Hoarding for Jesus

“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” (1Tim 6:19).

I’m lost when it comes to investing. My eyes glaze over when the talk turns to stocks, bonds, mutual funds, T-Bills, Roth IRAs, and 401ks. Just typing those terms confuses me. But we all need to have a financial plan for our future. Before you think that’s not trusting in our good God, you might want to re-read Proverbs. 

Did you realize here in Paul’s first letter to Timothy, the apostle actually gives investment advice to the wealthy? He says when rich folks demonstrate radical generosity, they’re actually “storing up treasure for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (v19). Radically sharing God’s blessings allows us to not just hoard for the future but enjoy life right now. In God’s economy, you CAN have your cake and eat it too but…here’s the catch…you’ve got to give your cake away first. Paul runs the numbers and tell us that generosity is a crazy combo of delayed gratification AND immediate satisfaction.  

The context for this epistle is important. Paul and Tim are working their pastoral tails off trying to get the Ephesian church out of the ditch and back on the road. A posse of spiritual hucksters distracted folks from following Jesus by serving up a heretical cocktail of religious sounding mumbo jumbo, endless family histories, urban legends, con games, and downright demonic doctrine (1Tim 1:3-7; 4:1-2). These false teachers saw the church as an easy mark and a get-rich-quick scheme (1Tim 6:5-10). 

Their greed no doubt negatively influenced the wealthier members of the congregation. So here near the end of his note to Pastor Tim, Paul has special instructions for those rich folks who love Jesus (1Tim 6:17-20). God commands the rich to be rich. NOT get rich. BE rich. In good deeds. They do that through scandalous giving. God blesses them to be a blessing. He’s been generous to them so they can be generous to others.

Before you and I think we’re off the hook because we’re anything but rich, think again. If you’re reading this and make over $48,000 annually, you’re in the top ONE PERCENT of people in the world. Yeah, you read that right. In. The. World. So since you probably ARE rich, God has investment advice on how to BE rich. Now really, is there a better financial counselor than the Wonderful Counselor? You might want grab a pen. What God has to say about money is going to be better than any stock tip you get from your buddy who’s into day trading and up to his eyeballs in debt. 

When we’re openhanded with God’s good gifts, we’re actually “storing up treasure” (v19). Paul uses a Greek word here (Gr. apothesaurizo) that describes the acquisition of something incredibly valuable. It’s a compound term that literally means “to separate from (apo-) in order to accumulate valuables (-thesaurizo).” Ever known anyone who collected something aggressively and guarded it carefully? Think of a hoarder. A generous giver is actually a hoarder for Jesus. I’m not sure I can truly wrap my brain around that.

Living a life that’s a giving life is actually an investment that pays off down the road. Or in Paul’s words, it’s a “foundation for the future” (v19). Think of it this way. Generosity now actually begins the construction of the spiritual dream house you live in later. God uses my unselfishness today to build me into what He wants to be tomorrow. That makes sense when we remember the core character of our Great Giving God. Our Heavenly Dad is an amazing Giver (James 1:17). He gave His Son who gave His life for us (Jn 3:16). And He’s ultimately conforming us into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). A big part of the me to be is as a giver like my God. Hoarding for Jesus means generosity now and the footings for a future of giving. 

I have to get it through my rather thick noggin that for me to receive God’s future blessings I need to loosen my death grip on what He’s already given me. Too often, I latch onto His good gifts with both hands like a running back trying not to fumble in the fourth quarter. Nobody’s taking them from me. But once I let go and share those with others, something funny happens. Not “funny ha ha” but “funny interesting.” Not only is God able to bless the socks off someone else but it frees my fingers up to receive something more. Usually something better. You see, Jesus has been paying it forward a few thousand years before Hollywood decided to make a movie about it.

Now here’s where it gets really whacky. What we give today not only forwards to the future but also allows us to drink deeply from the cup of life right here right now. Or as Paul says, “So that they may take hold of that which is truly life” (v19). Present to the future and back to the present. Apparently godly generosity engages some sort of Flux Capacitor or Hot Tub Time Machine. Sacrificial giving is both delayed gratification AND immediate satisfaction. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving! Give to the future and receive in the present. That’s hoarding for Jesus.

Did you catch that being generous allows us to get our hands on “that which is truly life” (v19)? Paul seems to hint that there’s a phony, smoke-and-mirrors life that fools us. Reminds of the silliness of reality TV. A vast majority of what happens on these shows is completely manufactured and totally manipulated. You can call stuff like “The Bachelor” and “The Real Housewives” a lot of things. Reality is not one of them. But I digress. 

What we fall for so often is no more real that reality TV. We get sucked into a counterfeit existence that falls far short that what God has for us. How good is the real deal? Well, Jesus said Himself it was the whole reason He came. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” (Jn 10:10). Nothing stingy about the life Christ supplies. He’s talking about a fill-it-to-the-brim-and-running-down-the-sides kind of life. A fabulous reminder how eternal life starts NOW! It’s not something we receive on the other side of eternity. 

God’s Word is chockfull of wisdom regarding wealth. Earlier in this same letter, Paul tells Tim how an unhealthy desire to pile up cash is a trap and how greed is actually human root rot (1Tim 6:9-10). In His most famous sermon, Jesus says we’re to stop falling for the fool’s gold of earthly good but make eternal investments. Wherever I make my investment, I can be sure my heart will be there too (Mt 6:19-21). 

In a heartbreaking conversation, Jesus encourages a wealthy young entrepreneur to sell off his portfolio and donate all the proceeds to help others, “and you would have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (Mt 19:21; Lk 18:22). Sadly he refuses to divest. Elsewhere, Jesus tells a famous story about a rich but foolish farmer who is worried about the future. After a record-breaking harvest, he invests in massive grain silos only to have God tip him off that he won’t live through the night. “So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God” (Mt 21:21).

In each of these instances, people had the opportunity of being givers. Present tense generosity that builds a future foundation and boomerangs back with abundant life. Delayed gratification AND immediate satisfaction. The ultimate both/and deal! Check out how the Message drops this knowledge. “If they do that, they’ll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life” (v19 The Message). Hoarding for Jesus is a win for others, a win for you, a win later, and a win now.