{"id":705,"date":"2013-10-07T08:29:37","date_gmt":"2013-10-07T12:29:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ctpchurch.org\/tw\/?p=705"},"modified":"2013-10-07T08:30:16","modified_gmt":"2013-10-07T12:30:16","slug":"09292013%e6%b4%bb%e5%87%ba%e7%be%8e%e5%a5%bd%e7%9a%84%e7%94%9f%e5%91%bd-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/2013\/10\/09292013%e6%b4%bb%e5%87%ba%e7%be%8e%e5%a5%bd%e7%9a%84%e7%94%9f%e5%91%bd-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"09292013\u6d3b\u51fa\u7f8e\u597d\u7684\u751f\u547d-eng"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cLiving the Good Life\u201d
\nLuke 16:19-31; 1 Timothy 6:6-19<\/p>\n

Imagine a young man \u2014 let\u2019s just call him Timothy \u2014 who\u2019s just finished his education and is headed out into the real world. He\u2019s bright, talented and loaded with potential. Our American culture will encourage Timothy to dream several dreams.
\nFirst of all, he needs to be happy: A recent survey informs us that 84 percent of Americans describe themselves as \u201cpretty happy\u201d or \u201cvery happy.\u201d If Timothy is to be happy, the findings suggest that to be merry he should marry, be a Republican, an evangelical Protestant, locate himself in the upper-middle class, live in a warm climate, be a Caucasian of course, and be a senior citizen. Well, Timothy is 22 so he\u2019s no senior citizen, but perhaps he can be happy anyway.
\nAnd then, he needs to be healthy: Just like a herd of Darwin-driven antelope, there\u2019s little room in our society for the sick, weak and frail. Our magazine covers, billboards and TV screens all speak to our obsession with health and beauty. So young Timothy is going to hit the gym, wax those brows, apply some of the Smile Brite tooth strips, and look to win friends and influence people who do all of the same.
\nFinally, he needs to be wealthy: The same happiness study reports that \u201chappiness rises in a nearly straight line through eight levels of annual family income.\u201d We dream of riches, not rags. The American culture encourages Timothy to dream of having enough money to buy all the flickering, fashionable, floating and four-wheeled toys he wants, plus a comfortable nest egg in the bank to support a snowbird\u2019s two-home retirement and plenty of time for golf vacations.
\nIsn\u2019t this the good life that singer Bobby McFerrin sings about: \u201cDon\u2019t Worry, Be Happy\u201d? Indeed, I think it\u2019s very important that we ask ourselves this question: \u201cAre we living the good life?\u201d In your more reflective times, are you happy, for example, with the lifestyle that you have chosen for yourself? Down through the ages, the sophisticated and the unsophisticated alike have asked themselves this question: \u201cWhat is the good life?\u201d Is it the examined life? Is it the life of pleasure? Is it the \u201chighlife\u201d that some brewery company tries to promote, with its commercials reminding us of an early episode of The Simpsons, as Homer exclaimed, \u201cAnd to think I turned to a cult for mindless happiness when I had beer all along\u201d? In this passage in 1 Timothy, the apostle Paul describes the good life for us from God\u2019s perspective.
\nThe first description of the good life here has to do with \u201cgodliness combined with contentment\u201d (6:6). Why? Paul tells us next that it\u2019s because \u201cwe brought nothing into the world so that we can take nothing out of it\u201d (6:7). Or as the familiar saying goes: \u201cNo one has ever seen a hearse pulling a U-Haul!\u201d Some of you may remember Alexander the Great of Macedon, who was tutored by Aristotle until the age of 16 and, by the age of 30, had been undefeated in battle and created one of the largest empires of the ancient world. And, as legend has it, when he died at the age of 32, he requested two holes be put on the sides of his coffin, to have his hands outstretched, to show the world that even though he had gained the world, he could not take anything with him.
\nI believe the reason Paul admonishes us to live a godly and content life is because he is well aware of the problem that we often have with money \u2014 we always want more. And just in case you thought the love of money was a modern day problem, Horace wrote in 65 B.C. these words: \u201cIf possible, honestly; if not, somehow, make money!\u201d
\nIn fact, Jesus knew of our problem with money so well that he talked much about money: sixteen of the 38 parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions; and in the gospels, an amazing one out of ten verses, and that\u2019s 288 in all, deal directly with the subject of money. In the whole Bible, it offers some 500 verses on prayer, a little bit less than 500 verses on faith, but more than 2000 verses on money and possessions!
\nNotice here that Paul didn\u2019t say \u201cMoney is the root of all evil\u201d \u2014 as most people often mistakenly presume \u2014 but \u201cThe love of money is a root of all kinds of evil\u201d (6:10). And so, the problem lies not in money itself, but in the love of money.
\nHaddon Robinson, a popular preacher and seminary professor on homiletics, writes in his sermon entitled, \u201cA Good Lesson from a Bad Example,\u201d these words: \u201dFor every verse in the Bible that tells us the benefits of wealth, there are ten that tell us the danger of wealth, for money has a way of binding us to what is physical and temporal, and blinding us to what is spiritual and eternal. It\u2019s a bit like the fly and the flypaper. The fly lands on the flypaper and says, \u2018My flypaper.\u2019 When the flypaper says, \u2018My fly,\u201d the fly is dead. It is one thing to have money, another for money to have you. And when it does, it will kill you.\u201d
\nThere is an old Jack Benny joke in which a mugger accosts Benny and says, \u201cYour money or your life!\u201d There\u2019s a brief silence, and the mugger says, \u201cWell?\u201d Jack Benny says, \u201cDon\u2019t rush me, I\u2019m thinking. I\u2019m thinking!\u201d
\nIt\u2019s been well said that \u201cMoney will buy a bed but not sleep; books but not brains; food but not appetite; finery but not beauty; a house but not a home; medicine but not health; luxuries but not culture; amusements but not happiness; religion but not salvation \u2014 a passport to everywhere but heaven.\u201d
\nPaul\u2019s teaching here is quite simple, in that he believes contentment is not the fulfillment of what you want, but the realization of how much you already have \u2014 the realization that God has already given you everything that you need for your present happiness. In other words, whatever we have, we have because God in his grace and generosity has given it to us already. When we realize this, there comes into our lives a joyful gratitude for what we do have and so we can be free from resentment and anxiety over what we don\u2019t have.
\nLet me give you an example: We walk on the beach to watch the beautify sunset and as we watch it we don\u2019t call out, \u201cA little more orange over to the right, please,\u201d or \u201cWould you mind giving us less purple in the back?\u201d No, we don\u2019t say that. We just enjoy it. There are always-different sunsets that we watch as they are, and we are in awe with God\u2019s creation and God\u2019s creative power. We do well to do the same with what we have already.
\nPaul\u2019s second way of thinking about the good life here has to do with what he calls \u201cfighting the good fight of faith\u2026by pursuing righteous, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness\u201d (6:11-12). Why? Because he believes somehow these qualities would bring a sense of contentment far beyond what worldly wealth can bring and that we are to live the good life by focusing our energy on our spiritual progress.
\nThe word picture here of a fight is an excellent metaphor because this spiritual progress often requires intense effort and with much opposition from many sides. It\u2019s obvious that we have only so much energy each day and at the end of the day we are tired \u2014 drained from all the energy that we have spent. Yet, how much energy have we invested in our faith? We are fighting the fight of success. We are fighting the fight of upward mobility. We are fighting the fight of raising our kids and maybe even our grandkids. But are we fighting the good fight of our faith?
\nIt\u2019s a little bit like having a big bucket and several big rocks, a pile of gravel and some sand and your goal is to try to put all that into the bucket. You know that if you put the gravel and sand in first, you are not going to have any room left for the rocks. But, if you start with the big rocks, then you can pour in the gravel and then the sand, then there is room for all of it. Indeed, the rocks are the big things \u2014 the important things \u2014 in our lives, while the gravel and sand are the less important things. So we\u2019d need to start with the rocks each day and you\u2019ll find that you\u2019ll have room for all the small stuff of life.
\nAccording to Paul, the big and important things here have to do not only with pursuing \u201crighteous, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness,\u201d but also with taking \u201chold of the eternal life\u201d and making \u201cthe good confession in the presence of many witnesses and in the presence of God\u201d (6:11-13). This is an excellent example of which had already been made for us by Jesus before Pontius Pilate: as he lost everything, even his own life, when he took \u201chold of the eternal life\u201d and made \u201cthe good confession in the presence of many witnesses and in the presence of God.\u201d Yes, we are to live the good life by following the example of Jesus, because we cannot take anything which is not eternal with us, when we leave this place.
\nThe final way of thinking about the good life is addressed here specifically to \u201cthose who in the present age are rich,\u201d that they\u2019re \u201cnot to be haughty, or to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but rather on God who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment\u201d (6:17).
\nSome of you may remember a song a few years ago about a love relationship, and the first part of the song goes something like this: \u201cIf loving you is wrong, I don\u2019t wanna be right.\u201d Somehow I feel this sentiment is percolating underneath the surface of many Christian lives today: If loving money and loving my stuff is wrong, I really don\u2019t want to be right. Maybe we do need to step back just a little bit and ask ourselves this question: \u201cWho owns this stuff?\u201d Are they God\u2019s? Or are they mine?
\nThe problem with the rich man in Jesus\u2019 parable in Luke obviously was not because that he was rich, but because he was blind to the needs of the poor. To be \u201chaughty\u201d is to be \u201cproud,\u201d \u201carrogant,\u201d or maybe even too \u201cself-sufficient.\u201d Even in Hades, while he was suffering, the rich man was still trying to throw his weight around and use Lazarus as his lackey to \u201cdip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am in agony in these flames\u201d (Luke 16:24); as he still tried to direct Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers to tell them to repent. But, of course, Abraham would not have any of it.
\nI believe the problem with most Christians is that we often equate wealth as a sign of God\u2019s favor, and poverty a sign of God\u2019s curse. We often say, \u201cI\u2019m blessed because I am rich.\u201d And that\u2019s the wrong attitude. Because, by saying so, we actually think God likes us better than he likes people with less. In God\u2019s Word, we are told to be humble instead of arrogant and, instead of finding our security in what we have, we are to remember that God is the one who gives us everything that we have to begin with.
\nNo, it is not that God wants all of us to be poor, but he does want us to be mindful of the poor and that we are to share with them our wealth. We are told here in 6:18 that \u201cthe rich is to do good\u201d (notice do good, not do well), \u201cto be rich in good works, generous and ready to share\u201d (6:18).
\nI believe St. Augustine, who lived in the 4th century, summed it up really well when he said: \u201cThose who wish to make room for the Lord must find pleasure not in private, but in common property. Redouble your charity. For, on account of things which each one of us possesses singly, wars exist, hatreds, discords, strifes among human beings, tumults, dissensions, scandals, sins, injustices and murders. On what account? On account of those things which each of us possesses singly. Do we fight over the things we posses in common? We inhale this air in common with others, we all see the sun in common.\u201d He says, \u201cBlessed therefore are those who make room for the Lord, so as not to take pleasure in private property. Let us therefore abstain from the possessions of private property \u2014 or from the love of it, if we cannot abstain from possession \u2014 and let us make room for the Lord.\u201d
\nIsn\u2019t that what Paul is trying to tell Timothy and in turn trying to tell us here today? As he sums up what he is trying to say, 6:19 gives us the reason why we should all listen: \u201cThus storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life that really is life.\u201d \u201cWhat\u2019s the good life?\u201d You ask. This is it! \u201cThe life that really is life.\u201d
\nOn January 1, 2002, twelve European countries switched their currency over to the euro. No longer do they use the lira, the franc, the Deutsche mark and so forth; but all twelve nations now conduct their business with the euro. We are told that the German government used shredding machines to shred all their old banknotes, the Austrians turned their shillings into 56 tons of compost.
\nAnd you know what? We, too, will face a currency switch one day \u2014 when we go to heaven, our currency will need to be switched from earthy currency to heavenly currency. No, that will not be the euro or even the dollar, but the heavenly currency has to do with what we have invested in God\u2019s work. Those who are rich in this world, who don\u2019t begin exchanging currency now, will find themselves poor in heaven. This is not to say our giving earns us our salvation, by no means at all, but it\u2019s to say that God calls us to live a life of giving while we live on earth, especially if we are well off \u2014 which probably includes most of us in this place!
\nBrothers and sisters, pursuing the good life has absolutely nothing to do with how much money one makes, but about \u201cgodliness and contentment.\u201d It\u2019s about \u201cfighting the good fight of the faith.\u201d It\u2019s about being \u201cgenerous, and ready to share\u201d \u2014 a life that is available to all people, no matter what their net worth. Isn\u2019t that the best way to pursue the good life?<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cLiving the Good Life\u201d Luke 16:19-31; 1 Timothy 6:6-19 Imagine a young man \u2014 let\u2019s just call him Timothy \u2014 who\u2019s just finished his education and is headed out into the real world. He\u2019s bright, talented and loaded with potential. Our American culture will encourage Timothy to dream several dreams. First of all, he needs […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=705"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/705\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ctpchurch.org\/tw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}