Rich in Good Works, and Ready to Share

September 26, 2004

The Rev. Dr. Anthony J. Godlefski, Pastor

Montgomery United Methodist Church

 

1 Timothy 6: 6-19

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9But 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. 10For 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. 11But as for you, man of God, shun all this; pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. 12Fight 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. 13In 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 14to keep the commandment without spot or blame until the manifestation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15which he will bring about at the right time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords. 16It 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. 17As 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. 18They are to do good, to be rich in good works, generous, and ready to share, 19thus 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.

 

 

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, good morning! Friends, here is our idea for the week: There is tremendous joy in sharing, because sharing is a two-way blessing.

 

Sharing is a two-way blessing. Haven’t you experienced it for yourself? Can you remember when someone shared something with you? When there is a kindness done, there’s a magic in the air. There’s a lightness in the air. There’s a sparkle when an act of kindness occurs. No matter what it is that you share, whether you share a gift, a meal, or a gracious word, something wonderful happens when there is sharing. Something wonderful happens when there is kindness.

 

An eleven-year-old boy was waiting to be picked up from school by his godfather, who picked him up, and then they decided to have an early dinner. They went to his favorite pizza place. The godfather ordered a chicken dish, and the little boy just wanted a slice of pizza. The pizza came out of the kitchen first. Now, the godfather was a little distracted because CNN was on TV. You know how it is with CNN – you just have to know what’s going on. And the little boy said, “I wonder if they have a knife. I’m going to go check.” He went up to the counter, and they gave the boy a plastic knife. The godfather was still checking out what was happening on the national scene, but the boy went to work on the pizza. And the next thing the godfather knew, a perfectly-sliced half of that piece of pizza was being pushed in the godfather’s direction. The little boy said, “This is so we can both have some.” The godfather was very proud of the little boy, and yes, there was sharing of the chicken dish, too.

 

Something wonderful, something special happens when we are people who share. I’d like to lift up three ideas from this morning’s scripture, friends, printed at the beginning of this message. We studied this at Bible study Thursday night and had a great time with it. It was very inspiring. I want to point out three things in this remarkable letter from Paul to Timothy.

 

I want to talk about enjoyment, identity, and employment in the Kingdom. First of all, there’s something I want you to see here. Look at verse 17. Paul is talking to Timothy about people who are prosperous, and he says, “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.” Enjoyment! Can you imagine? I checked out three different translations to see if anybody rendered that word differently. They all render it ‘enjoyment’. St. Paul doesn’t tell us that God provides everything for our bare survival, so that we can just eke by, but for our enjoyment. God wants us to be blessed. God wants us to prosper. There’s nothing wrong with having nice things. Even the people who are at the moment in poverty -- God wants their prosperity as well. He doesn’t want them to just get by, but to have things for their enjoyment. That’s the divine plan, and we can help. That’s the first point. God provides us, not meagerly, not barely, but richly with all things for our enjoyment. There’s nothing wrong with it.

 

But, the second thing is about identity. Do you remember what we read before that verse? Paul argues that 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.” Skip down to verse 9: “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 [not money, but the love of money, in other words, greed] 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.” What does this mean?

 

This means something very simple. Paul is inviting us not to identify with what we have, not to take our identity from the things that we have. I’ve got great news for you: no matter what the television says, you are not what you drive, guaranteed. What a belittling thought, to say you are what you drive. Is that all? A box on four wheels that gets you, your friends, and your equipment from one place to another? I don’t think so. You are much more. You are a child of God! There’s nothing wrong with having a nice car; that’s fine. But we’re not to identify with it. You are so much more! If I am what I drive, I’m a used Honda with a deer dent in the side.  I hope not.

 

Oh, friend, the good news is you’re so much more – you’re a child of God. We are more than the things we have because – and we have the clue right here, verse 18 – “They [that is, we] are to do good, to be rich in good works [not only in things, but in good works], generous, and ready to share.” And there is the fulfillment; there is the joy, to be rich in good works and ready to share. To enjoy that sparkle, to know that you are helping, that is employment in the Kingdom.

 

How can we do it? How can we do this in a practical way? I have a thought for you today. On the sixteenth and seventeenth of October, we’re going to have a special emphasis in our church. It’s going to be “Food for the Hungry” weekend. We’re going to have several opportunities to share what we have with people who are in need. We read so much in the news about people who are in need. Here’s our chance to do something. There are three opportunities to share and to enjoy sharing.

 

Saturday night, October 16th, the choral group I conduct, the Starlite Chorale, has volunteered to come to our church and wants to contribute a concert so that we can raise money for those who are hungry. I hope you can come, October 16th, right here in the sanctuary. Dr. Bell is our wonderful accompanist. She’s going to be playing a special piece on the organ and a solo on the piano as well. Please invite your friends to come. All the proceeds will go to feed the hungry.  The particular emphasis of that concert will be the hurricane flood victims. That money will all go to special efforts to help those people.

 

Also, I need the help of those who’d be willing to sell tickets, those who’d  be willing to take a flyer and post it at the diner or in the supermarket or somewhere around town.

 

Secondly, week after week we have a blue box out in the hallway where we collect food for the food pantry. I want to lift that up. Won’t you bring some non-perishable item to the concert or to church the next morning and put it in the blue box so that we can have an overflowing offering to give to the food pantry for those who are in need?

 

And third, on Sunday afternoon, the 17th of October, we’re going to have a CROP walk. The missions team is working so hard to make this go. Please support it. Be one of our walkers. And bring a jar of peanut butter for the CROP walk. And that way we can really do something to share.

 

In closing, you might say, “Well, how much difference do I really make? Does my gift really count?” Friend, no matter how large or small your gift may be, let me say this:  it does count. And forgive me if you’ve heard this story before, but let me close with this:

 

Once a man was walking along the seashore, and he looked out over the sand toward the ocean. Many starfish, still alive, were washed up on the beach. He shook his head, and said, “What a shame.” Then he noticed another man, closer to the water. As the man walked along, he’d bend down, pick up a starfish, and throw it into the sea. The first man walked up to him and said, “Why do you do it, just this one and that? What difference does it make?” And the second man just bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it into the water. He said, “It makes a difference to that one.”

 

We can’t do everything, but we can do something. Let us enjoy the blessing of sharing. God loves you. I do, too. Have a blessed week. Amen.