they will go to college and get a degree.  To what end?  To get a good job.  Now, how would you define a good job?  Most likely, it is a job that pays well.  After that, we might think in terms of marriage and family and so on. 

     In one respect, these are noble goals.  We want our children to be productive members of society.  But our hopes are usually centered on money.  We want our children to have a job that compensates them generously.  But do we talk about education and career at the expense of teaching a boy to be an honest gentleman?  Do we talk about what it means to be a devoted husband and father, or do we focus on employment?  Do we give our daughters the impression that a career is meaningful but that motherhood is not a high calling?  If fulfillment is only to be found in a career, then family life will be despised.  Some may conclude that it is smart to avoid it.  Certainly, that is not what you want for your children, is it?  Is that what you would call a good life?  If money and career are what matter, St. Paul’s warning should be repeated: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.  It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10). 

     What greater hope could you have for yourself and for your children than to remain steadfast in the Christian faith?  There is only one way that you will get to keep your children for all eternity, and that is if they remain in Christ.  They will only remain in Christ if you bring them to church, talk about the Bible at home, and live your life according to it.  If Jesus and the Church are a priority for you, odds are it will remain a priority for them.  This is why St. Paul issues the warning and gives the instructions.  Worldly priorities are temporary.  They may produce great wealth and worldly security, but they are guaranteed to be temporary.  “For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world” (1 Timothy 6:7).  When death comes, all worldly priorities will prove to be useless.  In fact, they may be detrimental.  Keeping Christ as the highest priority, on the other hand, yields an everlasting reward.  And when you die, you do not lose anything Jesus has promised.  In fact, it gets better.  Therefore, a God-lived life pursues what is of real value.

     Once again, St. Paul issues the warning: “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction” (1 Timothy 6:9).  The love of money diverts our focus from the love of God and of our neighbor.  The love of money, trust in money, and the fear of losing money are idolatry.  For, we are to fear, love, and trust in God above all things.  God is the sole source of life.  We live for as long as God chooses.  God is the giver of every gift.  We receive our possessions according to God’s wisdom and pleasure.  God is the source of mercy, peace, and salvation.  Money cannot buy any of those things, no matter how much we have or collect.  If money cannot give us a joyful heart, a peaceful conscience, or confidence at the final judgment, why would we put our trust in it?  When it comes to our standing before God, money proves to have no value at all.  Therefore, a God-lived life will pursue what has real value.

     So, rather than devote yourself to making money, St. Paul urges you, “Fight the good fight of the faith.  Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession” (1 Timothy 6:12).  You were called to a higher place than to a career, and God gives you greater riches than any paycheck.  You were called to eternal life, and you were given faith in the promises which save.  These God gives for free.  While they are free to you, they were very costly for our Lord.

     You know what it cost our Lord to redeem you.  He left the glories of heaven and emptied himself of his divine power and majesty.  He came as an infant—defenseless and helpless.  God had to be carried, nursed, and clothed by the Virgin Mary.  He lived as a peasant, dependent upon his heavenly Father to supply his needs.  Jesus never condemned the use of money, but he also never craved it.  He lived with a perfect trust that his Father would provide for him.  At his death, Jesus’ entire estate was what he was wearing when he went to the cross.  And even that was taken from him. 

     The perfect, humble life of Jesus was given as payment for us.  For our lust for money, Jesus was crucified with thieves.  For our goals of building a kingdom in this world, Jesus was condemned by earthly kingdoms and gained for us a heavenly home.  All the wealth in the world could not pay for a single sin, but Jesus’ sacrifice pays for them all.  God became man so that he could shed his holy, innocent blood to purchase you from sin, death, and the devil.  God became man so that he could walk free from the grave as the man who conquers death and lives and reigns over every power, kingdom, and authority.  His kingdom endures forever.  What Jesus has won, he gives to you for free. 

     Even when Jesus gives his gifts, he uses what is common so that it is accessible to all.  He does not make you invest in expensive aloes and perfumes to cover the filth of your sin; you were purified by water in holy baptism.  He does not strengthen your faith with costly meats or gourmet cuisine.  He sustains and strengthens you with simple bread and wine under which he gives you the body and blood which have overcome death.  He does not force you to fill out tedious forms for your forgiveness; it is simply decreed to you through preaching and absolution.  What Jesus won, he gives for free.  By word and sacraments, he keeps you in the one, true, saving faith. 

     A God-lived life pursues what is of real value.  God’s best gifts are not the ones that make life in this world comfortable.  Those who make themselves comfortable in this world seldom want to leave it.  God’s best gifts are the ones that bring us closer to him and unite us to him.  Yes, that means the forgiveness of sins, new life, and salvation.  But it also may include poor health, a shaky economy, and war.  While these are not fun, they usually force people to pray and to long for the heavenly kingdom.  The more evils you endure, the harder you end up praying, “Come, Lord Jesus.” 

     A God-lived life will not be rattled by the loss of worldly goods and treasures.  A God-lived life will not be derailed by poor health or a terminal condition.  We don’t live for those things.  We crave the riches of heaven.  We yearn for our Savior who teaches us, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.  Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys.  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Luke 12:32-34).  A God-lived life pursues what is of real value.

     The Father, whose good pleasure it is to give us the kingdom, is pleased to give us worldly wealth too.  Whatever wealth God chooses to give you, it is only a tool to honor the Lord and to serve your neighbor.  Just as he gives you your talents, abilities, and skills to honor him and to serve your neighbor, your money is given to you for the same reason.  We use it for the good of our families.  We use it to support missionaries around the world and the college and seminary that prepare the next generation of pastors and teachers.  We use it to benefit our children through Christian education at schools like Huron Valley Lutheran High School and the local Lutheran elementary schools.  We use our wealth to help those who are poor or whose wealth was wiped out by disasters or medical expenses.  There are many ways our wealth can be used in love for the good of our neighbor.  That’s what God gives it to us for in the first place.

     Therefore, St. Paul instructs us: “Flee (the love of money).  Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith.  … As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.  They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:11-12,17-19). 

     We hope our children will be blessed with jobs that grant fulfillment, productivity, and prosperity.  However God chooses to bless them or us, the wealth we achieve is only a tool to do good for others.  But recognize this: The most important work we do receives no compensation at all.  We feed and clothe our children.  We soothe a crying child.  We teach them to pray.  We discipline them and teach them to be respectable and honest.  We make a phone call to an aging parent.  We gather as God’s family to hear his word, to sing hymns, to partake in his sacraments, and by these to grow in the Christian faith.  If you are doing that, odds are your children will dwell in a kingdom that endures forever.  You will keep your children for eternity which no amount of money can buy.  God will always provide enough to live on in this world whether people care about him or not.  But only Jesus provides what gives life everlasting.  Jesus’ word and sacraments are of limitless value, and Jesus grants these for free.  A God-lived life gives these the highest priority and pursues what is of real value.

In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.