Quote for the Day
“…to put their hope in God…”
Today's Prayer
This week pray for all to see the joy in giving. Ask God to give you a generous heart and that you will be able to freely and with joy give to others out of what God has given to you.
1st Timothy 6:17-21
1st Timothy 6:17-21 (NIV)17 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. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 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. 20 Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, 21 which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith. Grace be with you.
Message
Paul now goes from direct instructions to Timothy to instructions for the rest of us. Verse 17 applies to ALL of us! What? You do not think you are rich? I beg to differ. I believe we all have an abundance of worldly wealth, especially if we compare to the early Greek times Paul is discussing, or if we look at ourselves in the context of the global community today. We have a lot! So what does God command? NOT to be arrogant and NOT to put our hope in worldly wealth. Why? Because it is “so uncertain”. We could give a dozen other reasons, but Paul goes on to command us to be RICH in what God cares about: good deeds and a generous heart that is willing to share. Why? Because we got it all from Him anyway! Paul’s final comments are to guard what God has given you (His Truth) and avoid empty chatter….Great words to end this book. “Grace be with you.”
