084: Loving Money

You've heard it before, "Money won't buy you happiness." That's doubly true for the Christian. As Sean and Zach engage on this topic from I Timothy 6, may we be warned and blessed to keep from the love of money.

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SPEAKER_00 0:14

Hello folks, welcome back to Theologic. I am Sean Muschon. And I'm Zach Tacky. And today we are diving back in one more time into First Timothy. Well, when I say one more time, we're here in the studio. So in this time of our recording, uh, one more time, but this might divide up into two episodes. But we want to give attention to the book of First Timothy. I we hope that the previous episodes have been a blessing in how you think about the church. And maybe, Lord willing, there have been some situations that we navigated that have been helpful to your local church. And with that, I guess I would say, although this is not my notes, if you're not a part of local church and you claim to be a follower of Christ, uh go find a church that preaches the gospel, that declares the riches of Christ, worships the Lord, calls you to lean in on and trust the Holy Spirit in your day-to-day life. So we all need to be part of one. And First Timothy is a great book in the New Testament to understand what the church is to be doing, how they are to how we are to think, what we're to be, in this case, aware of. And when I say aware of, the text I'm about to read, I think will explain a portion of that, although Paul would have many warnings to give us. Here is one that we find in 1 Timothy 6, and I'll read the end of verse 2 through to verse 8. Paul writes, Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy craving for controversy and for quarrels about words which produce envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicions, and constant friction among people who are depraved in mind and deprived of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing with these, we will be content. So that starts out, I'd say the tone of what we're gonna be looking at here today. There's gonna be concerns about money, there's gonna be a call to contentment. And although I didn't read a portion that touched on this at the end, or maybe in the next episode, we'll be talking about the benefits that money can bring to the church and the work of God. But for now, we're gonna kick it off by looking at what Paul is concerned about regarding false teachers, their chase after gain, and warnings that bleed from that even into the congregation. So, Packy, what do you what do you got?

SPEAKER_01 3:02

I was uh one of the things I wanted to say was uh, I mean, we're talking about false teachers. The New Testament has so much to say about false teachers, and as I've said before, talking about false teachers in a church or with the church can often be something that causes people to just kind of, you know, let's move on to the next thing. Um, I would direct our attention to why that matters for you. Why does it matter for us to be those who are understanding of what can happen in a pulpit? Why does it matter for a Christian to know uh and to see this? Uh, the the nature of a greedy teacher. And I think the bottom line for us is because, like pulpit like pew, um, what happens in the pulpit often has its influence on what takes place in the pew. I mean, I think we can acknowledge an ungodly love for money is something that any person could have, pastors or otherwise. But there's something about church leadership when there's greed or sexual sin that's that's exemplified, openly encouraged, preached, and when it's never dealt with, it spreads from the pastor to the pew. And uh what happens is it it leads other people to shipwreck. As it says in the text that Sean just read, it pierces us through with many sorrows. I think so to so often people don't realize that the dangerous pulpit is what leads to destroyed lives in the pew, destroyed lives of those that are outside or or that have experienced what takes place from that. And so um I I can think of people that I know that are in my family that um that have followed men that I would argue are are dangerous false teachers, and it the fruit in their lives is greed. Like just silly, silly small things that they would take. I gotta have this, you know, this kind of thing. Um it's it's soul destroying, it's it's um it's uh unhealthy to say the least. It's uh poisonous whenever sin, whatever kind of sin, is allowed for and endorsed within the pulpit. So it's a danger to your soul, and uh um it's textbook loving the world and the things in the world. Have you ever thought about that? It's like a love for riches or or a love for money. I can't see how it could ever be divorced from the very thing that John condemns that the scripture condemns loving the world, loving the things of the world that ultimately uh uh keeps our affections on things on the earth and on things in heaven.

SPEAKER_00 5:32

Right. And that's why like we want to emphasize that it's the love of the money. Like that, like it's that we'll like he'll say later, craving that is the problem. Right. Because we're we'll see a uh we'll see Paul go back and forth between talking about the dangers of a love, an unhealthy love of money, and then later on the blessings that money can be to the kingdom of God and the people of God. But right now we're focusing in on the issue which Paul, which Packy is about to call you Paul. So take that as a compliment. But Packy was was getting at was like the heart issue, like the character issue of men that are not teaching what is right but are false teachers. And I'm glad he brought that up because although Paul, as Paul works his way toward the end of talking about this unhealthy love that they have, it begins with a heart problem, a problem of character. Like Paul, his his first words about these persons that don't teach what accords with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is an interesting wording. Like Paul, as he's wrapping up 1 Timothy here. I mean, we're in the home stretch. This book is just about done, and he speaks of the words therein being in accordance with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that's that's quite a statement. But as he begins to kind of dial in on these teachers, he says that they are puffed up with conceit and understand nothing. And he's gonna like he's gonna unpack that in the next few several phrases, but that's just quite a statement, and it's important for us to see that because I'm sure that you, if you've been involved in church in any any number of years, and with that, you have talked to people about Christ and their need for him, and maybe even invited somebody to church. Maybe you've heard a response like this I don't need church, all they care about is the money. They're just in it to get money in the coffers, etc. Well, there's a place to push back against a statement like that, but we also must be careful not to say they're outright lying either. Because we all know of ministries, whether they're in our own community, whether like maybe it was a pastor embezzling money in his church, yeah, or it's something more public than that, maybe a televangelist or now the YouTube celebrity pastors, etc., that it's a known fact that they are in it for sheer gain. And so when somebody pushes back with that, we can't say, oh, you misunderstand. Well, no, they probably are tapped into a spot of reality that maybe we don't like to look at as much, and that is these teachers that are after it. But again, the fundamental problem is not the ill-placed love of the money, but it's the heart behind it. Now, the ill-placed love of the money is a problem to itself that Paul will address, but he does not start there. Yeah, he just starts with saying they are conceited and that they understand nothing.

SPEAKER_01 8:12

Yeah. And that, and I was encouraged a few years ago by a very evangelistic pastor of a church. A lot of people have gotten saved through his ministry. One of the things he says is when you're taking offering in your church, make sure, especially when you have visitors, that you communicate that this offering is for your members. I'm not interested in your money. I'm just glad you're here, that kind of thing, to communicate that so that they don't get the wrong impression when you take offering and they can say, Oh, they're not after my money. They're they're actually interested in my being here.

SPEAKER_00 8:44

I wish I wish we'd had this episode like three months ago. I'm a quick embarrassing story. Our church has recently made the decision to stop passing the plate. We're gonna do a box in the back. Now, we first had this conversation like two days before a baptism service at Central Baptist. So we were only discussing it, no plans have been made. So at that time, we were still passing the plates. Sunday comes along, there's the baptism, and the guy getting baptized had a lot of family in George. So many of them showed up. Like our sanctuary was packed. And then it came time to pass the plates. I felt so awkward. Like we're sitting there more than double our number, and like I mean, this is how I felt like it was being portrayed. Okay, you guys are here. Give us your money. Like, that is that's to me how I was like hearing it in my head. Yeah, and so we again we'd already decided to move away from plates, but that for me was all the more motivating as we have so many people in there, and then we're like, oh yeah, it's time for the offering. Right.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Yeah. I uh I I'm not we're not interested in your money, that kind of thing. It's it's so important as well as we can to communicate because of that kind of tendency that you brought out, Sean. It's in the culture, and we have to be honest and say that it's because of the greedy pastors that the church in general uh from the world is looked at in the way that it's looked at right now, with that negative, you're looking for my money kind of mentality. And so we just need to be aware of it. We need to recognize and believe in our hearts, obviously, not everybody is is interested in other people's money within the church, but also do what we can to communicate otherwise in a way that gives glory to Christ and shows love to the people that uh that are feeling that way. So it's it's very important.

SPEAKER_00 10:27

When you're dealing with men that are saying they are called to pastor and to preach uh the word of God, keep an eye on their vocabulary about money. Um, an example of this, my my wife is a part of a few uh Facebook pages uh with pastors' wives. And one time she was not a part of, but she was following a conversation about salary packages. And many of these pastors' wives on this page are like don't go anywhere for less than $100,000 a year. Now, my wife had made a good point. She's like, now she's I can't see where these women are, but there are some place in America that are much higher in living. So like if you're out in California, you're probably gonna need to have a package at least $100,000 a year just because of the economy out there. Yeah. But as a general rule, that kind of mentality, if you have to essentially throwing the dollar number out, I'm not going anywhere for less than this amount. It's not an absolute there's a problem here. There's maybe a guy that's got some seminary debt and has got 10 kids. I don't know, like there could be some legitimate things out there where he's got to have a certain amount to be able to sustain. But just pay attention to the vocabulary, the emphasis that's put on it, because at the end of the day, a pastor should be there to care for the people and trust God that what he needs will be provided. And we'll talk about that in a moment. But yeah, the idea of a real emphasis on that, again, this idea of Paul saying at the end there's an unhealthy desire for money, all of it is stemming from some heart issues. So where there's a heavy uh unhealthy vocabulary and unhealthy emphasis on the money, probably some heart stuff going on.

SPEAKER_01 12:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:16

So I just want to put that out there. But yeah, what are some of the dangers that that flow from that?

SPEAKER_01 12:22

I was just thinking, like, there's this big fad nowadays. It's very popular to watch true crime shows or true crime podcasts.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

What is true? What's true? I've not heard of it.

SPEAKER_01 12:31

So like true crime is uh is like actual events where somebody was murdered and they they go through the police investigation and how they caught him and things like that. Okay, yeah. Like uh um Forensic Files is a TV show on that. Uh but that's a that's a big a big my wife and I have sat and watched shows like that. It's very interesting. I love how they get the bad guy in the end. Uh but one of the things I I've noted is how many of those crimes, how many times does a man, a husband, murder his wife because he wanted the life insurance policy, or he wanted you know, the full estate after she died so he can go do what he wants. Murder is an example of uh of uh uh an activity that comes because of a love of money, that kind of thing. That is one sort of evil that we see. Um we can think of a whole bunch of other things, right? Um, prostitution, human trafficking. Um people are making money in Iowa. A lot of people, in even in Iowa now, for traff by trafficking people. Um you you could traffic the same person many times in one night and you make a boatload of money, all sorts of evil uh that is uh that is taking place. And Paul says that it'll pierce you through with many sorrows.

SPEAKER_00 13:42

Yeah, it can lead, yeah. So, yeah, definitely the like how you're making how you're seeking to make that money can go down. And I think even Paul reflects that in the text, where he first starts starts by talking about a desire for money. Yeah. The word that Paul used there for desire is nothing wicked, it's just the the human experience of wanting something. But unfortunately, the the exclusive object is money, and then the context would show that there is wicked motives behind that. But Paul shows a progression in the wickedness by starting with just an innocent desire connected to money. Money is objective, it is not moral or immoral, it's how it's used, but in the context, it's not good. But then he goes on to talk about how this does lead to like what Paggy's talking about, into temptation, snares, senseless and harmful desires. So it doesn't just stay there, but it begins to morph into desires, which Paul uses a different Greek word there, is more of lust. And so he so you see this progression in the wickedness that a uh to start back at the beginning, an innocent desire that's misplaced begins to lead to thwarted, inherently evil desires that Paul culminates going further on to describe as these cravings. And so a if you have an unhealthy desire in life in general for something, this is what we would call an idol. An idol is something that is made by God, it is good and of itself, but how we use it or misuse it, how we appropriate it is outside of God's design and commands. When we have that unhealthy, sinful desire at work, if we don't check it, if we don't do what Paul says here and flee from it, then um we're gonna be an even worse problem, worse trouble because our heart's gonna continue to digress into more impure desire. And then finally, Paul just again gives it this description of a craving. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 15:42

The subtlety that it begins at. The start is you don't normally start with the idolatry toward money. It's something that accrues oftentimes over time. Um sometimes it takes place over years and years and years where there is this uh you've had money and you don't know what life would be like without it at this point. And when it's gone, what happens? There there can be an ungodly response to the loss of money, perhaps. And that's oftentimes when that happens, God is revealing the issues of the heart right there. He's showing that this is this is where you view money and it's wrong, and it's it needs to be corrected too. Um, but uh other times it can be you're just trying to make adjustments in life. Sometimes it's hard.

SPEAKER_00 16:26

But I would I would point out this is riffing off of C.S. Lewis, but the idea that these very snares and temptations that arise, um, money is a very unique and grand thing. It's one of the we think about throughout history, things even today. You have these categories of power, money, things that enable people in some very unique ways, things that once you have them begin to build quickly, money tends to grow, as they say, exponentially as it builds. And so, in that, things that are great people tend to worship. I think about as an example of that when I say that great things people tend toward worshiping in various ways. That's what Paul delves into in Romans 1, where in Romans 1 he talks about the various forms of idolatry, in short, people worshiping the creature rather than the creator. And we think about all the pagan religions over time, they've worshiped the sun. Well, the sun's a pretty fantastic thing, it's a source of heat, light, and life. There's been various water gods, because water, the oceans, the rivers are very central to human flourishing, to biological life. It's a very fantastic thing. Humans don't worship things they see as less themselves. They see something that somehow has a power that they lust after, and there becomes this really unhealthy form of worship, an unhealthy love for, like we talked about. Now, here's where I bring Lewis in. Lewis talks about how there are things God has put into creation that have a great potential for great harm and great good. The greater it is, the more the potential is on either end of the spectrum, depending on how we use it. And so money again, being one of those things, one of those things that really draws the heart and attention of man and has great potential for good or for bad. Depending on how we engage it, those snares, those tempt, those temptations can become astronomically dangerous because it does have such potential behind it. The one who wields it, the condition of his heart, uh, the condition of his soul is going to be manifold in its manifestation as he or she is able to wield this very great tool that God has put into creation. And so we need to be aware when Paul talks about such lusts leading to, again, snares, temptations, and even more vile desires. We need to be very sober-minded as to how we think about money and then think about how we handle it.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

Yeah, the love of money, I love that you brought that up because that's where I was going to go when it comes to idolatry. Yeah, it is it is idolatry uh that results in, as you're talking about the various ways that they're pierced through, the various dangers and destructive nature of it, the possibilities are are are many, are manifold. It could result in broken marriages, broken relationships, loneliness, destroyed lives, even predatory behaviors. Those sorts of things happen. Um, and it's not unlike any type of sin that if it if you don't cut it off, it will destroy you. It's like drug addiction or alcoholism or pornography addiction, the fruit of idolatry, as great as those things can be. Like you talked about uh great things become idols. Sex is a great thing. I d uh pornography is an idol as a result of that. Um uh alcohol is used for, uh according to scripture, uh, can be used as an anesthetic or an antiseptic, even. Um that can be used for great purposes, but men take it and they abuse it by living it out as an idol, right? They make that something good, take it something as something good and make it something evil. Colossians 3 5, put to death your members, which are on the earth, fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, greed, love for money. And he says this, listen, which is idolatry. Covetousness, the heart behind the love of money is idolatry, it will destroy you. And I really think that idolatry, I think in the end it flips what we value on its head. Because in truth, the like I brought out the idea of the man murdering his wife, what's more valuable, a human life? Or even the highest amount of millions and millions of dollars. The human life is much more valuable.

SPEAKER_00 20:49

Right, but lust, to put in the words of John Piper, lust blinds. That's right. Which I would say goes back just for a brief comment to what I said at the beginning that every every Christian needs to be a part of a local church, right? So that we have people that care about us that know our tendencies, whether it's power, money, sex, that we tend to go after in unhealthy ways, that can sit can check up on us. Yeah. Because yeah, when that husband is like, I want money and I'm willing to murder my wife and lose that relationship, which probably in that case isn't not to minimize the wife. I'm probably guessing that marriage is probably not in the gray spot anyway. But that aside, it is still a more valuable part of creation uh than money. Um, but yeah, that we need people that that check in on us before our our lusts get carried away. Because I know like some of us might want to say, well, I never even thought about murdering my wife. Right. I'm not saying you have thought about that, right? But I don't think David, before he murdered Uriah, ever was like, Yeah, I think I want to one day, but before I kick the bucket, I want to murder somebody.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Right.

SPEAKER_00 21:50

Yeah. Uh David fell into murder and adultery, and he's called a man after God's own heart. Not to not to try to minimize God's standards, but if somebody of that godliness can fall that far. Let us never say, I would never fill in the blank. We need people of God around us that know our tendencies, our lusts, our desires, and can keep us in check so we don't get drunken with the various kinds of lusts that we might.

SPEAKER_01 22:14

Let's uh let's let's take it beyond the uh the that sort of thing and bring it to what's more common in Christian circles. How many parents devote their attention to jobs uh and the accrual of wealth at the cost of their the raising of their own kids, where they have accrued many, many, many dollars that they might have at the end of their life, but their kids they've lost, even though they might they might go to church, even though they have some semblance of godliness on the outside, their kids know what's really going on. Their kids see the idolatry of wealth at that instance. They're loved the things perhaps their phone, maybe, those things are loved more than them. And what happens is because the parents have uh spent so much time on these things and less time with their kids, loving them, raising them, teaching them, training them, they've lost the next generation. Their children, which are much more valuable than all the money you could accrue throughout your entire lifetime. So that's another sorrow that could that your heart can be pierced through with because of the love of money. And that's just something that, again, w we must check our hearts. Um and you know, somebody check our hearts. Yeah. As I uh I I I brought out uh we we brought this out in talking about in Sunday school on biblical manhood, biblical womanhood, what are some ways in which parents can can kind of go off the rails when it comes to raising kids? And one person brought out the idea of uh of just giving their kids over to daycare. Now, some people, that's all they can do, all right, and I understand that. Um, but it's very important for us to recognize that the responsibility of raising our kid and making sure that that daycare is is actually valuable and the time you're spending in your job or whatever you're balancing life with your kids, that that needs to be reevaluated constantly. You have to keep your eyes vigilant on that, what's taking place in the behavior of my child, what's taking place in my own heart concerning the the accrual of money, those kinds of things in order for us to make sure uh in our churches that that our hearts are moving in the proper direction. And the our future generation will too.

SPEAKER_00 24:20

One thing I was gonna just kind of this is a bit of a caveat, but we're talking about this drive toward money, this unhealthy longing after. Uh, this is almost a kind of a segue for a brief moment of like uh theobite material of misquoted texts, right? Where there are people that will say sometimes, um, the love of money is the root of all evil. Right. And just take a moment to clarify that's not what the text implies, it's not what the text communicates to us as Paul in this context presents this, that it's not the source of all evil. But there are many kinds of evil that do begin to come about when there is a misplaced trust and desire for mere gain.

SPEAKER_01 25:03

Yeah, and another way that people try to misquote this text is they just say money is the root of all evil. And again, it's the it's the intention of the heart, like we're bringing out, that that actually is the root of all sorts of evil. All sorts of evil, yeah. And that's how we understand that text much more properly. So, how do we divest ourselves of the idolatry?

SPEAKER_00 25:22

Contentment. Paul says, But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. Let those words just set. That's that's a good reminder. That's a good reminder. But Paul gives us the further instruction. But if we have food and clothing, with these we'll be content. Those words really remind me of what Jesus said, which we shouldn't be surprised because Paul said these words are in line with the with the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. But Mark chapter 8, verse 36, for what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? Now, the idea of contentment, as I was pondering on this and looking up some dictionaries, I brought these thoughts together. Contentment, it is knowing that you have enough. And I'll explain why I would say it in that way here in a moment. But the second phrase is it's a mindset. And it's also an acting according to the fact that what you have is sufficient. Now, here's why those state why the why any Christian can make the statement and saying, I know I have enough. I know that what I have, I can act and live and know that it is sufficient. And that is because of that great verse, Psalm 23, verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. That's the commonly common way of it being translated, but the the idea, the punch behind I shall not want, could be understanded, understood in this way. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall have no lack. Meaning that it teaches us that if I don't have something that I think I need, if I don't have it, that means I don't need it. Because my shepherd will ensure that I have everything I need. If there's something that I want and I do not have, it's not the right time for it. And so that text out of Psalm 23 leads us toward contentment, and contentment is one of, not the exclusive, but one of the answers toward fighting back against our all of our hearts that in various ways lust after various things that are in our life. Learning contentment.

SPEAKER_01 27:42

Well, I'll just say this what's related to contentment is gratefulness. Yes. I I don't think you can have godliness without gratefulness. No, yeah. I don't think you can have contentment without gratefulness. It is an expression of thanksgiving to God for what you have without a longing for something more. I think the the truth is anytime we have by nature, by definition of the term lust, we have something that is unsatisfied in our hearts. If I can say in my life, I will never be satisfied, that's not a good quality. Um, it might lead to some potentially possibly good things, maybe, not for your not for the positives in your life, morally speaking. Um satisfaction is a valuable, valuable trait of ourselves. Uh because and really, I think we realize that we're not going to be as temptable towards sin if we're satisfied. Give me an example, right? I'm you may not be as tempted to uh look with lust if you are satisfied and grateful for the wife or husband that God has given. You you're you're not gonna be tempted to long for more money in that way if you're grateful, if you take a look at what God has already given to you and enjoy, express the gratefulness to Him for that. And I'll say this I don't think that these false teachers that are interested in money can adequately and rightly truly say, Thank you, Lord, for what you've given to me. I'm un I'm not satisfied with what you have, give me more money, that kind of thing. So um uh uh how do we become grateful? I think I think there's there's a classic count your blessings. Yeah, that's just do it. Yeah, like stop just say thank you. Stop and think through all of the fullness of what God has given to you. Uh I have a great church, I have a great spouse, I have a great group of kids, I have a I have a great location that I live in. All those things. I think stopping and thinking and and just reminiscing about all that he has done and is doing is the starting point for feeding your soul with gratefulness in order for you to become content.

SPEAKER_00 29:52

All right, folks. Well, we will be back with you soon and finish up First Timothy again. We hope this miniseries that has been going now, I think for a few months by publication has been a blessing to you. So look for the next episode as we wrap up First Timothy six,