1 Timothy 6:17 – The rich in the current eon

Those who are rich in the current eon be charging not be haughty, nor yet to rely on the dubiousness of riches, but on God Who is tendering us all things richly for our enjoyment.

Here Paul returns to the subject he touched on earlier in verse 9: wealth. That was about people who strive to become rich. Such a purpose is a source of danger and of harmful desires, Paul argued. But here in verse 17 it is not about people who want to get rich, but about people who are actually rich.

There are many examples of people in the Bible who were extremely rich. Consider, for example, the patriarchs Abraham and Isaac, of whom we read several times that they were very rich (Gen. 13:2; 24:35; 26:12,13). Wealth that is directly related to the abundant blessing that God gave them.

The Bible itself has nothing against wealth or being rich. What the Bible warns about is putting your trust in money and wealth and the haughty attitude that entails. Wealth in the current eon is by definition uncertain. That’s how you get it, and that’s how you lose it. And besides, money can’t buy the things that really matter. The best things in life are free!

Delen: