1 Timothy 6:10 – Money's Manifold Malady
From 1 Timothy 6 – 9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,
It doesn't take much to turn GK Chesterton's thoughts to the solid enjoyment of sensory comforts, and he writes in Heretics, "Science can analyze a pork chop and say how much of it is phosphorus and how much is protein. But science cannot analyze any man's wish for pork chop and say how much of it is hunger, and how much custom, how much nervous fancy, how much a haunting love of the beautiful."
Chesterton's capacity for giving life's desires a second and third look, even if in his case largely for gratitude's sake, is useful as we consider Paul's turn in 1 Timothy 6:10. He has skillfully traced the potentially lethal impact of over-desiring material goods, from their capacity to captivate our thoughts, to their capacity to dupe us into snares, to their capacity to destroy any lasting impact of our work, and finally, for those not saved by grace, to the lure of material things to take men at last into Perdition. Seeing that grisly end consequence, it is easy for us to shutter, turn aside, and leave Scripture with our hearts unchanged.
Paul would not have it so. He knows our readiness to protest that our case of love of this world is not THAT extreme. He knows something like our capacity to picture Ebenezer Scrooge, or the Fortune 500 CEO with the 12 digit compensation package and to adjudicate for ourselves that these are materialists, and that we, therefore are not materialists. So it is, perhaps, that Paul analyzes desire. As a skillful physician will do for the body, Paul does for the soul. He warns us that many different symptoms can have the same cause. Not every materialist captive to the love of goods is going to look the same.
Materialism can be just as prevalent when we have little as when we have much. Materialism can ensnare our hopes about the future as much as our nostalgia for the prosperous past or our efforts to protect the green pastures of a present prosperous position. Materialism can infect our relationships, as what may look like graciousness toward others may have at its core the efforts to which James in his epistle points, that we are trying to leverage relationships for the security they provide us. We may, while materially prosperous, desperately needing material prosperity, or sensing that it is imminent, spout forth with what seem to be genuinely worshipful testimonies or acts of ministry, all because we would trap the Giver of all good gifts into blessing us.
The light behind the darkness of 1 Timothy 6:10 is equally striking. If we now know the many ways in which our sin sickness with respect to this world's goods can strike, we can be preemptive in turning both our goods and affections over to Christ. We can, giving under the precepts of Scripture, by discipline resolve to give our selfishness away, preferring to trust Him to dispense His goods when we need them, or when He decides to gratuitously express His goodness. We can surround ourselves with His people and His Word, both of which will readily tell us where our real loves lie, safe in Him, or drawn toward that with which we hope He will bless us.
It doesn't take much to turn GK Chesterton's thoughts to the solid enjoyment of sensory comforts, and he writes in Heretics, "Science can analyze a pork chop and say how much of it is phosphorus and how much is protein. But science cannot analyze any man's wish for pork chop and say how much of it is hunger, and how much custom, how much nervous fancy, how much a haunting love of the beautiful."
Chesterton's capacity for giving life's desires a second and third look, even if in his case largely for gratitude's sake, is useful as we consider Paul's turn in 1 Timothy 6:10. He has skillfully traced the potentially lethal impact of over-desiring material goods, from their capacity to captivate our thoughts, to their capacity to dupe us into snares, to their capacity to destroy any lasting impact of our work, and finally, for those not saved by grace, to the lure of material things to take men at last into Perdition. Seeing that grisly end consequence, it is easy for us to shutter, turn aside, and leave Scripture with our hearts unchanged.
Paul would not have it so. He knows our readiness to protest that our case of love of this world is not THAT extreme. He knows something like our capacity to picture Ebenezer Scrooge, or the Fortune 500 CEO with the 12 digit compensation package and to adjudicate for ourselves that these are materialists, and that we, therefore are not materialists. So it is, perhaps, that Paul analyzes desire. As a skillful physician will do for the body, Paul does for the soul. He warns us that many different symptoms can have the same cause. Not every materialist captive to the love of goods is going to look the same.
Materialism can be just as prevalent when we have little as when we have much. Materialism can ensnare our hopes about the future as much as our nostalgia for the prosperous past or our efforts to protect the green pastures of a present prosperous position. Materialism can infect our relationships, as what may look like graciousness toward others may have at its core the efforts to which James in his epistle points, that we are trying to leverage relationships for the security they provide us. We may, while materially prosperous, desperately needing material prosperity, or sensing that it is imminent, spout forth with what seem to be genuinely worshipful testimonies or acts of ministry, all because we would trap the Giver of all good gifts into blessing us.
The light behind the darkness of 1 Timothy 6:10 is equally striking. If we now know the many ways in which our sin sickness with respect to this world's goods can strike, we can be preemptive in turning both our goods and affections over to Christ. We can, giving under the precepts of Scripture, by discipline resolve to give our selfishness away, preferring to trust Him to dispense His goods when we need them, or when He decides to gratuitously express His goodness. We can surround ourselves with His people and His Word, both of which will readily tell us where our real loves lie, safe in Him, or drawn toward that with which we hope He will bless us.
Comments
Post a Comment