As the Apostle Paul winds down his first epistle to Timothy, he expresses a special admonition to those who are “rich in this present world” (6:6-19). “Rich” is a relative term. What is “rich” in the jungles of New Guinea today is not rich in New York. What was rich in ancient Israel is primitive and austere by today’s standards. Yet, whether we are considering our wealth globally or historically, we would have to say that the Apostle Paul is addressing us all. We are all rich compared to what most people around the world today or throughout history have experienced. His words are for us. He says,

Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. (1 Tim 6:17)

His words are addressed to Christians. His concern is with that upon which we “fix (our) hope.” In one sense what he says is obvious. Our hope is to be in God, not riches. Yet it must be that trusting in wealth is a temptation for us. Those who have the material means to be comfortable are tempted to rely on their riches to keep them safe and comfortable. His perspective is not simplistic but nuanced, and critical for our understanding today.

Riches

First, he expresses the negative. We have much. We enjoy an abundance. We live in a land of plenty. Don’t become “conceited,” probably in the sense of self-important, self-reliant, and proud. Don’t think that because you have wealth that you are self-sufficient. Don’t conclude, as a prosperous Israel was warned not to conclude, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth” (Deut 8:17). That upon which we “fix our hope” is that upon which we are counting or trusting to provide for us a good life, for wellness or wholeness. Those who “fix their hope” on “riches” are relying on their jobs and income, their properties and bank accounts, their investment portfolios and retirement plans, their inheritance and medical insurance for their happiness, their fulfillment and satisfaction, their safety and security. Wealth means power. Wealth means influence. Wealth means respect. Wealth means a large home. Wealth means beautiful clothes. Wealth means prestigious automobiles. Wealth means exotic vacations. Wealth means comfort and security in retirement. For many, wealth in all its forms is the key to their well-being. They absolutely are (literally) banking on it.

Is there a problem with this? Indeed. Riches are “uncertain.” Wealth, material abundance, the safety, comfort, and experiences they provide, the power, respect, and influence they buy, are unreliable. They are unstable, fleeting, transient. They can’t be depended upon. No, not riches, or anything else in this world. Do not fix your hope of wholeness on a career, on health, or home, or spouse, or children. Fix your hope only on God. He alone is permanent. He alone is eternal. He alone is faithful, dependable, unchanging, and reliable. All else is finite and temporary. The form of this world is passing away (1 Jn 2:17). Then again, even if one were to accumulate all the toys that this world has to offer, what would it profit, as Jesus asked?

For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. (1 Tim 6:7)

What would it profit if one gains the whole world, and then loses it along with one’s own soul at death (Mt 16:26)

Bob Woodruff had it all working for him. He was handsome, had an Ivy League education, a beautiful wife, and four beautiful children. In December 2005 he was named co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight. One month later, while reporting from an Army convoy in Iraq, a roadside bomb exploded shattering his skull and his life. Slowly he recovered to co-author with his wife, In an Instant.1 That is how quickly life can change and all that we have can vanish. It only takes an instant. One moment we’re well, the next we learn we have a terminal disease. One moment we’re at peace, the next we’re at war. One moment all is calm, the next we’re undone by a natural disaster. One moment we’re cruising along at 70 MPH, the next our automobile and lives are shattered. Everything in this world is uncertain.

Cleveland Indian pitcher Herb Score was touted to be the next Bob Feller. In 1955 he was named Rookie of the Year. In 1956 he struck out 263 batters and won 20 games. Both Ted Williams and Mickey Mantle called him the toughest left-handed pitcher they ever faced. Then at the beginning of the 1957 season a line-drive was smashed back through the box, shattering his face and temporarily blinding him. It happened “in an instant.” One moment, on top of the world. The next, sprawling on the ground, his career never to recover. Do not fix your hope on the uncertainties of this world. September 11, 2001, terrorists commandeered fully loaded domestic airliners and slammed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, killing over 3,000 people. Do not fix your hope of safety and well-being on the United States Military. September 14, 2008, Lehman Brothers collapses. Before the dust settles $18 trillion of value in stocks and real estate has vanished from the U.S. economy. Do not fix your hope on banks, stocks, and land values. Do not fix your hope on any person, thing, institution, career, connections, or personal skill. It is all uncertain.

I had the privilege of speaking to the Wheaton football chapel on September 18. I was able to tell them my own story, of the heady days of August and September of 1970, when I was a sophomore starting on as a defensive back (right corner) at Phineas Banning High School in Wilmington, California. Five future All-Americans and professional football players were on that team. Vince Feragamo, who would later lead Nebraska to a National Championship and the Rams to a Super Bowl, was our quarterback. Steve Rivera, future All-American at Cal and NFL player, was our wide receiver. Danny Reece, All-American at USC and star at Tampa Bay, was our safety, fullback, and punt-returner. Frank Manumaleuna was our defensive end, and later our fullback and middle linebacker. The best of them all, Danny’s brother Clarence Reece, was a high school All-American receiver and defensive back. I was matched up against the passing of Feragamo and the receiving routes of Rivera all summer long. The high point came when one day after I had batted down a couple of Feragamo’s passes Rivera turned to me and said, “You are making a fool out of me.” I was on top of the world.

Within a few days I ran what we called a “quick out,” caught it, turned up field against Clarence Reece’s defense, cut to evade him, and suddenly felt a sharp pain as I simultaneously heard a loud cracking sound, like that of a tree-branch snapping. “In an instant,” my football career was over. Five months in a body cast followed by two months on crutches, followed by a second break of my right femur, surgery, and three more months on crutches. After 10 months of inactivity, the joints had frozen and the muscles had atrophied beyond recovery. Never again was I fast. Never again could I keep up with the Riveras and Reeces of the world. I could still rock back on my bad leg and pitch a baseball. But track, football, and basketball were beyond recovery. Don’t fix your hope in this world. It cannot deliver what it promises and it cannot endure. Jesus asked,

For what will a man be profited, if he gains the whole world, and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mt 16:26)

“In my 30 years in the NFL, I’ve seen a lot of that,” says the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl, commenting on Matthew 16:26. “All the notoriety, all the accolades, all the money that people could get, and you see guys that aren’t happy, and have personal problems because they haven’t directed their lives toward something that’s going to be long lasting.”2

God

No, fix your hope on God. Perhaps someone is saying, ‘That sounds good, trust God, hope in God, but what does that mean? How do I do that?’ I would elaborate in two senses.

First, fix your hope on God for your eternal well-being. Jesus says that to know God is to have eternal life, and that He is the way to knowing God. He is the way to the Father (Jn 17:3; 14:6). Jesus is the only Savior of the world. He is the only Deliverer. He is the source of our well-being in time and eternity. He is our hope (1 Tim 1:1). He is the Bread of life that alone can feed the hungry soul and quench its thirst (Jn 6:35). He alone can provide rest for our souls (Mt 11:28,29). The Holy Spirit is the only Comforter. He alone can calm our anxious souls and strengthen us to live the only life worth living (Jn 14:16-18; 16:5-15). God alone is our refuge and strength (Ps 46:1). He alone is our fortress and stronghold, our shield and buckler (Ps 18:1-3). Only under the shadow of the Almighty are we safe (Ps 91:1).

Peter Maravich (1947–1988) had to learn this the hard way. “Pistol Pete,” as he was called, holds almost all the NCAA basketball scoring records: the highest single season average (44.5 pts./game), the highest career average (44.2 pts./game), and the most points in a career (3667). These are records that are likely never to be broken. Stardom in college was followed by stardom in the NBA. He was on top of the world. Yet here is his testimony:

I felt that money and things it could buy in this world were my tickets to pleasure and happiness. But even with all the money, I was miserable. Deep down I knew life had to be more than parties, a Mercedes, and stocks and bonds . . .

Questions about my purpose in life bombarded me: “Why am I here? What were all the years in basketball about, especially since they turned out so empty?” My mind was full of hard questions, but with all my searching, I found no answers.

Considering all the so-called good things that had happened in my life, I realized they were almost all brief interludes of ego gratification. Nothing lasted through all the accolades and trophies. I had found nothing to hang on to that would last forever. Even my greatest records would someday be broken. The trophies were collecting dust in the attic. And one day no one would remember or even care about a floppy-socked basketball player named Pistol Pete Maravich.

The fame and fads were all temporary and fleeting! . . . and even basketball only revealed all the more an emptiness I couldn’t fill . . .

I became a desperate man, facing the inevitable questions each person must face: “What do I have to live for? What value do I have? What will happen to me when I die?” I hadn’t found a purpose anywhere in a past filled with success, fame, and fortune. For a man that seemed to have it all, in my estimation I had no purpose . . . no reason for being.

Don’t set your hope on success, but on God. Don’t set your hope on fame, but on God. Don’t set your hope on wealth, but on God. Jesus promises that through His shed blood, the blood of the new covenant, our sins will be forgiven (Mt 26:28). He is the way to reconciliation with the Father. He is the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6). Whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life (Jn 3:16). Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Him will live even if he dies (Jn 11:25).

Second, fix your hope on God’s providence. By providence I mean God’s unfolding plan. I have taught my children that there are four things that you cannot control in athletics, and more generally, in life: 1) the decisions of coaches; ii) the decisions of the referees or judges; iii) injuries; iv) and in football, the bounce of the ball. We may throw in a fifth as well: weather. You can be the greatest athlete who ever lived, and you may never get off of your crutches, or off of the bench, or get the ball in your hands, or, if you finally do, you may have the officials take it away from you. So also is the case in all of life. We can’t count on the decisions of our civil authorities, or bosses in the working world, or family members. We can’t predict the turn of our health. We can’t control the weather. We can’t control the bounce of the ball. These factors are out of our hands, but they’re not out of God’s hands. Has He not numbered the hairs on our heads (Mt 10:30)? Is He not working all things after the counsel of His own will (Eph 1:11)? Does He not cause all things to work together for good for His people (Rom 8:28)? Our experiences are ordered according to His almighty and sovereign purposes. That is where I’ll fix my hope. The freakish breaking of my leg nearly 40 years ago was not an accident. God had His good and blessed reasons for it. What were they? I don’t know. I’ll probably never know this side of heaven. What I do know is God, and I know Him to be trustworthy. In this world we walk by faith and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). My hope is anchored in His good purposes for me both in eternity and time.

Test

How do I know if I’ve fixed my hope on God and not on the world’s riches? Remember the Apostle Paul is addressing Christians. We are not immune from the temptation to shift our confidence from God to the rich things of this world. When life turns south, when hardship, when heartache, when trial and tribulation come, we are especially tempted to throw in the towel and conclude that the promises of God have failed. Then we are tempted to conclude that we’ve missed out on the pleasures of this world, played the fool, and determine to join the world’s party. Upon what is our hope “fixed”? Here’s a simple test to take. Ask yourself four questions:

i) Am I willing to believe all that Jesus says? Do I believe His claim to be the Son of God, Savior of sinners? Do I believe that in Him I can find life abundant and eternal (Jn 10:28), that I can find rest for my soul (Mt 11:29)? Perhaps most insightful of all, do I believe Jesus when He warns me not to lay up treasures on earth but in heaven, not to attempt to serve God and mammon, and warns me that where my treasure is, there will my heart be also (Mt 6:19-21)?

ii) Am I willing to obey all that He commands? Am I willing to respect the sanctity of life, marriage, property, and truth (Ex 20:1ff)? Am I willing to live a life of love and sacrifice for God, neighbor, and enemies (Mt 5:38-48)? Am I willing to observe the Sabbath over which He is Lord (Mt 12:8), and tithe my increase (Mt 23:23)? If I am to obey God’s commands it will mean saying “no” to myself over and over again, denying myself experiences and pleasures I might otherwise have enjoyed. Am I willing to take up His cross as my own and follow Him (Mt 16:24,25)?

iii) Am I willing to go wherever He sends, to follow wherever He leads? Am I willing to go to the poor, the afflicted, the needy, the ignorant? Will I go to the nations in response to His call? Are we not all touched when we hear of missionaries like Jack and Nell Chinchen, who met the challenge of moving with their 7 children to Liberia as missionaries, who lived in a bamboo house on stilts, who endured constant dangers and deprivations, and yet continue to spread the gospel with such determination and zeal? Will I follow Jesus to the ends of the earth and make disciples of the nations (Mt 28:19)?

iv) Am I willing to accept whatever He ordains? It is inevitable that life takes unexpected and unwanted twists and turns. Yet a sparrow may not fall from a tree apart from God’s will (Mt 10:29). Are we not worth far more to Him than a sparrow? Can I say with Job, “The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord” (Job 1:21)? Can I say with Jesus, “Not my will but Thy will be done” (Mt 26:39)? Can I say with hymn writers “What’er my God ordains is right”? Can I still say, “Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well, with my soul’”? Our hope is in God! Therefore submissively, gladly, we surrender our lives to all Christ says, all He commands, wherever He sends, and whatever He ordains.

Is this a call to monastic lifestyle? No, the Apostle Paul says God “richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” We are to enjoy the good things of this world. They are God’s gifts to us. Earlier he said in this same epistle,

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected, if it is received with gratitude; for it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer. (1 Tim 4:4,5)

We are invited, even required to take the gifts, abilities, and opportunities that God has given and make the most of them. Develop your gifts, abilities, and opportunities, and seek their maximum expression to the glory of God. We can do this on ball fields, in concert halls, and in classrooms. We can do this as laborers, skilled workers, entrepreneurs, and as professionals. But don’t make idols and false gods out of God’s worldly supply. Don’t fix your hope on them. Use them in their proper contexts and in proper proportions, and maximize their use to the glory of God. Do this and you will have both enjoyed God, and fixed your hope upon Him.