Contentment is not contained in wealth.

You can be content whether you are wealthy or poor. Contentment is an attitude, choice, and way of thinking. We gain it in the pursuit of values that transcend wealth

You have a relationship with money, whether you are aware of it or not.

You may think there is never enough.

You may feel that if you could just have more, all of your problems would go away and you would be happy.

You may say that you despise it, you may avoid thinking about it, or you may not understand how it works.

It could be a love/hate relationship.

Money is a great tool, but it is a relentless overlord.

Money is a great servant, but an awful master.

If you follow money trails, they can lead you to what motivates many trends.

To use money wisely and regard it with a certain respect is necessary. To love it and center your life around it is a disaster.

1 Timothy 6:6–19

New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

We will return to this reading in a few minutes.

It is not money as some have carelessly quoted, that is the root of all evil. Money is fine. It is neutral. A pot of money in the corner of a room will not attack you from behind and render you any harm.

It is the love of money that is pregnant with the potential to corrupt and give birth to all manner of evil.

Another word for it is greed.

Greed initiates wars, ruins relationships, destroys reputations, incites violence, stimulates larceny, and oppresses the poor.

The love of money diverts the focus of otherwise good people to selfish ends and distorts their thinking.

The love of money competes with our love for God and that is all the reason we need to shun it.

Money can be a powerful tool for good, but it is only a tool.

Money in God’s hands and in the hands of those who do His bidding can heal the sick, feed the hungry, and proclaim God’s Word throughout the entire world.

It takes money to live in our economy, but when it has the wrong place in our lives, it can make life unlivable.

Money is not good, but it is not bad either. It represents our work and our investments, but that is all it is.

Some people love money and use God and people.

We are called to love God and people and use money.

When all of that is in order we have nothing to fear about money.

However, the caution from the old pastor to the young pastor and the people he leads is central to the calling of all who follow Jesus in a world of greed and selfish ambition.

The scripture continues:

But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and for which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which he will bring about at the right time — he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. It is he alone who has immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see; to him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

How shall we think and lead?

What shall we pursue? Another word is “chase.”

What should be central to our goals?

This works in life, in ministry, and in business where we measure effectiveness, so often, in financial health.

Our PURSUIT defines our priorities,

• Pursue righteousness.
• Pursue godliness.
• Pursue faith.
• Pursue love.
• Pursue endurance.
• Pursue gentleness.
• Fight the good fight of the faith.
• Take hold of eternal life.
• Set your eyes on Jesus,

These are goals that cannot be defined on a spread sheet. They cannot buy bigger houses, but they can bring contentment.

So, what do we say to those who are financially successful through their own efforts or sheer good “fortune.”

As for those who in the present age are rich, command them not to be haughty or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches but rather on God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, thus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.

Let me briefly break it down,

• Don’t be haughty.
• Hope only in God, who, unlike earthly riches, never fails,
• Enjoy the blessings God gives.
• Do good.
• Be generous.
• Use your riches to hep others.
• Take hold of the life that is really life.

“Take hold,” he says just like he said to the poor and, he says to the rich. Take hold of the life that is really life I love the way that translates in the New Revised Standard Version:

Take hold of the life that really is life …

…and your attitude toward money your relationship with money really comes down to this what is life about.

You can’t take it with you, Brother Will, Brother John.

You can’t take it with you, Brother Will, Brother John.

You’ll have to leave it when the coffin lid’s on.

You can’t take it with you, Brother Will, Brother John.

Be content in God.

Learn the secret of contentment in Jesus Christ.

It starts with a simple “yes” to God.

I’m going to pursue something other than what everybody else is pursuing.

I am going to invest my life into the Savior and Lord who loved me, gave himself for me.

I’m going to trust him and follow him.

May the Lord bless you and keep you.

The Lord make his face to shine upon you.

The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and be gracious unto you and give you peace, peace and more peace.

Amen.

Bonus

There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple … — Luke 16:19

Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! — John 19:5

When I see purple, I think of Lydia who, in the book of Acts, was known as the dealer of purple.

Purple was a precious commodity, the garment of royalty, the symbol of wealth.

Purple is a featured color in the Lenten season as we meditate on the road to the cross that Jesus trod.

It is also an element of two of Jesus’ teachings, one that he spoke and another that he lived. One was a parable, and the other was a reality.

Jesus spoke of a rich man, clothed in purple, who died and discovered that all he had valued and cherished in life was worthless in light of a Godless eternity. This man begged for a drop of water and someone to warn his brothers. He was simply called, “a certain rich man.”

Later, Jesus would also ask for a sip of water, from the cross. Just prior to that pivotal event in salvation history, Jesus was paraded before Pilate clothed in purple. The soldiers were mocking His message of a spiritual kingdom that transcended all human kingdoms.

Jesus wore the purple unwillingly on His willing path to bear the shame of the world for our salvation. The rich man wore it with a prideful heart proclaiming his superiority and gaining nothing. One exalted himself and was humbled. Jesus humbled Himself and was exalted.

And both wore purple