Share? Give???

Good Morning,

1 Timothy 6:17-19 (NIV)
Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

In looking at these verses today, I wondered what, exactly, does "haughty" mean? So, let's see what good, old Webster has to say: haughty adj., tier, tiest. 1. disdainfully proud; snobbish; arrogant. 2. Archaic. lofty or noble; exalted. Now, let's take a quick look at some synonyms for "haughty": arrogant, overly proud, overbearing,high and mighty, high-handed, lordly, aloof, snobbish, conceited, condescending, patronizing, swell-headed.

Okay, now we kind of know what Paul was speaking to, I think. Today we'd say that wealthy people can be, to put it in more common language: stuck up, snooty, uppity.

Now, let's take a look around us. What do we see? Do we see any of these traits in some of the well off people we observe? Unfortunately, the answer seems to be a pretty strong "Yes," doesn't it? I mean, it appears...at least to me very often...that those with wealth like to "lord it over" those of us who do not have similar wealth...or are rich, to put it in Paul's words. Now, if we were only to be seeing such behaviors and attributes in those in and of the world, it wouldn't be too surprising, I don't think. But, the fact that we frequently observe these things in people who attend our local congregations. That, my friends, is a true shame.

Paul warns us about this in these verses. He tells those who have riches, wealth, money to "do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share." Now, that sounds like something that the Lord would want, don't you think? I mean, we read of sharing and giving to the less fortunate over and over, everywhere in the Bible. Jesus speaks of it often. Paul mentions it time and again in his letters to the various churches. It's an ongoing theme that God certainly wants people to take notice of, else, why would it be in so many places and written of by so many different people?

So, with this giving and sharing a fact of the Bible, why in the world do we not see more of it? I mean, why is it that so many well off people, Christian people I'm speaking of here, why don't they take more heed to what is written about their wealth? Why do the rich always need a bigger, better, newer, shinier...well, almost everything? How many diamond bracelets can one wear, for goodness sake? And, correct me if I'm wrong here, it seems that someone can really only drive one car at a time. Is the Hummer in the garage that's driven once a week or even once a month really something that's needed? What these things tell me, and what they show to the world, is just how "haughty" people can be when they obtain riches and wealth. You know, the, "Hey, look at me! I've got it all!" kind of attitude.

Paul ends these few verses by saying, "...storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." Now, of course he isn't telling us that this is in any way connected to our salvation, let's not get that wrong. But, what I do think is that God smiles more broadly and thinks more highly of those who ARE willing to be, "ready to give, willing to share," in the world today. I'd like to think that most...no, not most but ALL...of us, if given the opportunity to be truly wealthy, would be obedient to what we read today. Unfortunately, it seems that money sort of changes people.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David