My friends, I approached the reading for this week wanting to say something nuanced and clever, wanting to offer a subtle commentary that would unfold for you slowly as the week progressed. I wanted to be gentle about this passage’s revelations so that they could grow on you without causing too much discomfort. I wanted to, I really did. But I can’t. Because this passage isn’t nuanced, subtle, or gentle in any way. It’s uncompromisingly clear in its message: wealth and faithfulness are fundamentally incompatible.
Before anyone gets the wrong idea, hear me when I say that this statement isn’t political - it’s biblical.
This idea doesn’t just show up once in 1 Timothy; it shows up over and over again throughout Scripture. Proverbs 11:28 describes wealth and righteousness as mutually exclusive, saying, “Those who trust in their wealth will wither, but the righteous will thrive like leafy trees.” Matthew 6:24 teaches that “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” Mark 10:25 insists, “It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.” And perhaps most incriminating, James 5:1 & 4 say, “Pay attention, you wealthy people! Weep and moan over the miseries coming upon you!...Hear the cries of the wages of your field hands. These are the wages you stole from those who harvested your fields. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of heavenly forces.”
It isn’t political. It’s biblical.
I get it; it’s uncomfortable. Nobody likes talking about money. We’ve been told that it’s impolite and divisive. But how can we faithfully avoid a topic that Scripture addresses so explicitly time and time again?
It isn’t political. It’s biblical.
If you’re wondering why I keep repeating this, it’s because I don’t want there to be any confusion about this message being partisan. There’s increasing national discourse about the immorality of extreme wealth, and (like most things these days) it tends to be framed in binary political terms. So I could easily see someone mistaking this sermon for an anti-capitalist rant.
But it isn’t political. It’s biblical.
Millenia before American politics became what they are today, the writer of 1 Timothy was describing and condemning those who pursue wealth. He laments that their minds are ruined. That wealth “seduces” them away from the faith. That they’re constantly in conflict with others. That they follow “stupid and harmful passions”, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. (By the way - did you catch that? Their stupid and harmful passions don’t just affect THEMSELVES, but also the people around them. They take us all down with them.) And then, once the writer has offered his harsh appraisal of the wealthy, he hits us with a thesis statement that summarizes it all: The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Not the root of all kinds of trouble. Not of mistakes. Not even of sins. The love of money is the root of all kinds of EVIL. He offers no exceptions or conditions. Striving for extreme wealth is immoral - full stop.
It isn’t political. It’s biblical.
Let me put your minds at ease - I don’t believe that any of us here love money to the extent that 1 Timothy is describing. But I also don’t think that it would be faithful to just use this passage as an excuse to call out the bad behavior of the 1%. The uber wealthy may have been a subject of discussion, but they were never the intended audience of this passage - Timothy was. And odds are that Timothy was much closer to the “murky middle” of the Greco-Roman class system than at either of its extremes. So despite this passage’s dire warnings about pursuing wealth, its real message is for those of us just like Timothy - the “average joes”, so to speak.
Believe it or not, when you’re in the “murky middle” financially, you’re in the best position to pursue the virtues listed in verse 11 - the things more important than monetary riches, like righteousness, faithfulness, love, and gentleness. Those at the extremes aren’t able to see these values as clearly: the wealthy, because they see accumulating money as the highest virtue, and the poor, because focusing on money is a matter of survival for them. Those who are somewhere in between aren’t burdened by these distractions, so they’re free to pursue the more abstract goals that this epistle commends to Timothy. In this respect, you could argue that those of us in the “murky middle” are the most fortunate of all when it comes to practicing our faith.
But even with this advantage, there are certain pitfalls we can still become trapped in. We may not be addicted to accumulating wealth ourselves, but admiration for those who are is constantly threatening to pull our attention away from godliness. We’re told that things like love and gentleness are weak, that we should instead be more like those at the top: shrewd, tough, unapologetic, forceful. But this is an illusion, a cultural myth that’s been cultivated to carefully protect the economic hierarchy. It has nothing to do with God. 1 Timothy clearly describes for us the fruits of these particular “virtues,” and they’re not worthy of imitation. So which will we put our faith in: the societal narrative, or Scripture?
Remember - it’s not political; it’s biblical.
Instead of admiring the uber wealthy, 1 Timothy suggests that those of us in the “murky middle” try and help them. Yes - help them. While they may have financial resources beyond their wildest dreams, we have something much more important that’s almost impossible for them to acquire on their own - perspective. The epistle concludes by laying out for Timothy the message that rich people most need to hear: stop looking inward. Stop trusting your wealth. These things will never satisfy you. Instead, put your hope in God. Make yourself rich in good works and generosity.
This message is anathema to those who endlessly pursue wealth, but the murky middle is proof that it’s possible - that God *does provide*. It’s possible to accumulate resources for yourself AND to share them. It’s possible to take care of your loved ones AND to care for strangers. It’s possible to live a good life AND make life better for others. It’s not a choice of “either/or”, “us vs. them”, “all or nothing”. Or at least, it doesn’t have to be if you’re able to focus on something other than your bank account balance. Our lives can be a unique testament to what’s possible - for all of humankind - when we prioritize faithfulness and love over accumulation of wealth.
Sometimes, it seems impossible that the kindom of God could ever break into this world in any meaningful way. We feel powerless in the face of the powerful - especially those whose power derives from their massive wealth. It feels like the game is rigged, and there’s nothing that we can do about it. But Scripture tells us, again and again, that not only CAN we do something about it, we HAVE to do something about it. Those of us in the murky middle have to bring perspective back into a world that seems to have completely abandoned it. We proclaim that Christ is Lord not by loudly shouting it from a street corner, but by confidently pursuing the things that *he* values: faithfulness. Gentleness. Generosity. Love. Anyone who rejects these in favor of other values - no matter how appealing they may seem to be - is not worth following.
This isn’t political - it’s biblical. But in order to live a life of faith, to find that sacred balance between caring for yourself AND caring for others, we can’t keep what’s biblical confined to these four walls on Sunday morning. Maybe - hear me out - it's okay to bring the biblical out with us into the “real world”. Maybe the values that we read about in these pages *should* shape every choice we make in every part of our lives. In fact, maybe the world is depending on it. Maybe the biblical and the political aren’t quite as far apart as we think - at least when it comes to economics. And maybe, those of us in the murky middle are exactly who God is calling to prove it. Amen.
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