BE WILLING TO SHARE AND LAY UP TREASURE FOR THE COMING AGE
Apostle Paul teaches the importance of willingly sharing our possessions with others in need because all we have in this world belongs to God, and all money, materials, time and work have been given to each of us from Him so as to bless others in need ... God wants us to put this into practice, though it has been very much neglected in churches.
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, which God will bring about in his own time – God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honour and might for ever. Amen.
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. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1TIMOTHY6：6 -19.
Our world is filled with so much evil, suffering, death and unfairness. How could a loving God allow the weak and the poor to continually suffer under the evil world system? Why does He allow the innocent to undergo terrible trauma? Why does God not intervene in some situations?
These are questions that we as believers have grappled with at some point in our walk with the Lord. Although we have biblical answers for these questions, whenever we are confronted with these stern realities, we can’t help but ask the same questions over and over again.
My deep involvement (through intercession and financial support) in the battles of our dear sister Mary Jane’s selfless, 20+ years’ ministry to the poor and the disadvantaged in the Philippines, has compelled me to revisit these questions many times (Move to Mary Jane’s ministry reports).
Man’s original sin plunged us into every kind of suffering, —plagues, chronic illnesses, lifelong disabilities, emotional disorders, financial disasters, natural- and man-made disasters, pains, sorrows and death. Behind man’s Fall is the enemy of God, Satan, who aimed in his heart to exalt himself:
I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. (Is. 14:13-14)
Satan has deceived men, and have led men to reject God, the only source of life and the truth. Men have subsequently redefined sin and distorted divine law in favour of themselves. Thus, even if men have no conviction of sin, in other words, no realisation of their own wrongs, it still brings the automatic consequences of suffering and death that will pervade throughout human history ‘until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ’, i.e., the Judgment Day when God finalises the fulfilment of prophecy in our day and when the Messiah’s millennial reign is inaugurated.
In our long suffering and sinful human history, God has given each individual free will to choose His way or the other alternative, i.e., Satan’s way. God has also given a lot of opportunities for us to choose our way. God wants all of us to choose His way of blessings and eternal life:
See, I set before you today life and prosperity… For I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase… But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. …This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live. (De.30:15-19)
The principle laid out in these verses should be applied to every human being although He initially addressed these commandments to the Israelites. In our lives, we may sometimes choose to go the wrong way with severe consequences.
However, God may allow this to happen by divine appointment, or as divine chastisement in order to mould our character into the likeness of Christ. On the other hand, in our sinful society, the person who is suffering is not necessarily responsible for his or her own suffering as God warned that sin affects not just the sinner but the people around him/her and even offspring as well:
Your basket and your kneading trough… The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land…your flocks. (De.28:17-18)
In the passage quoted at the beginning Apostle Paul teaches the importance of willingly sharing our possessions with others in need because all we have in this world belongs to God, and all money, materials, time and work have been given to each of us from Him so as to bless others in need —the disadvantaged, the poor, the sick, the orphans, the persecuted, the victims and so on.
God wants us to put this into practice, though it has been very much neglected in churches. As Christ showed us examples of loving each other, so we should ‘carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ’ (Ga.6:2). The principle of the following command would be a good reminder for all of us in this world ‘until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ’:
There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be open-handed towards your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land. (De.15:11)