1 Timothy 6:17 “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.”

Some people are not changed very much by their wealth. You may know that billionaire investor Warren Buffet is among the wealthiest people in the world. Yet he lives in a $250,000 house. He drives a Cadillac, it’s true, but we all know that the label doesn’t communicate the same luxury it once did, and Buffet will keep driving the same car for 10 years before he trades it in on a new one. Money may be the root of all kinds of evil, but it doesn’t spoil everyone.

Then there are the train wrecks. Child stars on television evolve into brats. Money and fame corrupt them. By the time they reach young adulthood they are so arrogant and in love with themselves that they have respect for no one else. They are rude. They act inappropriately in public. Many lottery winners go so crazy with spending that tens of millions of dollars disappear in no time. In the end they are poorer than before they hit the jackpot.

The corrupting power of money is nothing new. Earlier in this chapter Paul had warned Timothy, “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.” Some, however, get to be rich rather innocently. Maybe they were born into it. Maybe it was the side-effect of hard work and ingenuity. Still, they need Paul’s warning.

The first thing the wealthy need to hear is, “Don’t let your wealth make you arrogant.” It may make you different, but it doesn’t make you better or more important than anyone else. The Greek word behind “arrogant” refers to an attitude of extremely high regard for oneself that the Greeks actually considered a virtue. They highly valued assertiveness, strong self-confidence. They wanted the brash self-promoter. They didn’t see much use in humility or gentleness. To them those were signs of weakness.

We don’t have to be that wealthy to be affected by the temptation to arrogance. Comedian Dave Barry once noted that the person who is nice to you, but is not nice to the waiter at the restaurant, is not a nice person. When we notice a little economic class distinction between ourselves and the people who serve us, somehow we get a big head.

A second temptation may change us for the worse. Paul warns the rich not “to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain…” It is a godly thing to use our money wisely. It makes sense to spend less than we make, to have something in savings, to invest for retirement. You can keep it in the bank, or invest it in the stock market, or bury it in the back yard if that makes you feel better.

But wealth is always uncertain. Banks fail, stock markets crash, and a sink hole could open up in the middle of the back yard and swallow the secret stash of cash in a single gulp. The point is that wealth makes a fine tool, but it makes a terrible god. No matter how careful you are, you can’t count on it to be there when you need it.

We all know that feeling of security when you have something left over at the end of the month, or your savings has grown a bit, or the latest statement for your retirement account reveals it is worth much more. And we all know that panicked feeling, maybe only slightly, when it looks like you are a little short for the month, or the stock market drops 500 points a couple of days in a row. “Don’t let your wealth change you,” Paul would say. “Don’t let it convince you that it is going to take care of you.”            

Or, as he teaches us here, “Command those who are rich…to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” The place to put our hope is in God. Is that so hard to understand? He has richly provided us with our lives. He has richly provided us with a Savior. He has richly provided us with the forgiveness of our sins. He has richly provided us with faith. He has richly provided us with everlasting life. And if he has provided us with all that, why should we not trust him to provide us with the little things we need to live each day? A word to the wealthy: Don’t let your wealth change you–how you see yourself, your neighbor, or your Lord.