As one continues to
consider the talk of riches and the desire to obtain them, substituting the
love of money for the love of neighbor, Paul can be heard to go on to say that
if you must engage in competition, “Compete well for the faith and lay hold of
that eternal life you were called for and made your good confession in the
presence of many witnesses” (1 Timothy 6:12). It is when these words are
heard as part of a call to be a counter-cultural witness, that surely they are
better understood.
Paul takes no issue
with those that possess wealth, nor does he desire Timothy or other believers
to look down upon them as part of the cosmic role reversal that takes place as
the church rightly images out the tenets of its Lord. Rather, as should
be expected from Paul, he desires that encouragement and edification be the
order of the day, with self-sacrifice and preferential treatment coming to the
fore as the practice of love.
That expectant tone can
be heard when traveling a few lines further in the text and hearing “Command
those who are rich in this world’s goods not to be haughty or to set their hope
on riches, which are uncertain” (6:17a). Why? “For we have brought
nothing into this world and so we cannot take a single thing out either.”
Rather, they are to set their hope “on God who richly provides us with all
things for our enjoyment” (6:17b).
Yes, it is the
Creator God that should be looked upon as the ultimate patron, provide all
things (not Caesar). For this reason, and to their own benefit, “Tell
them to do good, to be rich in good deeds” which are works of public
benefaction, “to be generous givers, sharing with others. In this way
they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the future
and so lay hold of what is truly life” (6:18-19). They will lay hold of
what is truly life, rather than the fleeting and fickle notion of public honor which
is normally the measure of a man, as he goes about providing a firm foundation
for himself and his family, that his honor may go on and on. This pales
in comparison to that which honors Jesus.
In beginning to round
out this study, having explored the counter cultural elements in Paul’s letter
to Timothy, and having heard Paul instruct Timothy (and by extension the
household congregations in which Timothy has a hand) in an engagement that
stands against the prevailing culture, and doing so for the purpose of
transformation spurred by the witness of service and sacrifice, it is right to
marvel at the subtle genius of the cosmos encompassing, restorative, and often
paradoxical plans of the God of creation. One is reminded that while yes
there is a commandment to come out and be separate, that separation is only a
portion of the preparation for a full engagement with this creation that groans
for the revelation of the sons of the covenant God and the ultimate re-creation
that is heralded by that revelation.
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