How to BE Rich

“They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (1Tim 6:18).

God wants you to be rich. So much so that He commands it through the Apostle Paul. Sweet! Who couldn’t use a little more jingle in their pocket? Well, pump your brakes before you believe the man from Tarsus is all about the so-called prosperity gospel. Not even close. Nope, instead of turning Almighty God into supernatural vending machine, He wants us to realize He’s ALREADY blessed us. God wants us to be rich. NOT get rich. BE rich. So since we’re ALREADY rich, what are we supposed to do with our wealth? 

In a letter to his protege Timothy, Paul passes along God’s rules for the rich over in chapter six. Specifically verses 17-18. He begins by warning against getting cocky because of cash. Don’t get duped by the money mirage. Realize that our incredibly generous God wants us to enjoy all that He gives. Here in verse 18, the apostle tells us what to do now that we’ve been on the receiving end of supernatural blessing. “They are to be do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share” (v18). God wants you to be rich.

Before we go any further, I need to give credit where credit is due. And that credit goes to Andy Stanley. He literally wrote the book on this topic. Okay, God inspired Paul to write the verse that inspired Andy to write the book. But back in 2013, Andy wrote “How to Be Rich: It’s Not What You Have but What You Do with What You Have.” Each year he preaches a message on generosity he calls “Be Rich.” A huge chunk of what I’m writing has Andy’s very talented (and generous!) fingerprints all over it.

Before we dig into more of God’s rules for the rich, it’s probably a good idea to understand what’s going on in this letter. Paul is writing to Tim, the young pastor he’s left in charge as the servant/leader of the Ephesian church (1Tim 1:1-3). The apostle has hit the road to Macedonia, probably to help churches there in places like Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea. These were all stops on Paul’s second Mediterranean tour (Acts 16:11-17:15). While he’s gone, Paul makes Tim the lead pastor in Ephesus.

But the Ephesian church is a shadow of her former self. Paul had spent three years in the city telling everyone who would listen about Jesus through blood, sweat, and tears (Acts 20:31). But not long after he left, a team of spiritual hucksters weaseled their way into the congregation and distracted folks from following Jesus (1Tim 1:3-7; 4:1-3). The sad part is that Paul could see it coming and warned the Ephesian leaders (Acts 20:29-30).

These false teachers completely corrupted God’s teaching about money. They saw religion as a get-rich-quick scheme (1Tim 6:5). In their mind, there’s no business like God’s business. Paul reminds Pastor Tim of the dangers of greed and how it results in a fatal case of human root rot (1Tim 6:9-10). With that in mind, this church desperately needs to correct the wealthy members of the congregation about what God expects from those who are “rich in this present age” (1Tim 6:17). 

Maybe you think you’re off the hook on this one. You certainly don’t feel “rich in this present age.” Paul MUST be talking to people Donald Trump and Warren Buffett, right? Yes, but I’ve got a sneaking suspicion he’s talking to you too. I KNOW he’s talking to me. Here are the numbers. If you make $40,000 each year, you’re in the top four percent of wage earners in the world. Increase that to $48,000 annually, and you’re in the top ONE percent of money makers on the planet. I’m no statistician, but I’m pretty sure that makes most of us “rich in this present age.”

So if that’s you (and it most certainly is me), the apostle tells us “to do good” (v18). This is actually one word in the original language: agathoergeo. It’s a compound word meaning “excellent (agatho-) work (-ergeo).” It means to show kindness, provide benefits, be generous with your possessions, or act rightly. God is calling us to do what people desperately need, not what they necessarily want. There’s an importance difference between the two. In the words of a Spike Lee joint, “Do the Right Thing.”

Paul then tells us “to be rich in good works” (v18). The Greek verb here (Gr. plouteo) paints a picture having in abundance, being richly supplied, and affluent. This is the fourth time the former Pharisee uses a variation on the word “rich” in these two verses. “As for the rich (Gr. plousios)” (1Tim 6:17). We shouldn’t put our trust “on the uncertainty of riches (Gr. ploutos)” (1Tim 6:17). Instead put our hope in “God, who richly (Gr. plousios) us with everything to enjoy” (1Tim 6:17). Last but not least, he commands us “to be rich (Gr. plouteo) in good works” (v18).

Each one of these words comes from a root word that means to be filled and overflowing. Picture someone filling a glass of beer from the tap and the excess brew is spilling over the sides. It’s having so much that it’s more than a bit sloppy. Are you so generous that your blessing is just a little messy? Jesus even commanded us to be sloppy givers so that our Heavenly Dad will overwhelm us in His blessing, “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put in your lap” (Lk 9:38). Running over. In your lap. Sure sounds like a messy blessing to me!

Since I AM rich, how am I supposed to BE rich? Specifically, Paul commands us to overflow “in good works” (v18). If I’m wealthy, let me make the Forbes 400 of helping others. As a matter of fact, we can do that no matter what kind of 401k we have socked away. I can bless without a stack of Benjamins. I can help. I can pray. I can sit with a friend who’s hurting. To “be rich in good works” is shine God’s light and spread His salt wherever we go. Make sure the light is bright and you’re not stingy with the salt. That’s what it means to be rich.

Make no mistake about why we do do good works. It’s not to pile up enough brownie points so God will save us. Helping others isn’t like building up frequent flyer miles. It doesn’t work that way. We’re not saved BY our good works but to DO good works. That’s exactly Paul’s point in one of the most famous passages on grace (Eph 2:8-10). Jesus worked to save us so that we could respond with good works as an act of worship. In other words, Christ did the ultimate good work that we could never do for ourselves. 

Paul goes on to give us a couple of ways we can be rich. We’re “to be generous and ready to share” (v18). I can tell you that after an in-depth word study of the Greek here, the original language means…wait for it…“to be generous and ready to share!” Instead of being a tightfisted miser, God calls His people to be extravagant givers. Openhanded. Unselfish. 

Here are a couple of words that are going to make a few of us uncomfortable. Liberal. Promiscuous. Yeah, you read that right. If the church was truly liberal in her giving, we wouldn’t need to “Feel the Bern” in an election year. What would our communities, towns, and cities look like if God’s people were recklessly promiscuous with our resources to those marginalized by society? That’s exactly why Jesus said, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required” (Lk 12:48). Be liberal. Be promiscuous. With your resources, that is. That’s what it means to be rich.

Here’s the big idea. God overflows to us so that we can overflow to others. Jesus is liberal and lavish to me so that I can be liberal and lavish to others. The lyrics of John Mark McMillan’s song “How He Loves” makes me wonderfully uncomfortable. He describes the grace of Jesus as “heaven meets earth with a sloppy wet kiss.” A few thousand years before that, King David’s wrote what many believe is his best song ever. He sings about how God is so unbelievably generous toward him that “my cup overflows” and “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (Ps 23:5-6). Jesus is incredibly messing in His blessing to you and me. Why shouldn’t we be the same?

God has created us in His image (Gen 1:26-27) and is conforming us into the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). A big part of His image is as the ultimate Giver. God the Father gave His Son. God the Son gave His life. God is ridiculously generous to you and me. Sloppy. Messy. Liberal. Promiscuous. He’s calling us to do the same. He’s calling us to BE rich.