That Same Abundance - Thursday Devotional
1 Timothy 6:6-19 (CEB)
Actually, godliness is a great source of profit when it is combined with being happy with what you already have. We didn’t bring anything into the world and so we can’t take anything out of it: we’ll be happy with food and clothing. But people who are trying to get rich fall into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful passions that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.
But as for you, man of God, run away from all these things. Instead, pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life - you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses. I command you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and Christ Jesus, who made the good confession when testifying before Pontius Pilate. Obey this order without fault or failure until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. The timing of this appearance is revealed by God alone, who is the blessed and only master, the King of kings and Lord of lords. [God] alone has immortality and lives in light that no one can come near. No human being has ever seen or is able to see [God]. Honor and eternal power belong to [God]. Amen.
Tell people who are rich at this time not to become egotistical and not to place their hope on their finances, which are uncertain. Instead, they need to hope in God, who richly provides everything for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in the good things they do, to be generous, and to share with others. When they do these things, they will save a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future. That way they can take hold of what is truly life.
Note: Gendered language for God replaced with bracketed words.
Actually, godliness is a great source of profit when it is combined with being happy with what you already have. We didn’t bring anything into the world and so we can’t take anything out of it: we’ll be happy with food and clothing. But people who are trying to get rich fall into temptation. They are trapped by many stupid and harmful passions that plunge people into ruin and destruction. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some have wandered away from the faith and have impaled themselves with a lot of pain because they made money their goal.
But as for you, man of God, run away from all these things. Instead, pursue righteousness, holy living, faithfulness, love, endurance, and gentleness. Compete in the good fight of faith. Grab hold of eternal life - you were called to it, and you made a good confession of it in the presence of many witnesses. I command you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and Christ Jesus, who made the good confession when testifying before Pontius Pilate. Obey this order without fault or failure until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. The timing of this appearance is revealed by God alone, who is the blessed and only master, the King of kings and Lord of lords. [God] alone has immortality and lives in light that no one can come near. No human being has ever seen or is able to see [God]. Honor and eternal power belong to [God]. Amen.
Tell people who are rich at this time not to become egotistical and not to place their hope on their finances, which are uncertain. Instead, they need to hope in God, who richly provides everything for our enjoyment. Tell them to do good, to be rich in the good things they do, to be generous, and to share with others. When they do these things, they will save a treasure for themselves that is a good foundation for the future. That way they can take hold of what is truly life.
Note: Gendered language for God replaced with bracketed words.
The two letters to Timothy and the one to Titus are called the Pastoral Letters because they are concerned with the work of the two men as pastors. Judging by differences in style and vocabulary from Paul’s other letters, many modern scholars think the Pastorals were not written by Paul, but by a loyal disciple expanding previously unpublished messages. The letters shed light on early church organization and discipline. In the first letter to Timothy, the author offers guidance on regulating public worship, the roles of men and women in the community, and the qualifications of bishops and deacons, among other moral exhortations. Scholars believe the Pastoral Letters were written around 100 AD.
The author’s words to Timothy remind us that the pursuit of wealth has always carried both allure and danger. He names the truth plainly: money itself is uncertain, and when it becomes our goal, it distorts our desires and wounds our lives. What endures, the author insists, is the kind of richness that cannot be measured in possessions - a richness rooted in faith, love, gentleness, and the joy of sharing.
The passage holds together two invitations. First, there is the call to personal integrity: to pursue a life of righteousness, endurance, and holy living, echoing the faithful witness of Jesus and directing our energy toward what is life-giving, even in small, ordinary ways. Second, there is the call to communal generosity: for those who have resources, the charge is clear - place your hope in the One who provides abundantly, and use what you have to be rich in good works. In doing so, the author says, we lay hold of “what is truly life.”
Ultimately, the passage broadens our understanding of what it means to be wealthy. The truest abundance is not stored in bank accounts or safeguarded by investments. It is experienced in generosity, in relationships of trust, in the grounding peace of knowing that we live in God’s light. To live richly, then, is to practice gratitude for what is already given, to embody faith that stretches beyond financial security, and to share freely so that others might taste that same abundance.
The passage holds together two invitations. First, there is the call to personal integrity: to pursue a life of righteousness, endurance, and holy living, echoing the faithful witness of Jesus and directing our energy toward what is life-giving, even in small, ordinary ways. Second, there is the call to communal generosity: for those who have resources, the charge is clear - place your hope in the One who provides abundantly, and use what you have to be rich in good works. In doing so, the author says, we lay hold of “what is truly life.”
Ultimately, the passage broadens our understanding of what it means to be wealthy. The truest abundance is not stored in bank accounts or safeguarded by investments. It is experienced in generosity, in relationships of trust, in the grounding peace of knowing that we live in God’s light. To live richly, then, is to practice gratitude for what is already given, to embody faith that stretches beyond financial security, and to share freely so that others might taste that same abundance.
Posted in 1 Timothy
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