1 Timothy chapter 6

vs 1

What people expect from a slave is respect. It might also be a bit of a fatalistic attitude - that if God has put you in the position of a slave, then be the best darn slave you can be. But Paul puts a different slant on it - if people see a Christian slave doing the right thing, then it will give them respect for God's name and the teaching of Christ. Now, that's not always how it works, but it is a generally accepted principle.

vs 2

And this is the sort of verse you expect to be followed by "And masters, if you've got slaves that are also saved, then free them - they're your brothers!". But no such verse exists (except the suggestion of it in Philemon).

The gospel isn't tied to one particular culture - the gospel is counter-cultural in every human culture, but usually has enough touching points to show its truth. How much of our own culture we should assimilate is a difficult question. I mean, we are always going to have part of it in us, and if we try to replace it we usually just end up replacing it with a false Christian culture (based on whatever our warped perceptions are of the first century greek/jewish culture we read about in the Bible).

Slavery to me is like divorce. God does not allow it because it is good - he allows for it because he is gracious. God does not want anyone to divorce, and in the same way doesn't want people to own slaves. But people are going to do it, and Christians are even going to do it (and Jews were even going to do it way back when). So God is gracious enough to show us how to deal with these matters when we get stuck in them, rather than leave us out in the cold.

vs 3-4

Could these verse numbers be in any worse places? Anyway, the point they make is powerful. People who are disagreeing with Jesus' teaching, and who are teaching things which are different to Paul and to Christ, these people are teaching out of their own brains, and so they know nothing. Then Paul shows how to pick these people - it is their unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrelsome topics. A focus on particular points of the gospel is fine, and a striving to understand some of the more difficult aspects is commendable. After all, the gospel is a mystery, and although it has been revealed to us, we still get stuck on topics like the Trinity, eschatology, the deep bones of salvation, the Holy Spirit and so on.

But a focus on conspiracies and on debatable things doesn't cause people to grow in Christ - it causes strife, and evil suspicions (like "are they really saved if they don't believe the Pope is the antichrist?") and malicious talk ("that guy's such a nutter, he can't stop talking about the Catholics controlling the Muslims to blow up the Twin Towers"). Envy is one I don't quite get - I'm open to suggestions there.

vs 5

Constant friction is a bad thing for any organisation - but in a family like the church, it is absolutely devastating. The worst thing is that this friction isn't even natural to the church! It's caused by false teachings by men who have a corrupt mind! I don't know how many of them think that it's a path to financial gain, but I will say there's a hell of a lot of crappy books out there that they write and sell.

vs 6

This attitude of Paul's completely turns capitalism and materialism on its head. The greatest gain cannot be measured with a dollar sign or a percentage. The greatest gain is not to get more money than anyone else - it is to have an attitude where you are content with what you have. Then, suddenly, you really do have more than the person who has so much. And with a healthy walk with God, that gives you contentment and eternal salvation. You're pretty rich if that's what you've got.

vs 7

Even non-Christians say "you can't take it with you" but I wonder how many of them actually let that rule their lives. Christians know where they're going, why they can't take it with them and why it doesn't matter even now, but they still live as though they can.

vs 8

Paul had learned the secret of contentment. And a content heart is capable of serving God in a way that one which is striving for all sorts of things never can.

vs 9

People who want to get rich seem to do a lot of falling. It's not the money that is the problem - it is the desires that come with money. Money brings temptation - usually a temptation to use it in a dishonest way (that is, any way which falsely suggests it's your money in the first place). It traps us (compare striving with contentment, and see the trap that has been built for the person who strives for money). And the foolish and harmful desires that money brings are many and plentiful! People desire a bigger house, a nicer car, a bigger family. They don't do it because they want to rule evil empires. They just want these things because they make life more comfortable. But what a price they pay! What sort of decisions to they have to make to get those things? Less time with that family. More mercenary attitudes in their moneymaking. A false understanding of objects, how we end up with them and what their importance is. Separation from God!

vs 10

There has never been a truer word about money ever spoken. Money represents power, influence, security, supply, plenty, comfort, measurable gain and worst of all happiness. It's a whole bunch of lies bundled into little metal coins and pieces of paper! How much more obvious could its falseness be! Money is not powerful, it is not influential. It does not bring security, plenty, happiness or comfort. It is a false measure of gain.

God is powerful. God is influential. God is security, supply, plenty, comfort. God is joy. And our godliness and our contentment are true measures of gain.

I find this a damn hard lesson to learn. There is so much stuff to want in our society. It is geared to feed it to us and convince us of our need. It's hard to be content. But that contentment is a vital part of the gospel. And I think only God, the great supplier, can bring us that contentment.

Of course, we shouldn't build a false dichotomy between contentment and striving. People who strive for money are not wrong because they are striving - they are wrong because they are striving for the wrong thing. Striving is a part of contentment, and we should be constantly striving for God. If we plateau out, or if we stagnate, we will not be content in our walk with God. And I think that's an important truth for our society, because we've got this false idea of reaching a point and then being content. But it doesn't work in spirituality any more than it works in money-mongering.