Four Commands for Those Who Are Rich in this Present World (1 Timothy 6:17-19)

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First Timothy 6:17–19 does not condemn Christians for being rich; it gives the rich specific commands. They must not be proud or trust uncertain riches, but instead hope in God, do good, be rich in good works, and be generous and ready to share. Read or listen to this material from Your Finances God’s Way to see what God says to rich people.

People don’t become doctors the day they decide they want to pursue a medical career. The decision must have been made years earlier, and they must have made many sacrifices to endure through an internship and residency. Similarly, if people want to be lawyers, they don’t wake up one day and say, “I’m going to be a lawyer,” and then start trying cases. The decision to become a lawyer must be made well before, involving years of commitment before taking on clients.

You might already have an IRA because you are planning for the golden years. You don’t wake up when you’re older and say, “Let me start a retirement plan.” The decision is made years earlier, so you are prepared when you retire. Perhaps you are saving for your children’s education. You don’t attend their high school graduation and say, “I’d better put something aside to pay for their college.” The decision must be made long in advance. The lesson is that knowledge of the future determines our behavior in the present. When we know what we desire in the future, we will make decisions to reach those goals in the present.

This has great application for us as stewards. If we want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant,” we don’t wait until the end of our lives to start being faithful. We decide to be faithful starting now—today! The verses we will examine next can help put us on the right path.

The Rich Have Greater Accountability

First Timothy 6 addresses two groups. The first group, “who desire to be rich” and have a “love of money,” are in 1 Timothy 6:9-10. The second group is “those who are rich in this present age” in 1 Timothy 6:17-19. It is essential to notice that Paul doesn’t criticize the second group, who is rich, but he criticizes the first group, who desires to be rich. This seems backward! We would expect Paul to criticize the first group, which is rich while pitying the second group, which is not rich. Why is it this way? Because, as we also discussed, money is amoral. The problem is not being rich. The problem is a love of money or a strong desire to be rich.

But even though being rich isn’t bad, it does mean having greater accountability before God. Stewardship is more difficult with more money because there is more to steward. So, Paul has special instructions for rich people:

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. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, 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).

If the parable of the rich fool tells rich people what not to do, these verses tell rich people what to do. Maybe you are thinking, Oh, I’m not rich, so these verses don’t apply to me. As I shared earlier, Americans are wealthy, measured by the living standards of the rest of the world, especially those throughout history. We must be careful not to read verses about riches and think they apply to others but not us.

With that in mind, the above verses include four instructions to the rich. Let’s look carefully at each of them for our spiritual and financial benefit.

First, Command Those Who Are Rich in this Present World to Be Humble

Paul first commands the rich “not to be haughty” (verse 17) because pride is one of their most common temptations. Riches and pride (or haughtiness) often go together. The Greek word translated “haughty” means “to have an exalted opinion of oneself.” Those with large amounts of money can be tempted to feel superior and look down on those with less money; therefore, God says, “Don’t be high-minded. You are not better than those with less because you have more.”

Proverbs 18:23 says, “The poor man uses entreaties, but the rich answers roughly.” Wealthy people might ignore the pleading of the poor, but pride would cause the rich to respond harshly because they think they’re better than the poor. Proverbs 28:11 says, “The rich man is wise in his own eyes, but a poor man who has understanding searches him out.” Pride causes rich people to think highly of themselves, but poor people with discernment can see right through it because they know they’re equal.

How do we avoid haughtiness and looking down on others if we’re rich? Part of the answer is in the following words: “God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” Remember that we have what we do only because God provided it leaves no room for haughtiness. Riches do not indicate how great we are; instead, they indicate how gracious God has been to us. In 1 Corinthians 4:7, Paul asked three questions: “Who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now, if you received it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” The answers are (1) God, (2) nothing, (3) we shouldn’t. Recognizing that God gave us all we have, including riches, prevents pride, keeps us humble, and leaves no reason for boasting.

Second, Command Those Who Are Rich in this Present World to Trust God

Paul revealed another temptation the rich must resist: “[setting] their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, [instead of ] God.” One of the dangers of money is that it can provide a false sense of security. Think back to the rich fool who said, “I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry’” (Luke 12:19). He was confident about the future not because he trusted in God, but because he trusted in his wealth. We must avoid this by following the advice of the psalmist: “If riches increase, do not set your heart on them” (Psalm 62:10). In our country, it’s a powerful temptation to trust in riches because we are encouraged to do so. Our national retirement plan is Social Security because it makes us feel secure about our future. Our investments are called securities and trusts because they’re supposed to make us feel safe, and we’re supposed to put our trust in them.

Money can take the place of God when we

• view money the way we should view God
• put our faith in money like we should put our faith in God
• make money an idol by calling it “the almighty dollar,” as though it’s sovereign and able to give us whatever we want
• treat money like a god by living for it, worshipping it, sacrificing to it, and filling our minds with thoughts about it
• let our lives be controlled by having more of it

What’s ironic about all this is that our money is imprinted with the motto “In God We Trust.” This phrase first appeared on coins in 1864 and was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956. One year later, in 1957, the words appeared on our paper currency. The words themselves are associated with many verses in the Bible:

• “[I] will trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:3).
• “I have put my trust in the Lord God” (Psalm 73:28).
• “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (Psalm 118:8).
• “Whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe” (Proverbs 29:25).

If we put our trust in money, there are only two possible outcomes, and both are bad. First, it lets us down. In the parable of the unjust steward, Jesus said, “Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). Unrighteous wealth is earthly money, and “it fails” us. Proverbs 11:28 says, “He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like foliage.” Many people will tell you that putting confidence in their bank accounts left them disappointed. Proverbs 18:11 says, “The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own esteem.” Wealthy people think their money makes them invincible, but it’s all in their minds.

The other possibility, even worse than money failing us, is that it doesn’t seem to fail us. Riches allow us to get what we want, so we think we don’t need God. Proverbs 30:8-9 warns of the danger: “Give me [not] riches…lest I be full and deny You, and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’” Rich people can stop desiring anything, including God. One of the worst things to happen to rich people is that they allow their riches to pull them away from the very God who gave them the riches in the first place. This is why money only seems to not fail them. In separating them from God, it unimaginably fails them.

Third, Command Those Who Are Rich in this Present World to Do Good Works

The rich shouldn’t only be rich in money. They “are to do good, to be rich in good works” (1 Timothy 6:18). Rich people have greater potential for acts of service—their wealth allows them to do things people with less money might not be able to do.

Why stress this to rich people? They might see giving as a substitute for doing. Giving money instead of time, effort, or energy might be more effortless for them. It’s easier to pay for a mover than to help people move, pay for someone to clean the house than to help people clean their home, pay for groceries than to bring people a meal. For the rich husband, it’s easier to buy his wife something expensive than to spend time with her. For the wealthy mother, spending money on her kids is easier than doing things with them. So, Paul says the rich must do good works, too.

Fourth, Command Those Who Are Rich in this Present World to Give Generously

The rich should also “be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:18). This probably doesn’t come as any surprise, as it is the central command we expect God to give to rich people. The parable of the talents teaches that some are given more talents (wealth) than others, and God expects more from them. Everyone should give, but rich people should be

• “generous,” which refers to the amount given.
• “ready to share” refers to the attitude toward giving—anxious to share their wealth to bless others and meet their needs.

If rich people give generously, they will ” thus store treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:19). This means preparing for eternity because “that which is truly life” refers to the next life—the real or true life. Some translations, such as the KJV and NKJV, read “lay hold on eternal life.” Paul said something similar a few verses earlier: “Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called” (1 Timothy 6:12).

The words “take hold” or “lay hold” of the next life don’t mean we can obtain salvation in our efforts. Only Christ can do that for us. Instead, we must “get a grip” on eternal matters by living with a heavenly, spiritual perspective. The rich should “[store] up treasure for themselves” (1 Timothy 6:19), similar to Jesus’s counsel: “Do not lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matthew 6:19-20).

Think back to the rich fool. He did the opposite of what Paul and Jesus said and laid up treasures on earth. The rich fool also disobeyed James 5:1-3, which mirrors Jesus’s words: “Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you…You have heaped up treasure [for the day of judgment].” Like Jesus, James also said earthly wealth is destroyed by moth and rust. In contrast, we can have “a good foundation for the time to come” (Timothy 6:19) if we lay up treasure for ourselves in heaven because that’s the only place it can’t be destroyed.

Keeping in mind that everything we possess breaks down, rusts, decays, and can be stolen makes generosity easier. As we remember these things, earthly wealth loses value in our eyes and becomes easier to part with.

A Better Approach to Giving

The rich should “be generous and ready to share” (1 Timothy 6:18), but are they the only ones expected to give? No. Everyone is expected to give. Poor people can be as guilty of stinginess, bad stewardship, and financial foolishness as the rich fool.

So, let me provide some encouragement because I know giving can be challenging. We are frequently tempted to think the answer is simply trying harder in the Christian life. If we roll up our sleeves and give it our best shot, we’ll become generous, right? Wrong. Giving is a heart attitude. Many people have experienced ongoing frustration when trying to be better at giving but finding little change—it is still difficult for them!

A better approach is to remember that if we are Christians, the power of the gospel is at work in our lives. While you read, remember that it’s not about you white-knuckling it. Instead, God’s grace empowers you to obey: “It is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13). With God’s help—with the Spirit’s enablement—we can manage our finances well, and even enjoy giving!