Live the Life of a Joyful Abundance Sharer | A Christian’s Guide to Joyful Wealth Management

Paul creates a new word

1 Timothy 6:18 has a third way to use wealth for enjoyment. It’s “to be generous and ready.” This actually comes from a new word. It had never appeared anywhere before. Paul made it up just for this verse. But since it’s a compound word, we know what it means.

The word is eumetadotous. The base is dotous: giver. The first prefix is meta: with or among. Metadotous means sharer. It’s one who gives with or among others. The final prefix is eu: good. To be eu-metadotous means to be a good sharer.

This is a third type of good [eu-]. It means good in the sense of

Ready and willing
Joyful and abounding
Abundant and rich

Eumetadotous describes a person who is ready to joyfully share abundance.⁹⁹

Getting ready to share abundance

What does it mean to be ready to joyfully share abundance? First, this requires having an abundance. 1 Timothy helps convert wealth into abundance. We don’t just have wealth – we have “extra” wealth. Why?

Because we can’t take it with us when we go (6:7).
Because we don’t need that much for contentment. Food, clothing, and shelter is enough (6:8).
Because although taking care of family is important (5:8, 16), it doesn’t take that much to provide for their contentment (6:8). And, leaving more often ends poorly (5:6).
Because we haven’t placed our trust in hidden wealth. It’s disappearing and unreliable (6:17).
Instead, we have already placed our trust in a richly providing God. He has and is and will provide for us (6:17).

We’re not just ready to share. We’re ready to share abundance. We know we have extra.

Sharing from “extra” is critical because the point is not to give. The point is enjoyment. Sharing from abundance is more enjoyable. It’s more fun.

Paul invents the donor advised fund

1 Timothy 6 helps convert wealth into abundance. It helps us to joyfully share from that abundance.

But what if we don’t yet have wealth? Paul has a solution. Start saving. Start saving so that you can joyfully share wealth from abundance. How? He describes a first century “donor advised fund.” This is an accumulation set aside for charitable giving. Paul writes,

“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 16:2)

This translation notes that, “put aside and save” is literally “put with himself” in Greek.

Other translations use,

“let each person of you lay aside in his house”¹⁰⁰
“put on one side and store up at his home”¹⁰¹
“put by at home”¹⁰²
“put aside and keep in his house”¹⁰³
“put aside at home”¹⁰⁴

Notice how these instructions increase enjoyment. Setting it aside at home doesn’t feel like a loss. The money is still right there.

Week by week, we see it grow. Each day we’re reminded of our own generosity. We’re reminded of our upcoming charitable impact.

The final transfer also feels easier. That money has already been set aside. Its purpose has already been fixed. Giving simply completes the plan.

Through this weekly process of setting aside, we accumulate riches. But these aren’t just riches. They’re “extra” riches.¹⁰⁵ They’re an abundance held in preparation for the charitable gift. This gets us ready to joyfully share abundance. It helps us to be eumetadotous.

The second meaning of sharing abundance

There is another side to being a joyful sharer of abundance. We’re not just sharing from abundance. We’re sharing abundance itself. Both donor and recipient participate in the experience of abundance.

Paul describes this when thanking his donors. He reports,

“But I have received everything in full and have an abundance; I am amply supplied, having received from Epaphroditus what you have sent” (Philippians 4:18).

He also describes this in his donor appeal in 2 Corinthians. The donors’ giving will result in abundance for the recipients. The result is

“not only fully supplying [also “completely filling up”¹⁰⁶ or “abundantly supplies”¹⁰⁷] the needs [also “wants”¹⁰⁸] of the saints, but is also overflowing through many thanksgivings to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:12b)

Writing in the late A.D. 300s, John Chrysostom explained this verse,

“What he says is this; ‘in the first place you not only supply the wants of the saints, but you are abundant even;’ that is, ‘you furnish them with even more than they need’”.¹⁰⁹

Why give in this way? Why give abundantly, even extravagantly? Because it’s more fun. It’s more enjoyable to do it this way. And enjoyment is the point.

A gift that “abundantly supplies” creates more joy. And it causes more thanksgiving. The next verse explains this connection:

“they will glorify God … for the liberality of your contribution” (2 Corinthians 9:13b).

Or,

“others will praise God … for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.” (2 Corinthians 9:13b NIV)

This abundant, generous sharing causes thanksgiving and celebration. This is not just giving. It’s joyfully sharing the experience of abundance.

This type of giving is different. The goal isn’t to meet the bare minimum needs. It’s not even technical efficiency. Instead, the goal is to leave the recipient in abundance (Philippians 4:18). It’s to abundantly supply (2 Corinthians 9:12). It’s to share liberally or generously (2 Corinthians 9:13).

This extravagance matches the hilariously joyful [hilaron] giver God loves (2 Corinthians 9:7). It matches God’s purpose of party-time wealth enjoyment (1 Timothy 6:17). And it matches being a joyful sharer of abundance: eumetadotous (1 Timothy 6:18).

For more on this topic, see Chapter 12 in

Joyful Wealth Management: A Bible Study Discussion Guide 110

Wealth Enjoyment Strategy 4:

Notes and references

For a discussion of this see The Biblical fundraiser in ancient words: The historical ministry of major gifts fundraising, Chapter 12.
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Aramaic Bible in Plain English
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Weymouth New Testament
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Darby Bible Translation
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Lamsa Bible
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“put a syde at home” Tyndale Bible of 1526.
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The verse directs us each to set aside “as he may prosper [euodōtai].” (This is also translated using “extra,” “gain,” or “surplus.”) We set aside euodōtai in order to be eumetadotous. We set aside from the good abundance [eu-] that we receive along our path or journey [odōtai]. We use it to become a good abundance [eu-] sharer [metadotous]. We set aside received abundance in order to share abundance. [See, New Revised Standard Version: “put aside and save whatever extra you earn”; Weymouth New Testament: “put on one side and store up at his home whatever gain has been granted to him”; International Standard Version: “set aside and save something from your surplus”. See also the similar abundance sharing themes in 2 Corinthians 8:14; 9:8, 11.]
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Berean Literal Bible
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Haweis New Testament
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Anderson New Testament, American Standard Version, English Revised Version, Lamsa Bible, Literal Standard Version, Smith’s Literal Translation, Weymouth New Testament, Worsley New Testament, Young’s Literal Translation.
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Schaff, P. (1889). Homily 20 on Second Corinthians. In T. W. Chambers (Trans.), Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, First Series, Vol. 12. Christian Literature Publishing Co. Revised and edited by Kevin Knight. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220220.htm ; This translation is from, “Prōton tá hysterēmata tōn agiōn ou monon plēroute, alla kai perisseuete, toutesti, kai pleon tēs chreias autois parechete eita di autōn euphēmian anapempete tō Theō” Patrologia Graeca 61 Colossians 537. Homily 20 on Second Corinthians; https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220220.htm
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Available for free at EncourageGenerosity.com. See also, The Biblical fundraiser in ancient words: The historical ministry of major gift fundraising, Chapter 12; and The Biblical fundraiser in modern practice: Helping Christians enjoy their wealth, Chapter 12.
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