You can't take it with you

It’s so easy a saved man can do it

. . . . for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take
nothing out of it . . . for the love of money is the root of all
kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have
wandered away form the faith. . . .
—1 Timothy 6:7, 10

Both of these verses from Paul’s letter to the young, aspiring pastor Timothy are quoted in various and sundry ways—often incorrectly. For example we hear someone say that money is the root of all evil rather than the love of money. The word for love in the Greek that is used in this passage is sacrificial love—the kind of love reserved for God.

What the apostle Paul is trying to teach Timothy is that money as a god is a pretty weak one. It is weak because we cannot take it with us when we die. It is weak because it often ruins our lives as we chase after it. Its strength is only in the way we can use it generously for the sake and help of others. With it [we] are to do good, [be] generous and ready to share (vs. 18).

Paul’s emphasis on how we are to treat the things of this world is on how we might use them in ways that enables us to focus eternity. It is easy in the midst of our daily tasks to forget that we are children whose life in this world is very brief. One day we shall be asked to give an account of what our life has said is our real God. When we sacrifice some of the things of this world, it is a discipline that keeps our material wealth in a proper perspective.

Equal sacrifice—not equal gifts

Mac Hamon, Senior Pastor
Castleton United Methodist Church
Indianapolis, Indiana