1 Timothy 6

Slavery (v. 1-2)
Paul again instructs slaves to obey their masters.  In fact, if the master is also a believer, then the slave should not show less respect to the master.

Looking back at the Old Testament, where Jewish slavery is more of an indentured servitude, we can infer that this is the model of slavery that Paul has in mind.  But I am not entirely convinced of that.  Paul writes to Timothy, who is in charge of a Gentile church in the Roman empire.  So, if we look at the standards of slavery in that context, this is disturbing.

But again, the greater context of 1 Timothy is to avoid major social discord.


Greed (v. 3-10)
Paul discusses money, in particular, the love of money.  Money itself is not bad, but the love of it is.  In other words, Paul addresses greed.

Paul's advice is to be content.  Contentment with godliness is "great gain".

I think this section has greater application to not just money.  It is easy to see the phenomenon with money, but it really addresses making idols of necessities in life.  There are things that are good in and of themselves (money, health, relationships, job, etc...), but the love of them could lead us to a bad spiritual place.  Paul's advice is to be content.

This section on money comes right after the discussion on slavery.  We can presume the slave-owners are wealthy people, or at least wealthier than the slaves that they own.  Putting these together, here is a command for the slave owners to not their love of money impact them.  I think this would have been read as a command to be nice to their slaves, particularly those that are Christian.

If we look back Jesus' statement that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God, this explains why - the love of money.

Final instructions to Timothy (v. 11-21)
As 1 Timothy winds down, Paul advises Timothy to "fight the good fight of faith".  He also states to advise those who are wealthy to put their trust in God.  Incidentally, this shows that wealth itself is not bad.

Taxes to Caesar (Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26)

Jesus gave several thinly-veiled parables about the Pharisees rejecting God.  So, in turn, the Pharisees sent spies to Jesus.  These include some Pharisee disciples as well as Herodians.

They ask Jesus whether it is acceptable to pay taxes to Caesar.

On one hand, it is a fair question.  It asks what are the civic duties for people of faith?  Can people of faith live under a secular law and an ecclesiastical one?

However, the question was not motivated by curiosity, but it contextually was a trap.  At this time, Jerusalem lay under Roman occupation.  If Jesus said it was wrong to pay taxes to Rome, then this would anger the Romans and would be viewed as inciting rebellion.  On the other, if Jesus said it was OK to give taxes to Rome, then this would be viewed as saying that Roman authority supersedes their religious one.  In other words, that God (Yahweh) was less important than Rome.  Likewise, the Romans worshipped their emperors so to give taxes to Rome might be viewed as saying God (Yahweh) is less important than the Roman gods.

The question also seems to assume that there is a conflict between paying taxes to Rome as well as authority under God.

Will Jesus blaspheme God or incite rebellion against Rome?  That is the crux of the question.

Jesus knows that it is a trap.  He again lets them answer first, which he applies.  This practice he used in the parables.

Jesus asks to see a denarius coin, which is used to pay the tax.  He asks whose face is on it.  The answer was Caesar's.  Jesus then status that give Caesar what belongs to Caesar and give to God what is God's.

By asking for the denarius coin first, Jesus skirts the issue.  No one can argue that the coin belongs to the Roman authority.

This answer catches them off guard and the spies are amazed.

The context was a trap, but the greater principle is that people of faith live under both the law of God and the law of the secular authorities, at least where there is no conflict.  In this context, paying taxes does not present a conflict between religious and secular duties.

So, practically speaking, what does this mean?

(1) Pay taxes.
The government issued the money and requires taxes with the money it issued.  The government owns the tax money and it would be stealing to withhold it.

(2) Tithe to God.
Different churches have different tithing requirements, but usually involving ten percent.  Some churches might only require official members or leaders to tithe the full ten percent.  Some churches go even further and say do not tithe to the church if one has credit card debt.

Regardless, it is an ecclesiastical duty within the confines of the church and must be done separate and apart from the paying of taxes to the secular authorities.


(3) submit to the secular authorities
At least in the context of paying taxes.

The rich man (Mark 10:17-31; Matthew 19:16-30; Luke 18:18-30)

A man runs up to Jesus and falls at his knees.  He asks Jesus, "what must I do to inherit  eternal life?". Jesus says that the man knows the commandments - do not lie, steal, murder and honor hour parents.  The man responds that he has done all these.  Jesus then explains that he lacks one thing - he should give everything he has to the door.

The man went away sad because he had great wealth.

Jesus then explains that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.

At this, the disciples ask who can be saved?  To which Jesus responds that with God, all things are possible.

I do think that think that this story stands that Jesus hates wealth.  As we know, on other occasions God blesses people with wealth.  Rather, this story highlights the need for God to help us unravel get rid of the things that prevent us from seeing his glory in our lives.

The man had great wealth, which he could not part with.  In fact, we see that the wealth was a deal-breaker from following Jesus.  Between Jesus and his wealth, he choose his wealth.  This envious heart is probably why Jesus' prescription for this man to inherit eternal life was to get rid of his wealth.  

After the eye of the needle phrase, Jesus says that with God, all things are possible.  This includes putting a camel through the eye of a needle or getting a rich man into the Kingdom of Heaven.  This is an invitation for us to ask God to help us do what it takes.

The shrewd manager (Luke 16:1-14)

Jesus tells a parable about a man who manages the finances of a rich man.  The manager is about to lose his job, so he decides to cut deals with the people who owe the master.  The manager changes the debts and "cooks the books" and reducing the debt of those who the master.  In essence, he is giving the master's property away to his friends.

Again,  this is a parable and should not be interpreted literally.  Jesus is not endorsing embezzlement.

Rather, the explanation that Jesus provides is that people should use worldly wealthy to win friends.  Jesus then explains that no one can serve two masters, either God or money.

Putting it all together, Jesus is saying that worldly wealth should be given away.  Further, giving away money shows service to God.  All the worldly wealth we will ever have is actually on loan to us from God.  What does God want us to do?  Give it away to win friends.

The Pharisees hate this teaching because they loved money.

The Holy Spirit and money (Luke 12:1-34)

A large crowd gathers around Jesus.  The people are clamoring over each other to get to Jesus.

Jesus first talks to the disciples.  He warns them about the yeast of the Pharisees, but also to not worry about those who can kill the body, but do no more harm.  Rather, acknowledge Jesus before men and Jesus will acknowledge you before the angels of God.  From another parable, we learned that the angels of God will sift the good harvest from the bad.  So, this is important.

Holy Spirit

Jesus also mentions that people who insult Jesus will be forgiven but those that insult the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.  This is a strange statement to make.  My general understanding is that the Holy Spirit is a a necessary component of grace and forgiveness.  This reason is not because it is more important than Christ, but that one's attitude about it one's heart in view of Christ.  

For instance, lots of people think that Jesus is a "great" man.  Even Muslims acknowledge that Jesus was at the very least a prophet of God.  Many contemporary people in the Western world, including atheists, view Jesus as a great moral leader.  However, they deny of divinity of Christ and in short, cannot accept Christ.  In other words, they deny that the Holy Spirit was with Christ or that it can come to them.  It is this "blaspheming" the Holy Spirit that these verses refer to.  We can talk about Christ all we want.  Atheists and Muslims like non-Holy Spirit Christ and that is the difference.

Money
A man in the crowd says and possibly interrupts Jesus.  "Jesus, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."

Jesus responds with a warning about greed and discusses a parable.

A rich who is already rich gets a great crop production.  He decides to build extra storehouses and barns to store this wealth in.  He then decides to take life easy and "eat, drink, and be merry".  God is angry with him and tells him that he will die that night and asks who will receive wealth.

The parable directly ties back to the question about inheritance.  One possibly wonders that maybe Jesus is describing the very situation that the man who asked the question had.  Perhaps his father was very wealthy, was self-centered, and store his wealth.  When he died, his children squabbled over it.  However, this is ll supposition as the text is silent about this.  At the very least, the parable would have reminded the questioner that the wealth he squabbles over came from a dead loved one.  

Note, this parable does not stand for that it is immoral to store up grain, have wealth, or be rich.  No, it does not.  Jesus explains the parable's meaning in verses 22-34, although only the disciples get the interpretation.  Jesus explains to his disciples that they should not worry about material possessions.  Do not even worry about what one will eat or drink.  God knows we need all these things, but if we seek the kingdom, they will all be added to us.  In this passage, Jesus refers to Solomon, who we all remember was a very rich man.