If we are utterly truthful with ourselves I wonder where our real loyalties lie?

What do I mean by that?

We live in a country which, despite its ups and downs, is a land of unprecedented riches - we only have to see the lengths to which those seeking escape from the poverty in their native land are prepared to go to in order to reach this country. Having travelled and worked in the regions where many of these people are coming from, this truly is a land of unparalleled riches, a land seen by many as flowing with milk and honey.

Of course there is poverty in this land and we don't have to travel very far from here to find extreme poverty and hardship but overall, we have a great deal to be thankful for but blessed as we are, these material blessings have their downsides.

I was struck by a comment made to me many years ago by a missionary returning from rural Uganda to college in Birmingham. Their comment was a sad reflection on modern life in the developed world.

In Africa, the people had nothing, just sufficient by way of food and water to survive on with just a little left over and yet the people all walked around smiling. They had time for each other, they stopped and talked and there was a great sense of community. In England, even the poorest people had wealth beyond even the wildest dreams of the people in Uganda and yet, as you walked around the centre of Birmingham on a Saturday afternoon, you wouldn't have believed it. The people looked fed-up and miserable, nobody spoke to each other and there was no apparent sense of community.

I shall refrain from any comments about the centre of Birmingham which I have to admit is enough to make anyone look miserable because we could say the same about most other UK towns and cities.

We have such rich material blessings but at what price and this brings us directly to our reading from Paul's letter to the young Timothy.

Ephesus, where Timothy was ministering to the young church was renowned as a city of great riches and if we were to journey back in time to ancient Ephesus, we would immediately notice one significant difference. For what we would have found is a much greater divide between rich and poor than is evident even here in Britain. Things were much more feudal almost, you were either very rich or very poor, with little by way of a 'middle class' and most of the very poor were slaves to the very rich and clearly wealth and money were proving a significant stumbling block for the infant church and its leader.

Paul begins by tackling a very specific problem within what we can best describe very loosely as the 'religious' community although we must use the word religious in the very loosest of senses here.

At that time apart from the Levitical priesthood who served at the Jerusalem Temple, there was no established stipendiary ministry in the sense that we know it today. Teaching in the synagogues was generally by itinerant preachers and teachers who relied on the offering that followed their sermon or address for survival. In such a situation, there was a natural tendency amongst some to teach false doctrine, to tell the crowds what they wanted to hear rather than teach true doctrine which would have been far less comfortable and popular. Furthermore, some were clearly making their sermons particularly contentious and controversial in order to ensure a good audience and, hopefully a full purse when the offering was taken.

Look at what Paul says of these false teachers in vv 3 - 5

If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, he is conceited and understands nothing. He has an unhealthy interest in controversies and quarrels about words that result in envy, strife, malicious talk, evil suspicions and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

In other words, teachers were perverting the gospel for the sake of their own pecuniary gain and Paul doesn't mince his words in criticism. These men he says have been robbed of the truth and think that godliness is a means to financial gain.

Fortunately in this country, whilst not completely immune from such heresy, it is much less of a problem than it is across the Atlantic where in America, it is sad to say that some (though not all) of the myriad of tele-evangelists still abuse the gospel in this way.

Whilst there are some truly excellent and godly ministers who use television very effectively to communicate the gospel, sadly, there are a great many so called teachers and pastors who continue to follow the same pattern so roundly condemned by Paul. Throughout the broadcasts, there are regular appeals for cash or credit card donations which, as the periodic disgraces show, often go to fund the extravagant lifestyles of the so called ministers and even the most elementary analysis of their theology shows it to be a false doctrine at odds with the teachings of Scripture.

By way of contrast, the Apostle Paul was very careful to place himself above such accusations by ensuring that he was never reliant on the public offerings for his subsistence, preferring to rely on his skills as a tent-maker to support his ministry although it is also clear that the broader ministry of both Paul and of Jesus before him was dependent on the support of many, notably of a number of prominent women.

We must always be on our guard against false teaching from the pulpit but especially so when the false teaching is motivated by money. Whenever we listen to a sermon, we should always check what is said against Scripture and not allow ourselves be swayed by silvery words preaching an easy, appealing message.

But whilst Paul's warning in vv 3 - 5 was very specifically aimed at false teachers, he continues with a stark reminder of our state before God.

Whilst we may not seek to pervert the gospel for the sake of financial gain, how much effort do we devote to the accumulation of worldly wealth and yet how often do we stop to remember those salutary words of v7 when Paul reminds Timothy that just as we brought nothing into this world, we can take nothing from it - or as my mother puts it, there are no pockets in a shroud!

However much we may accumulate in this life, it is of no value to us in the life to come. Neither absolute wealth nor absolute poverty can guarantee us a place in heaven or any special (or for that matter detrimental) treatment when we finally face our maker and judge on the day of judgement. Rather it is our standing before God, whether we come as a repentant, forgiven sinner trusting in Jesus as our Lord and Saviour to be guaranteed a place in heaven or as an unrepentant sinner to face God's wrath and judgement.

But let's look at Paul's teaching with respect to wealth.

In v6, he reminds Timothy that godliness with contentment is great gain.

Here is a call to contentment. To be content with knowing God and obeying his commands irrespective of our material possessions. The whole of commercial advertising is based on the premise of creating a desire by destroying our contentment with what we have already.

Surely, our greatest desire is knowing God and everything else pales into insignificance beside this. Whilst we may not be able to take our riches with us when we die, we will be able to enjoy our knowledge of God for all of eternity. The Westminster catechism puts it like this - the chief end of man is to know God and enjoy him for ever.

Why is godliness with contentment such great gain? Well, as Paul goes on, 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.

The trouble is that in our pursuit of wealth and riches, we are sometimes prepared to compromise our faith and beliefs but to what end? With characteristic bluntness, Paul adds at the end of v10 - Some people. eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

How often do we come across people eaten up with envy and greed with a desire to do nothing but accumulate more and yet more money to the exclusion of all else. Are these people happy and contented? Very rarely and even then, only for a while for as soon as we have reached some goal. someone overtakes us, as soon as we have got that new car, that new hi-fi or house, or job than something newer or bigger or better comes along and we feel dissatisfied again.

Now before we go any further, it is essential that we take notice of Paul's teaching in v10 that it is not money itself which Paul sees as evil, rather it is the LOVE of money which is a root of all kinds of evil.

Money itself is merely a tool, a convenient means of doing business. Just imagine how complex life could become if we went back to a barter system. Imagine standing in the queue at Sainsbury's seeking to barter a camel, three sheep and a goat for that week's groceries! A nice ideal but not one that is desperately practical. No, money of itself is neither good or bad, it is merely a means of effecting business transactions. What lies at the root of evil is an unhealthy love for money and a desire to acquire more at the expense of everything else.

To try and draw an analogy, there is nothing wrong with food. It is essential to our daily life and without it we would eventually die but an unhealthy desire for food beyond that which we need for our daily sustenance leads to obesity and in extreme cases, illness and death.

Why is the love of money so wrong? It is for no reason other than that it separates us from God. The love of money can usurp God's place in our lives and become a god (with a small g) to us in its own right. And have you also noticed how the more we have, the more we become worried about protecting it and how that creates worries all of its own. We take out insurance policies, we put alarms on our cars and houses, we become frightened to go out or away for fear of what could happen to our treasured things. We face ruin when the fortunes of the stock-market take a turn for the worse. We worry about how we will pay the bills.

I wonder if it is some of this which lies behind the difference between the expressions of the Ugandans who have so little and the good folk of Birmingham who, by comparison have so much.

Paul's command to Timothy in this case is very clear. In vv 11 & 12, Paul instructs Timothy graphically to flee from all this, to pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. to fight the good fight of the faith and to take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your confession of Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Strong and powerful words indeed. Not try and steer clear of this but FLEE from it. Not try and be a good chap but PURSUE righteousness (not wealth).

Why does Paul instruct Timothy so - in order that he should avoid the pitfalls Paul has already pointed out that await those who pursue wealth ahead of righteousness. So that Timothy's ministry and the ministry of the gospel should not be compromised and so that Timothy should one day be welcomed into heaven.

But Paul doesn't restrict his wise counsel to Timothy because in vv17 - 19 he turns the spotlight very clearly on everyone else! ( and that includes us).

Let's look at what Paul says.

In v17, clear teaching to the wealthy (who probably formed a significant proportion of the church in Ephesus) - Command (notice again the strong language) 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 everything for our enjoyment.

Quite a command. There is a danger that riches can bring an arrogance founded on a mistaken belief that as a consequence of wealth we can ignore God and ride roughshod over others. But surely as we have seen over recent months with falling stock market values, wealth can be temporary and illusory, here today and wiped out in just a few hours as the markets nose-dive.

What is the counter to this - to put our trust in the eternal God who provides richly for our every need and enjoyment.

Where is our hope today? Is it in our wealth or possessions or is it in God, our maker, saviour, redeemer and friend?

But Paul doesn't stop there, he continues in v18. Command them (that is those who are rich in this world) to do good, to be rich in good deeds and to be generous and willing to share. Notice again that this isn't a request but a command.

Money itself isn't wrong but if we are blessed with material wealth, it is a great privilege, not to be kept exclusively for ourselves but shared, used for doing good, for sharing with others who are less fortunate and do you know that as we do that not only do we find liberation but God will, in turn, very often bless us richly in return.

There is of course a danger that these verses could be interpreted as a charter for a salvation by works but nothing is further from the truth as v19 makes clear.

Good deeds, generosity and sharing are not the key to salvation but rather the key to laying up a treasure for themselves as a foundation for the coming age.

We can't buy our way into heaven but Scripture does make it clear that whilst all the redeemed will be saved, there will be additional blessings for those who have used what they have been blessed with to the good of others.

Are we content with what we have, do we know godliness with contentment or are we constantly striving for more? If we are truly honest, is our objective in life to serve God or mammon?

If we have been blessed with vast wealth, do we follow Paul's teaching and practise generosity and if we have little, do we know contentment there and find ourselves able to share even what little we have?

The whole of this letter is real, sound, practical advice for Christian living. Do we heed that advice as we seek to live our lives for Christ day by day?

Jeremy Hunns