17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. 18 They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 19 thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 (ESV)
In June 2004, James Montier, a global equity strategist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW),[1] published a research paper, The Psychology of Happiness, that quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. In exploring one of Adam Smith’s obsessions, what it means to be happy, DrKW advised its international clients to stop equating happiness with money. In November 2005, Montier followed this report with another, arguing that “materialistic pursuits are not a path to sustainable happiness. A mass of evidence shows people who have more materialistic goals are less happy than those who focus on intrinsic aims such as relationships or personal growth.”
Paul tells his young pastor friend Timothy to warn people who have significant resources not to place their hopes in riches. They ought rather to “store up treasure” in a more beneficial approach that prepares them for their life in Christ that is to come. In doing so, Paul echoes the language Jesus uses in the Sermon on the Mount (cf. Matt. 6:19-20). What does this expression mean? A treasure is something—really anything—upon which a person assigns value, something that holds sway over his heart.
For this reason, Paul takes up the issue, for God wants us to treasure or value Him the most (v. 17). But this is not for God’s benefit, so much as it is for ours. The Lord has the disciple’s wellbeing and true happiness in mind. If a person treasures things that can be taken from him, he is only one theft away from being a very miserable individual. But those who above all prize fellowship with God are gloriously free from the precarious nature of ordinary human affairs.
Of course, the generosity Paul prescribes in verse 18 is not a means of “good works” salvation, though some wealthy people seem to think so. With their charities and special causes, they enjoy widespread acclaim and even assurances from the secular culture that their heavenly destiny is thus assured. But Paul is consistently and eloquently adamant that salvation is a matter of grace, not reward. The generosity that counts flows from a redeemed life; it does not itself produce redemption.
King Midas, who wished for everything that he touched to turn to gold, found himself starving, with nothing to eat save the precious metal and alone, after turning his own daughter into a cold statue when attempting to greet her with an embrace. Christians (especially those in the United States) who are fascinated with the fantasy of developing the “Midas touch” had better stop dreaming before they get what they have asked for. God may, in fact, decide to abandon them to a lonely existence with nothing but their “stuff” to keep them company.
As DrKW acknowledged, money cannot buy happiness. However, God alone established a world in which He generously supplies many good things for His people’s enjoyment. As Christians work hard, they can enjoy the prosperity that may come their way without feeling guilty. But prosperity without God is a horrible way of life, a barren landscape to dwell upon, when the deepest needs of the human being are community with one another and fellowship with God.
[1] A global investment banking firm based in Germany.