Command Those Who Are Rich

          Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. (I Timothy 6:17-19)

          Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. (I Peter 4:10)

          Let me begin by saying that I recognize that this passage is generally speaking about those who possess a lot of money.  But I also feel the need to point out that there are people who don’t have money who have other sorts of wealth: talent or time in place of treasure, about which they are just as arrogant and in which they put just as much of their hope. So, it doesn’t matter whether you’re rich in money, land, power, personality, charm, talent, motivation, ideas, hopes, energy, or anything else.

         With that as the foundation, Paul’s statements threaten to give us whiplash. He slams on the brakes: Do not be arrogant or put your hope in that wealth but put your hope in God. He steps on the gas: all things were given to us to enjoy. He spins the steering wheel: the direction we’re supposed to go with our wealth is to use them to do good deeds, to be generous and willing to share.  

          Do you feel the tension here? We’re to enjoy the wealth God has given us, but we’re to be generous with it. We’re to be generous, but as the second passage above notes, we’re to be good stewards. That means not wasting our wealth. Wisdom is needed.

          Another tension comes from the word “command.” Paul tells Timothy to command people to do these things. There are people who are taking that part of this passage very seriously. They believe they have the right to command those who are wealthy to give specific portions of their wealth to an elected committee that will then decide how that person’s wealth can best be used. Since this is the right thing for the wealthy to do they should be made to do so whether they want to or not, and the money used in the way the committee dictates, whether that meets with the approval of the wealthy people from whom it’s been taken.

           But that isn’t what Paul tells Timothy to do. In fact, it is the opposite of what Paul tells Timothy to do because the elected committee effectively becomes the wealthy ones who become arrogant and put their faith in the wealth that they’ve taken from others.