Enjoyment is a choice

God richly supplies us with all things. These things have a purpose. That purpose is “for enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17). But notice: God does not force us to enjoy them. That part is a choice. It’s our choice.

Solomon explains this, too.

“Furthermore, as for every person to whom God has given riches and wealth, He has also given him the opportunity to enjoy them and to receive his reward and rejoice in his labor; this is the gift of God.” (Ecclesiastes 5:19)

God gives riches and wealth, but this doesn’t necessarily bring enjoyment. What it brings is:

God doesn’t force the enjoyment. Instead, He gives the opportunity, ability, or power to enjoy. Actually choosing to enjoy? That’s up to you.

Is wealth a blessing?

A popular quote goes,

“I’ve been rich, and I’ve been poor. Rich is better!”

This conclusion is obvious. Rich is better. Wealth is a blessing.

But is this actually true? Is being rich better? Is wealth really a blessing? The answer is not a simple yes or no. The answer is “It depends.”

Is wealth a blessing to the one who binges with it? No. Feeding addictions and wild living are not blessings. They end terribly.

Solomon tried the bingeing lifestyle. He ended up saying, “So, I hated life” (Ecclesiastes 2:17). The prodigal son got an early inheritance. It allowed him to engage in “wild living” (Luke 15:13). He ended up declaring, “I am dying here” (Luke 15:17). The rich widow who indulges herself in luxury “is dead even while she lives” (1 Tim 5:6). When wealth fuels indulgence and excess, the outcomes are bad.

Is wealth a blessing to the one who anxiously hoards it? No. John Calvin explains of 1 Timothy 6:17-19,

“Yet think for a moment of what they gain from all their wealth. They and their riches are tossed about as on the sea, assailed by worries and distress which torture them and drive them this way and that … they are continually beset by trouble and tempest.”83

Is wealth a blessing to the one who strives endlessly to stack up more and more? No. In 1 Timothy 6:9, Paul calls this a “temptation and a trap.” It plunges “people into ruin and destruction.”

In Ecclesiastes 6:1-2, Solomon writes of those who hold wealth but can’t enjoy it. He calls this “an evil.” This wealth is not a blessing. Instead, it’s “futility and a severe affliction.” How common is this situation? Solomon observes,

“It is widespread among mankind.” (Ecclesiastes 6:1b)

Apparently, it happens a lot.

Being rich isn’t better unless we choose to enjoy it. Enjoyment is the purpose for which God provided it. He gives us the opportunity for enjoyment. But He does not force us to enjoy it.

Enjoyment is not the only option. It’s just the only good option. Warren Wiersbe explains,

“Enjoy what God gives you (1 Timothy 6:17c). Yes, the word enjoy is in the Bible! In fact, one of the recurring themes in Ecclesiastes is, ‘Enjoy the blessings of life now, because life will end one day’ (2:24; 3:12-15, 22; 5:18-20; 9:7-10; 11:9-10)”84

Accomplishing the purpose

God richly provides each of us with all things. For some, this includes wealth or the ability to earn wealth. What is its purpose? The purpose – the reason – is for enjoyment. But how do we accomplish that purpose?

We don’t accomplish that purpose by bingeing with it on excessive consumption. That doesn’t lead to enjoyment. It leads to depression and sometimes even addiction.

We don’t accomplish that purpose by anxiously hoarding it just to die with it. That makes no sense. Yes, we take care of our family. We make sure they are able to meet their regular needs. But beyond this, a big inheritance isn’t always a blessing. It often leads to family fights over the money or poor life choices by heirs. Stacking it up just to die with it causes God to say, “You fool!” (Luke 12:20)

These paths do not lead to wealth enjoyment. They don’t lead to an enjoyable life. They don’t lead to the “real life” or “life indeed” promised in 1 Timothy 6:19.

So, what does work? What leads to real enjoyment? 1 Timothy 6:17-19 explains it. It describes,

“God, the One who richly provides us with all things for [the purpose of] enjoyment:

[All for the purpose of] storing up for themselves the treasure of a [beautifully] good foundation for the future,

so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.” (1 Timothy 6:17b-19)

This path leads to enjoyment both now and later. How? Let’s examine each point in detail.

For more on this topic, see Chapters 8 & 9 in

Joyful Wealth Management: A Bible Study Discussion Guide 85

Wealth Enjoyment Strategy 1:

Continue through the seven approaches to enjoyment, starting with accomplishing real good.