The Richest - 1 Timothy 6

6:1-2 - Continuing with the behavioral code that he wants Timothy to teach his people, Paul now broaches a tough subject, that of slaves and their masters. Paul wants all those who are Christians and slaves or “servants,” to “count their own masters worthy of all honour.” He says that this is so that “the name of God and his doctrine be not blasphemed.” There’s a couple of reasons why this might be the pathway that Paul wants servants and slaves to take. First off, a discontented person is not pleasant to be around, regardless of what they do for a living. If a servant can be content in their place then that sets an example to others who think to themselves, “if that person who is in bondage can be happy, then whatever he has can make me happy to.” In that sense, this could be a missionary tactic. The other reason for this counsel is that people who are unhappy or negative have a harder time having the Holy Ghost influence their lives. Ultimately, Paul wants servants to be ok with their situation so that the Spirit can work his transformative powers within them so that they can be happy and good examples of gospel living to others. The flip side of this is when not only is the slave a Christian but the master is as well. Paul tells the servant to not be angry with their master because they are both believers. It implies here that when the master becomes a believer as well, the servant assumes that they will be freed and when that doesn’t happen, the servant begins to “despise them.” It’s the kind of thing were we can say that no matter our situation in this life, we will be compensated 100 fold for our suffering here. And again, it’s easy for me to say as a white woman in a free country who has a great job and ability to support myself and my children. But I think that this is what Paul is trying to say. And really, if the servant turns all bitter and says or thinks, “my master is a terrible person because we are both Christian and he won’t free me, that logic and behavior never really convinced anyone to let them go. 6:3-5 - These are the things that Paul wants Timothy to teach, and if there are people who teach something different or who “consent not to wholesome words,” then that person is also “proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strife of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings” and basically rejects the faith. The word “doting” is cross-referenced to mean “obsessed with questions,” meaning that the person isn’t interested in finding the true answers, they are interested in finding excuses to justify their leaving. Paul advises Timothy to “withdraw thyself” from these people. These are the types of people we would call toxic today. Those who aren’t interested in building up you and themselves, only tearing down and ain’t nobody got time for that. 6:6-10 - Here comes that concept of being satisfied with your current position in life, Paul says “but godliness with contentment is great gain.” This can apply to the servant or slave who needs to reconcile themselves to their situation. It can also apply to those who are asking questions and looking for a way out. They, and we, need to be satisfied with the knowledge that we are given at the time and take it to be sufficient for our specific circumstances, knowing that one day we will know all things. The article on this chapter from gospeldoctrine.com quotes Spencer W. Kimball as teaching, “The abundant life, of course, has little to do with the acquisition of material things, though there are many wonderful individuals who have been blessed materially and who use their wealth to help their fellowman and this is commendable. The abundant life noted in the scriptures is the spiritual sum that is arrived at by the multiplying of our service and by investing our talents in service to God and to man.” Paul makes an interesting point saying, “For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.” This is cross-referenced with Job 1:21 which says, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” If we look at wealth from this perspective, it’s clear that money and material things only matter in this life. But it’s a double-edged sword because we have to have basic things in this life or we will die. It’s like if we needed just a little bit of cocaine every day to survive, but if we become addicted, then there are problems. Looking at it that way it’s easy to see why it’s such a slippery slope that we have to balance in order to survive but retain our ability to be spiritually focused. There’s the other side of “contentment” that is we need to be content with what we have been given. It’s really hard, especially when you are bringing crushed financially, but there is a point where the pursuit of money or wealth is no longer for your necessity but for your gratification. Paul puts out the basic necessities or “food and raiment” and I would imagine shelter as well, but once we have these things, we need to be ok with what we have and where we are in life. This is a tough lesson for even me because I do pretty well for myself considering but I’m always looking at what’s next, etc. There’s a documentary on Netflix called “Happy” that talks about how once someone has their basic needs met such as food, water, clothing and shelter, anything after that has diminishing returns. It’s really good, I recommend watching it. The wording in verse 9 is interesting because it says “they that will be rich” not “they that are rich” and I don’t think it’s a case of a crystal ball being able to tell the future or anything like that. It implies that the people being referenced want to be rich, but aren’t already. This means that their focus is on becoming wealthy, which means their focus is not on the spiritual but on the material. So those that want to be rich and are working for that end “fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts.” It’s the desire to be rich that is the difference between those who are content and those who are not. It’s this desire that Paul references when he says, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” I think a lot of it comes down to why do we want to be rich, and is being wealthy wrong? No, there are a lot of people who have come into their wealth by legitimate means and use it to benefit their fellow man. There’s a quote by Dallin H. Oaks that says, “There is nothing inherently evil able money. The Good Samaritan used the same coinage to serve his fellowman that Judas used to betray the Master.” The same money can be used for vastly different purposes and why you want money and then what you do with it once you have it is a huge determining factor in your spiritual success. I think that most people want to be “rich” in that they want to be comfortable physically, they don’t want to worry about where their next meal is coming from, etc. But again, it comes down to why and what. 6:11-16 - Paul urges Timothy to “flee these things,” which I assume means an unhealthy focus on money and wealth, but instead he’s to “follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. First the good fight of faith, lay hold of eternal life.” Paul charges Timothy to keep the commandments “without spot, unrebukable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Of this Christ, the KJV of the translation basically says that Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of Lords; but also who “only hath immortality, dwelling in light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen nor can see.” This statement doesn’t really make sense because thousands of people had seen Jesus during his mortal ministry. The JST gives us some more information on this subject adding to the end of verse 16 that no man can see or approach Jesus “only he who hath the light and the hope of immortality dwelling in him.” It’s not that Jesus can not be approached, but that those who wish to do so must be spiritually prepared. There’s many reasons for this and we know that we can in fact approach God and work for a relationship with him. 6:17-21 – Paul ends his letter to Timothy by urging him to teaching “them that are rich in this world,” to be humble, reasonable in their financial dealings and trust “in the living God who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” Those who are rich should be “ready to distribute, willing to communicate, laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” Be focused on the future, be good stewards of what they’re given, be humble and generous, and keep an eternal perspective, this is good advice for all of us. Finally, Paul to be faithful in his assignments, “avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called.” It’s interesting because at first I thought Paul was saying to not ignore science, but that didn’t seem right, then after rereading it, I thought maybe it was about giving attention to information claimed to be science that opposes gospel doctrine. The comments that the word “science” “is a translation of the Greek term gnoseos, which means ‘knowledge,’ and the term was probably referring specifically to the Gnostic movement that was then finding its way into early Christianity. Gnostics believed that salvation was obtained by being instructed in secret knowledge (called gnosis0) Gnosticism was a major source of controversy in second-century Christianity.” So instead of being anti-science, Paul was referring to a specific religious movement predominant at the time which taught that there was secret knowledge that was the only way to salvation. If applied to Christianity, this would imply that the fullness of knowledge needed for salvation is not available to everyone and instead has to be sought out. The downfall of this, of course, is that there is no secret knowledge essential for salvation and the pursuit of this elusive information leads to a dismissal of all previously attained knowledge.