The Gain of Godliness

by Terry Johnson (a Tabletalk article on August 2009 available at http://www.ligonier.org/learn/articles/gain-godliness/)

Rich people are materialistic. We all know it. All they care about is their money and things. Or so I thought. My background consists of a blue-collar neighborhood and an inner-city high school in Southern California. My quick judgment of wealthy people, when first I encountered them, was that they were superficial, worldly, and materialistic. They were caught up in things and appearances. They lacked the simplicity of the virtuous poor, the salt of the earth, among whom I numbered myself.

“The love of money is the root of all sorts of evil,” says the apostle (1 Tim. 6:10, NASB). He warns not of money per se, but the “love of money,” and “longing for it.” He addresses not the rich so much as “those who want to get rich” (v. 9), among whom we could add those desperate to hang on to their money or multiply their money and become richer yet.

The money problem that the apostle Paul is addressing is a human problem, not the exclusive hang-up of the upper classes. Often the rich, having grown accustomed to wealth, pay little attention to it. Old money is notorious for modest housing, old cars, and shabby clothing. The acquisitive impulse often is more evident in the poor, the middle class, and the newly wealthy. These classes of people both envy and idolize the rich and famous. They dream of limitless wealth and conspicuous consumption. They become obsessed with getting wealth and long for the opportunity to ostentatiously display it. The reverse snobbery of people of modest means, who loathe people of substance while they pretend virtue, cannot mask the reality that we ordinary folks are not exempt from the apostle’s warnings. We all struggle with the “love of money,” rich and poor alike.

Both then and now there are preachers who will justify materialism and even preach a “health and wealth” gospel, at the heart of which is the promise that “godliness (usually a warped form of godliness) is a means of gain.” The apostle complained of such preachers then, and we still hear of such preachers today (1 Tim. 6:5).

Genuine Christianity offers a different perspective and a better alternative: “But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment” (v. 6).

The gain of godliness is spiritual, not material. True godliness is accompanied not by wealth but by contentment with one’s lot. Contentment is found in becoming indifferent towards wealth. Money is fine. Use it if you’ve got it. But don’t be consumed with its pursuit. Don’t long for it. Don’t love it. Why not? Because we can’t take it with us, the apostle reminds us.

“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either” (v. 7). Life is short and eternity is long. Why spend one’s life accumulating things that must be left behind, that are useless in eternity? Also, nutrition and shelter should be enough. What else do we really need? “And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content” (v. 8).

Plus, money is a huge distraction and dangerous deception. Many “fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches” (v. 17). Wealth presents many a “temptation and snare.” It arouses “many foolish and harmful desires” (v. 9). Like what? Covetousness, materialism, pride, self-sufficiency, idolatry, selfishness, greed, fraud, deceit, abuse of others, neglect of others, neglect of the soul, and so on. These desires “plunge men into ruin and destruction” (v. 9).

Contented people live simply; they live quietly; they live peacefully. Those who wish to accumulate or preserve wealth are tortured by their options: vacations, cars, houses, clothes. Poor folk don’t wrestle with their options because they have so few of them. The rich are concerned with the progress of their investments and things. They’re terrified of losing it all. Poor folk have little to lose. The rich fear con-artists taking advantage of them, cheating them, or using them. Poor folk are confident that their friends and acquaintances are genuine. Wealth and its pursuit easily becomes an obsession, an idol, which can destroy the soul. The “worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word,” Jesus warned (Matt. 13:22). Didn’t Jesus say something about the futility of trying to serve God and mammon? Didn’t Jesus say something about the futility of laying up treasures on earth rather than in heaven? Didn’t Jesus say where our treasure was, there would our hearts be also (Matt. 6:19–24)? Some who “long for it,” for money, the apostle says, “have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Tim. 6:10).

Modernity is materialistic. Every day the modern world lies to us in saying that happiness will be found in more things, bigger things, and better things. It projects a very seductive image of satisfaction through consumption. Regrettably, many professing Christians fall prey to the world’s counterfeit vision.

God's Judgment of Man's Senseless Life

(a meditation on Luke 12:20-21)

Luke 12:20-21
20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ 21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”

In v. 20, we can see God’s action in the parable. He looks at the man’s life and His judgment is quite sobering. It's very serious. God calls the man “fool!” The word fool here is not the same word which Jesus forbids His disciple to call a brother (Mt. 5:22). Rather, this word is similar to that term which the book of Proverbs likes to use in contrast of people who are wise. The word fool here therefore may also carry an immoral kind of life.

So in God’s judgment, the rich man’s selfish pursuit of wealth and personal happiness, without any regard of God, is plain senselessness or vanity, a ‘striving after wind,’ as the book of Ecclesiastes calls it.

This is so because, as Jesus said in Luke 12:15b, “a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." The man in the parable obviously did not consider God in all his plans. He did not even think about death or about the life to come. He is preoccupied with all his riches and the pleasures he can get from it.

I am not saying that seeking pleasures is absolutely wrong. But when pleasures are sought apart from serving God and loving others, these pleasures are illegitimate and selfish.

The point here therefore is that, a life that is worth in God’s sight is one that ‘lays up treasure’ not for one’s self but for God and for His kingdom (cf. Luke 12:21).

Foolishness characterizes the lives of those who seek to please and live for themselves in the here and now only. But blessed are those who seek to please God and store up heavenly and eternal treasures for they will surely be satisfied at the right time. Be on your guard against all kinds of materialism!

May the grace of God, by the power of the Holy Spirit, enable us to overcome and displace this idolatry of greed in us. May we learn to follow Christ with contentment and simplicity, always seeking to serve Him by serving others.

Beware of Greed!

(a meditation on Luke 12:13-21)

Setting the Context

The Christian life is like a journey. There are road signs we need to observe and follow. Otherwise we will be in danger of accident or arrest. As followers of Jesus Christ, there are certain danger signs we need to be particularly aware of. Once ignored these danger signs can bring fatal destruction in our lives as believers.

One of these danger signs is greed or covetousness. The modern term is closely related to materialism. Sometimes we think that only rich people struggle with this problem. But greed is universal. It comes from the heart of every man (cf. Mk 7:20-23), young or old, rich or poor. It enslaves everyone whose ultimate purpose in life is to accumulate things of this world.

Once we measure success or blessed life by the number of material things we possess, by the income we receive, by the clothes we wear, by the cars we drive or by the size of our houses, greed has crept into our hearts.

The good news is, Christ has defeated the power of greed at the cross. He nailed it there. Being united with Christ by faith, we also had been set free from the power of greed. But as a power, as a master who wants to control our heart, we still struggle against it.

Many people today use the name of Christ in order to get rich. There are some people we know who are able to build big houses, even kingdom, using the name of Christ. They look very religious. They are well known. However their lives do not reflect Christ in His self-sacrificing love, compassion, kindness, humility and real concern for others.

Oftentimes these religious men use and manipulate people to achieve their personal agenda. Such selfish people are not worthy to be called Christ’s disciples. They may profess to be His followers but their lives betray their profession. Beware of such people!

In Luke 12, Christ is instructing His disciples to watch out for few things. First, He calls His disciples’ attention to the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He compared their hypocrisy to that of the yeast. Why yeast? Yeast is a baking material. A small amount of it can cause a small dough of flour to rise up to several times its original size.

In Scripture yeast is almost always a symbol of evil (cf. 1 Cor 5:6-7). This is why Jesus told His disciples to be on their guard against the ‘hypocrisy’ of the Pharisees. They appear to be godly but deep within they are burning with pride and envy. They seem to follow Christ but their intention was to kill Him and to persecute His followers.

Christ is a threat to their cause and religion. This explains why Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee, was so zealous in persecuting the church. This is something scary! So Jesus warns them. But He also said not to be afraid for God the Holy Spirit will take care of them. Trusting Him is all they need to do.

There is real danger in following Christ wholeheartedly. This makes Christianity a radical religion. If you follow Christ consider yourself to be dead. If you want to stand for God's truth and live for the sake of the gospel you will be persecuted. It can cost your life. Remember John Huss? Remember Guido de Bres and many others who stood for Christ and the Christian faith? They professed and lived out their faith in Christ in the hands of their enemies.

Remember our Lord Jesus Himself. He suffered the greatest injustice ever committed by man for the truth of the gospel. He, the sinless Son of God, was unjustly condemned as a worse criminal. Are you willing to suffer the same for the sake of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and for His gospel?