Get a grip!

“Let them (believers who are rich) do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19 NKJV)

Wealth is relative. Compared to Bill Gates who is a multi-billionaire, I’m poor. Compared to the average citizen of East Timor, whose income is around $1 per day, I am very wealthy. However, if this verse were written in today’s economy, I don’t think God would adjust for relativity.

His point is that we lay hold or “get a grip” on the reality of eternity. This life is just a blip, a very short preparation for a very long future (if eternity could be described in those terms). We are here for a little while. Being a have or a have-not is pointless. Instead, what treasures am I storing up? What investments am I making with what I have? How long will they last?

I’m thinking about the man who defied “you can’t take it with you” by being buried in his Cadillac. How silly is that! Or those who are so concerned that their wealth is left to people they hate that they leave it all to their pets. Get a grip, indeed.

My stuff has no eternal value. I’ve been given eternal life, but material things will not survive. That has some implications. I’m not to be obsessed with stuff, either to collect it, hoard it, preserve it, or worry about it. At the same time, God is concerned that I be a good manager or steward of all that He entrusts to me. I’m to take care of this stuff, use it wisely, give it away if He prompts me to do so, but even that is secondary. The main focus of my life is to do good things and be generous with all resources.

I note from the way these verses are worded that the process of doing good helps me to get a grip on eternal matters. It is not the other way around. Here, action produces attitude; obedience restores right thinking. Having an eternal perspective will develop as I do what God says. Share, do good, and I will be able to get a grip.