1 Timothy 6:17-19, “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be high-minded or to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things for enjoyment: to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

Part I

Getting Ready to Share

Getting ready

Most translations of 1 Timothy 6:18b emphasize being prepared or ready to share. Some use “ready” in the first half of the phrase. For example,

Others do so in the second half. For example,

Some apply it to both halves as in, 475

The sequence can vary, but the word is the same. The word is “ready.” (The few translations that don’t use “ready” usually substitute “willing.”)478

Why “ready” is different

It’s easy to think of giving as a quick, offhanded decision. We’re asked to give. We say yes or no. It’s that simple.

That concept fits with small gifts. Those are quick, reactive, pocket-change decisions.479 But this passage isn’t about those kinds of gifts. This is different. This is wealth sharing. These are big gifts. These are big decisions.

Paul’s message for the donor is not simply to give. Instead, it is to be ready to give or share. Preparation is the key. This preparation is what makes giving fun. It’s what makes giving free, easy, and open-handed.480 It’s also what makes giving big.

Paul’s fundraising focus on “ready”

What is fundraising? A naïve view is that we just ask people for money. They say yes or no. And then we’re done.

Notice how far this idea is from Paul’s approach. 2 Corinthians 8 & 9 is Paul’s fundraising appeal letter. It reveals a few of the steps in his fundraising process. These include:

Paul’s fundraising outcomes

The real-world fundraising focus on “ready”

“You’ve been a supporter for so long and have done so much, I was certain you felt positive about our work and our vision. Do you still feel that same friendship and support?”483

“I remember the last time we met, you said it was very important to you that … [insert the “good work” the gift accomplishes]. Has that changed for you?”484

We can confirm that the gift would create the promised “good works.” For example,

“Are you concerned that the organization wouldn’t be effective at using this gift to make a difference in the lives of these people?”

Ultimately, we identify the missing piece. We find out why the donor isn’t ready. Then we work together to see if we can help them overcome that barrier. This isn’t an argument. It’s coming alongside the donor to help them. As one fundraiser explains,

“By turning the objection into an objective, you’ve put yourself on the same side of the table as the other person. Now you both are working together to figure out how to help the donor make the gift. You’ve taken a possibly challenging problem and made solving it a team effort.”490

Getting ready for eu-sharing

And what, exactly, are we getting them ready to do? To give? Not quite. Yes, a donor who doesn’t give is a donor who was unprepared. But so is one who gives reluctantly. So is one who gives only sparingly. They gave, but they didn’t give joyfully and generously.

The goal is not just to get the donor to give something. It’s to get the donor to be something. The phrase “to be generous” is einai eumetadotous. Einai is the donor’s “I am” verb. Eumetadotous describes their identity. The goal is to get them to embrace their identity [einai] as a eu-sharer [eu-metadotous].

This eu- prefix describes the good sharer. It implies sharing that is free and easy. It is fun and enjoyable. It also means sharing richly from abundance. It’s the identity of the one who shares the right way.

This is not just about getting the gift. It’s about the donor’s emotion, experience, and identity in making the gift. It’s about helping the donor to be ready. It’s about helping the donor to be ready to joyfully share wealth from abundance.

Part II

Getting Ready By Moving from Wealth to Abundance

Being a good (ready-joyful-abundance) sharer

Rich Christians are “to be generous and ready.” In Greek, they are to be eumetadotous. Metadotous means being a sharer. It’s giving [dotous] “with or among” [meta] others. Being eumetadotous means being a eu-sharer. This eu- prefix means good in the sense of joyful, abundant, and rich. It also references being ready and willing. Thus, a eu-sharer is ready to joyfully share wealth from abundance.

These ideas are connected. We must first recognize our abundance. Otherwise we won’t be ready to joyfully share wealth from abundance. If we don’t recognize our abundance, our sharing will be sparse. It will be sharing from scarcity. It won’t be as rich. It won’t be as free and easy. It won’t be as joyful.

Abundance wealth is “extra”

Wealth is an accumulation. The amount of accumulation is objective. It’s just a list of assets. But the feeling of being rich – of having accumulated extra – is not objective. It’s a subjective feeling. It’s a feeling of abundance rather than scarcity.

What turns wealth into abundance? This happens when part of the wealth becomes “extra.” This subjective feeling is a key part of getting ready to share.

Suppose a donor accumulates some wealth. Will his wealth sharing be free, easy, and joyful? That depends. If he believes he’ll need that money to survive, it won’t be. Any sharing will be difficult or even painful.

If, instead, he believes those funds are extra, things change. Sharing can then be free, easy, and joyful. The key is giving from extra. It’s giving from abundance.

Extra is more than enough

Having extra allows sharing from abundance. It makes giving free, easy, and joyful. So, how do we get to “extra”? We get to “extra” by having more than “enough.”

In Greek, having enough is autarkeia. This word means self-sufficiency or independence. It also means contentment. It is,

“a sufficiency of the necessaries of life.”491

Anything beyond autarkeia is extra.

A few verses before our passage, Paul opens his discussion of wealth. He opens with autarkeia. He writes,

“But godliness actually is a means of great gain when accompanied by contentment [autarkeias].” (1 Timothy 6:6).

He does this same thing in his fundraising appeal letter. He writes,

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency [autarkeian] in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;” (2 Corinthians 9:8).

In his donation acknowledgment letter, he writes,

“Not that I speak from need, for I have learned to be content [autarkēs] in whatever circumstances I am.” (Philippians 4:11).

Paul uses this word only three times.492 In our passage, it sets the stage for a discussion of giving. In 2 Corinthians, it is part of a giving appeal. In Philippians, it is part of a gift acknowledgment.493 Having enough – having contentment – is key to charitable giving.

Autarkeia means self-sufficiency, independence, and contentment. It means having “enough.” Helping a person to recognize that they have enough is important. It’s important for giving. It gets them ready to give in a free, easy, and enjoyable way. Giving is easy when it is giving from “extra.”

Recognizing that we have “enough” [autarkeian] leads to abundance. In the language of 2 Corinthians 9:8, autarkeian leads to “an abundance for every good deed.” This giving from abundance is free, easy, and enjoyable. Giving from abundance is eu-giving.

The economics of contentment

Having wealth doesn’t automatically lead to abundance. Having “extra” wealth does.494 What makes wealth “extra”? When is wealth more than enough? The answer starts with this question:

“How much money do you need for contentment?”

Paul explains,

“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:8).

This word for “content” is used elsewhere as “enough”495 or “sufficient.”496 Having food, shelter, and clothing is enough for contentment.497

But wouldn’t having even more create even more contentment? No. It doesn’t. Why not?

First, because we get used to it. In research, this is called the “Hedonic Treadmill.”498 We buy something new. We get a boost in income. Our investments go up. Those things are exciting for a moment. Then they fade. We return to our baseline experience. We get used to it.

Chasing these brief flurries of feeling is like catching a snowflake on the tongue. In an instant, the feeling disappears. It doesn’t last. It also creates other problems.

It leads to disillusionment. The poor person who believes that wealth will bring happiness has hope. The rich person loses that hope. After the quick bump from a change in wealth or consumption, he returns to baseline. He feels the same. What he had hoped in fails. This can lead to despair.

Sometimes, that despair can lead to bingeing. Bingeing leads to addiction and depression. It makes the person worse off. The rich addict can suffer more than the poor one. His self-destruction can be more extreme.

Even without such poor choices, having more creates another problem. It makes life more complicated. The things we own also own us. This can make contentment harder.

Trading a modest home for a palatial estate is fun and exciting. But we get used to it. It becomes normal. We return to our baseline experience. Except now, we have more problems.

We have more building maintenance and repairs. We have more grounds work. We have more cleaning. Even hosting a gathering gets bigger and more complicated. We just can’t keep up with it on our own.

That estate requires a staff. We have to hire people. We have to manage them. We have to motivate them. We have to make sure they aren’t stealing things. Sometimes, we have to fire them.

Before, our income needs were low. We were free to use more of it. Now, that freedom fades. We have a monthly payroll to meet. We have bigger utilities, bigger repairs, and more upkeep.

We’re suddenly in charge of a major operation. It’s more stress and anxiety. Ironically, it was all intended to increase our satisfaction. But that’s not how the experience turns out.

Ask someone who has built wealth to consider their own contentment during their life. Suppose they went to college and lived in a dorm. Their housing space was small and communal. Were they sad, then? Likely not. They had enough for contentment.

When they were first married, they may have had very little wealth. Was that a sad time of life? Likely not. They had enough for contentment.

In 1 Timothy 6:8, Paul is not selling asceticism. He’s not selling painful suffering. He’s doing the opposite. He’s selling contentment. He’s pointing out the way to enjoyment. He’s telling the truth.

The abundance calculation

How much is enough for contentment? In math terms, it’s Length X Height. Length equals the length of remaining life:

“For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it, either.” (1 Timothy 6:7).

Our spending needs have a hard limit. We don’t need stuff after we’re dead. Once life ends, we can’t use it. We can’t use money then. That’s the endpoint.

Height is the daily amount we need for contentment. How much is this? It’s actually not that much:

“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:8).

We start with expected Length X Height. Then we subtract expected income (or other supply).499 That difference is enough. Accumulating more than that difference is more than enough. Once we accumulate that much, everything else becomes abundance. It’s extra. We can freely enjoy it.

How much stored wealth does that take? That depends. It depends upon our level of trust. It depends on the degree to which we have,

“Not set our hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17b).

Suppose we have high trust. If we trust in God to richly supply our needs in the future, this need for accumulation collapses to nearly zero. We don’t need an accumulation because God will provide. Everything becomes extra. Everything becomes an abundance. In the words of 1 Timothy 6:6,

“But religion does make your life rich, by making you content with what you have.” (1 Timothy 6:6 CEV).

But let’s be more “realistic.” Suppose our trust isn’t quite that high. Then we need more wealth. What if an injury happens and we can’t earn income as expected? We might use up all the stored money. So then, we need to pile up more. Or we can buy a financial product like disability insurance.

But we can still have fear. What if we live an exceptionally long time? We might use up all the money. So then, we need to pile up more. Or we can buy a financial product like a deferred annuity.

But we can still have fear. What if inflation makes money worth much less? We might use up all the money. So then, we need to pile up more. Or we can buy a financial product like inflation-protected government bonds.

But we can still have fear. What if we need to go into a nursing home? We won’t want a government-funded option. We’ll want a nicer one. We might use up all the money. So then, we need to pile up more. Or we can buy a financial product like nursing home insurance.

But we can still have fear. What if we get sued? What if the market collapses? What if the government collapses? What if the currency collapses? What if the insurance company collapses? What if there’s a war? What if there’s a revolution? What if the government takes our stuff? What if a thief breaks in and steals? What if moths and rust destroy? When fears are limited, we can address each one. But fears can be unlimited.

We can always have fear. And fear leads to burying wealth. It leads to burying it in the ground:

“And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground.” (Matthew 25:25).

It leads to hiding it in a napkin:

“here is your mina, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid” (Luke 19:20b-21a).

The temptation is to bury wealth rather than use it. In 1706, Matthew Henry wrote of 1 Timothy 6:17-19,

“for many have riches, but enjoy them poorly, not having a heart to use them.”500

Getting to abundance requires having the heart to overcome fear. It requires trust. To the extent that we can place our trust in a richly providing God, our abundance increases. To the extent that we place our trust in the uncertainty of riches, our abundance decreases.

From wealth to abundance

Wealth is different from abundance. A miser might have $50 million in investments, but he won’t have any extra. He won’t have any abundance. He’ll still desperately grasp every dollar.

This isn’t just theory. Only one in five households with an actual net worth over $50 million reported feeling “extremely financially secure.”501 One in ten felt “somewhat insecure.” Even great riches can feel insufficient. This experience is not a life of abundance.

Rich Christians not only have wealth, but they can also have an abundance. They know who holds their future. They know who will provide for them. They have more abundance because of a previous (perfect tense) decision. They have – already in the past – put their hope in the right place. They have

“not … set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17b).

They have already done this. But reminding them helps create abundance. Their future is secured. It’s secured by the up-close and personal, ongoing, continuing, rich supplier of all things we need for enjoyment.

This security helps move rich Christians to having more than enough. The amount of wealth that they’re compelled to bury goes down. Fear decreases. This creates available wealth. It creates “extra” wealth.

Jesus encourages giving in Luke 12:33. He starts by first addressing fear. He explains,

“For this reason I tell you, do not worry about your life, as to what you are to eat; nor for your body, as to what you are to wear … your Father knows that you need these things. But seek His kingdom, and these things will be provided to you.” (Luke 12:22b, 30b-31).

Joyful giving starts by having extra. Having extra starts by trusting in God. It starts by trusting in God’s earthly provision. It starts by setting our hope

“on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17b).

This trust increases abundance. As abundance increases, sharing becomes more fun. It becomes easier. It’s easy to share when we feel that,

“I’ve got more than enough for me. I’ve got extra. Plus, there will be plenty more where that came from. And besides, I can’t take it with me anyway!”

That feeling makes sharing enjoyable. It makes it open-handed. It makes it free and easy.

Paul creates “extra” wealth

Paul’s message turns wealth into abundance. It turns “never enough” into “more than enough.” It turns hidden wealth into available wealth. It turns wealth into extra wealth.

Fundraisers often fear wealth conversations. Paul focuses on them. They’re key to major gift fundraising. They can change wealth into “extra” wealth. If donors have “extra” wealth, they can give big. If donors have “extra” wealth, they can share freely, easily, and joyfully. They become “ready” for eu-sharing.

Fundraisers like to talk about their organizations. And that’s fine. But just talking about a great organization doesn’t change the donor. It’s not ministering to the donor.

Paul’s fundraising message does include the impact of the donor’s gift. But it’s mostly about the donor’s wealth. It’s about their wealth plans and their wealth management. It is these wealth conversations that can really transform the donor.

Once wealth becomes “extra” wealth, giving can skyrocket. Major gifts – gifts of wealth sharing – become natural, easy, and enjoyable. The donor becomes truly ready to share.

Modern research on abundance and giving

Just having wealth won’t necessarily lead to giving. What’s important is having “extra” wealth.

One national study found a similar result. Wealth holdings predicted giving to some degree. But something else was more important. A person’s feelings about the adequacy of their wealth were more important. Subjective wealth feelings were a better predictor of giving than actual wealth holdings.502 Being subjectively wealthy led to giving. Being objectively wealthy often didn’t.

One of the most important transformations for donors happens when they realize they have extra. This is why wealth conversations can be so powerful. They’re often a key part of becoming ready to give. This can happen even outside of the context of fundraising or ministry.

Financial planning can lead to generosity. Research studies show that the ability to budget, monitor, and control wealth helps people actually feel wealthy.503 People who feel wealthy give more.

Estate planning can also lead to generosity. Consider the process. It requires people to list all their assets. It makes them contemplate how long they will live. It makes them estimate how much “extra” will be left over at the end of life.

Some people going through estate planning are charitable. They’ll include a charitable gift in their will. What follows this is dramatic. Their giving is often transformed. On average, annual giving spikes 77% after charitable estate planning. This increase is sustained 2 years, 4 years, 6 years, even 8 years later.504 The share of those making gifts of $10,000 or more nearly doubles.

The charitable transformation from this one event is dramatic. It’s massive. It’s lasting. What happened?

This process forces a recognition of having extra. Facing the magnitude of leftover wealth – extra wealth – can have a powerful effect. Facing this question is exactly how Paul opens his discussion of wealth. In 1 Timothy 6:7, he opens with an estate-planning reminder.

Estate planning is required only for leftover wealth. This is wealth we won’t consume before we die. For donors, calculating this extra wealth can help them to be ready. It can help them to be ready to share freely, easily, and joyfully. It can help them to be ready to share from abundance. It can help them to be eu-sharers.

Bury it and die with it: Leaving a big inheritance

Wealth can be buried to provide for one’s future. But at some point, even those with low trust often realize that they have more than enough. They’ve accumulated more than they’re going to spend. So now what? One option is to leave it as an inheritance.

Should we do this? Indeed, we should provide for the family. Paul explains,

“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (1 Timothy 5:8).

And also,

“If any woman who is a believer has dependent widows, she must assist them and the church must not be burdened, so that it may assist those who are actually widows.” (1 Timothy 5:16).

We should provide for our family. But how much? The answer starts with the same question:

“How much money do they need for contentment?”

The answer is still the same. The answer is

“If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.” (1 Timothy 6:18).

If a rich Christian plans to leave an inheritance, that’s fine. But leave the right amount. The right amount is enough for regular living. It should be enough for food, clothing, and shelter. Leaving dramatically more than that does not lead to more contentment. In fact, it often causes real damage. It can end much worse than if there had been no inheritance. The prodigal son said,

“Father, give me the share of the estate that is coming to me.” (Luke 15:12b).

He got his inheritance. And his life got dramatically worse. It got so bad that he says,

“I am dying here” (Luke 15:17b).

The too-rich widow may also end up worse off. She may become one

“who lives in self-indulgence”505 or “who indulges herself in luxury” (1 Timothy 5:6).

This result is not happy. It’s sad. She

“is dead even while she lives.” (1 Timothy 5:6)506

Bingeing on excess inheritance leads to death. It can lead to living while feeling dead inside. It can lead to spiritual death. In the case of addictions, it can lead to physical death.

Providing for family is important. We don’t want to leave family who become a burden on the church. But leaving too much can be disastrous.

Leaving buried wealth can have other bad results. It often leads to a divided family. In Luke 12:13, Jesus found himself in the middle of a family probate fight. Brother was divided against brother because of an inheritance. Jesus refused to get involved. (Luke 12:14). He then turned to the crowd watching this and said, “Beware!” (Luke 12:15).

The crowd was seeing the result of buried wealth. They were seeing a divided family. Jesus then told them the story of the rich fool. The fool was richly blessed with wealth. And he just stacked it up in a barn and died with it. That was dumb. God called him a fool.

Leaving enough for family is fine. Leaving more than enough is dangerous. It’s often harmful. It may even be foolish.

Recognizing abundance

Recognizing abundance is a key part of being ready to share. We must have wealth to share wealth. But also, we must feel that we have extra.

In Jesus parables, the burying bad stewards had money or wealth. But they never used it. Their motivation was always the same. They hid money “because I was afraid”. (Luke 19:21).507 Or they explained,

“So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground.” (Matthew 25:25).508

Fear drives the burying bad steward. Addressing these fears can help. It can turn wealth into abundance. It can help the person to become ready to share.

How can we do this? Estate or financial planning might help them realize they already have enough. For specific fears, a financial product might help. But ultimately, eliminating financial fear comes from one place. It comes from having set our hope

“on God, who richly and ceaselessly provides us with everything” (1 Timothy 6:17b) 509

Or, as Hebrews 13:5 puts it,

“Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, ‘Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.’” (NIV).

If we place our hope in this God, we can have abundance. If we don’t, we can’t.

These wealth conversations are powerful. They can lead to an awareness of abundance. They can lead to an awareness of having “a sufficiency of the necessaries of life” [autarkeia].510 This becomes the source not for a gift but for a lifetime of giving. It helps the rich Christian to be ready to joyfully share wealth from abundance.

What about those with no wealth?

Wealth attitudes, wealth feelings, and wealth theology are important. However, one objective reality remains. A person must have wealth to share wealth. This ministry is a ministry to the wealth holders. It’s to the rich.

So, what about those who aren’t holding wealth? What should they do? Paul gives an interesting answer: Start saving it up! He explains,

“Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you are to do as well. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper, so that no collections need to be made when I come.” (1 Corinthians 16:1-2).

This translation notes that,

“put aside and save” is literally “put with himself.”

Another translation uses,

“let every one of you put apart with himself”.511

Others use,

“let each person of you lay aside in his house”512

“put on one side and store up at his home”513

“put by at home”514

“put aside and keep in his house”515

“put aside at home”516.

Several use,

“lay by him in store”.517

One commentary renders this as,

“let every one place it with himself.”518

Another explains,

“1 Corinthians 16:2 suggests that each person will store up money at home, and pool it only on Paul’s arrival.”519

The direction is to accumulate wealth designated for charitable purposes. (This is like a first-century donor advised fund.) If you don’t have it, Paul says, save it up so that you will have it. That’s part of getting ready. Through this weekly process of setting aside, one accumulates riches. But these aren’t just riches. They’re “extra” riches. They’re held in preparation for the charitable gift.

This process helps donors to get ready. It helps them get ready to give. More importantly, it helps them get ready to joyfully share wealth from abundance.

This will be a large gift, but it feels more comfortable. It’s just a small amount set aside each week. A small amount is an easy step.

Setting aside is also more comfortable. The donor hasn’t given up anything yet. The money is still in the donor’s possession. Only its label has changed. Relabeling is an easy step.

Holding it at home feels more enjoyable. Each day the donor is reminded of his own generosity. He sees it physically grow. He is reminded of his upcoming charitable impact. That expands the donor’s enjoyment.

The final gift transfer is also more comfortable. At the moment of transfer, the donor gets the joy of making a large gift. But he need not feel the offsetting pain. That money has already been set aside. Its purpose has already been fixed. The donor was just temporarily managing it. The transfer just finishes that task. That’s an easy step.

Through these steps, the donor becomes entirely ready to joyfully share wealth from abundance. The donor gets to enjoy giving like a steward. This is not just fundraising. It’s training in holding wealth open-handedly.520 It’s training in scriptural wealth management.

Why “ready” is the key

This wealth holding recognizes the source of the wealth.521 God is the one who richly provides all things. It recognizes the purpose of the wealth. God gave it to us for enjoyment. It recognizes the process for the wealth enjoyment:

How can donors get to “ready”? What helps is the authorized messenger who comes alongside. The goal is not simply “fund-raising” or “money-getting.” The ministry is not focused on the one-time event of writing a check. Instead, the aim is an ongoing condition of the heart.522 It’s about helping the donor to be ready – ready to joyfully share wealth from abundance. In a single word, it’s about helping the donor to be eumetadotous.