1 Timothy 6:1-21

Ministers have certain responsibilities before God.  There may be parts of the minister’s job that he does not like and there will usually be certain parts of his job that other people will not like.  It is not really important what we like or what others like.  What is important is what God likes and what He has commanded that ministers do, how they are to act and what they are to teach.  At any rate, we will do well to follow these principles ourselves as well as be faithful to teach others to do them.

BE CONSCIENTIOUS IN OUR WORK: Believers should make the best employees.  Unfortunately I have heard many Christian employers who do not like to hire other believers because they expect preferential treatment and they become easily offended when corrected.  Just the opposite should be true.  As employees who work for other believers we should be even more motivated to be productive out of love for a brother and a desire to help his business so that he can be better able to further the kingdom of God.  As believers we must be conscientious in all of our work and do it for the glory of God.

BE CONTENT WITH OUR WAGES: Money is a very difficult thing to control in our lives.  It can become one of our motivations in life and can easily become and idol as it often turns into an object of worship.  What we must realize is that we all have all the money that God intends for us to have.  He is in control of our circumstances and as long as we are faithful to work hard, He will provide us with enough to meet each of our needs.  God expects us to be content with what He, is His sovereignty, has provided.  When we grumble and complain about our financial situation, we are, in reality, accusing God of being unfaithful to us.  God wants us to find our satisfaction in Him and not in the things or circumstances around us.  If we will simply learn to be content with God’s provisions and live lives of godliness, we will experience true happiness now and rich rewards in the future.

BE CONFIDENT AS WE WAIT: The truth is that we are all waiting for the Lord to return.  The second coming of Christ is often seen with a certain amount of dread because we know that we will need to give an account before Christ.  This should motivate us to live lives that are holy, pure and obedient to Scripture so that we can look forward to Christ’s coming with eager expectations of eternal rewards.  The truth is that living in light of Christ’s return will, not only result in future rewards, but it will also bring about an abiding joy, peace and confidence in this life as we eagerly anticipate and wait for the glorious return of our Savior.

BE CONTRIBUTORS OF OUR WEALTH: This is the part that most ministers do not like.  However, Paul commands Timothy to teach his congregation to be generous in their giving.  Most ministers do not like to talk about money, and most congregations do not like to hear ministers talk about money.  This, more than likely, is due, in part; to the terrible abuses of some high profile ministries that do little else other than talk about money.  We must not fall into either of these exaggerations.  It is best for everyone concerned.  If ministers fail to biblically instruct their congregations on giving, they are neglecting their duty to preach the whole counsel of God.  If believers are not instructed about or fail to follow God’s principles in giving with generosity they will lose eternal rewards.  I am convinced that, in eternity, we will all be very grateful for every gift we ever contributed and we will be thankful for the ministers who faithfully instructed us to do so.  Whether it is popular or not, ministers must teach and motivate believers to give generously and believers should receive this teaching with gladness and obedience.  In eternity, we will be glad that we did.