Wealth Enjoyment: Live the Life of a Ready, Joyful, Abundance Sharer! | Joyful Wealth Management: A Bible Study Discussion Guide

1 Timothy 6:17-18

“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,”

One way to get enjoyment from wealth is “to be generous and ready” to share. That phrase comes from a single Greek word. It was a new word. Paul created it just for this verse. It’s a three-part word: Eu-meta-dotous. Dotous means to be a giver. Meta-dotous means to be a sharer. (It’s giving “with” or “among” others.) Eu-meta-dotous means to be a good sharer. But this good is different. It means

Ready/willing
Joyful/abounding
Abundance/wealth

This isn’t saying to just give (dotous). It’s not saying to just share (metadotous). Instead, it’s saying to be

A good (ready/willing) sharer
A good (joyful/abounding) sharer
A good sharer of abundance/wealth

These ideas are connected. Recognizing our abundance makes us more ready and willing to share. It also makes giving more joyful. Sharing from abundance is more fun!

How does recognizing that we have an abundance make us more ready or willing to share? How does it make giving more fun or joyful?
How does feeling fear and scarcity make us less willing to share? How do these make giving less fun or joyful?

Sharing is more fun when we share abundance. Abundance sharing means two things. It describes the source of the gift. (We share from abundance.) And it describes the result of the gift. (Our sharing leaves the recipients with abundance.) Both giver and receiver share in the experience of abundance.

We see this kind of giving elsewhere in Scripture. In thanking the Philippians for their gift, Paul writes,

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

In requesting a donation for Christians in Jerusalem, Paul explains the result of the gift. It will be

“not only fully supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing [perisseuousa] through many thanksgivings to God.” (2 Corinthians 9:12b).

In the late 300s A.D., John Chrysostom explained of this verse,

“What he says is this; ‘in the first place ye not only supply the wants of the saints, but you are abundant even;’ that is, ‘ye furnish them with even more than they need’”.⁴⁵

This kind of giving is different. The goal is different. It’s not simply to meet a need. It’s to leave the recipients in abundance. Giving this way is more fun. This extravagancy matches the idea of the hilariously joyful [hilaron] giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7b).

Can you think of a Christmas gift that might meet a need but wouldn’t be fun to give? (A carton of milk? A bag of flour? White tube socks?) Why wouldn’t these be fun to give?
Barely meeting minimum needs might be technically “efficient,” but is it a better way to experience “party-time” wealth enjoyment [apolausin] than sharing abundantly? Why not?

Income and wealth are different. Many with high incomes spend even more. This results in little or no wealth. Many with great wealth reinvest profits and never sell their assets. This results in little or no income.

Income and wealth are different. This passage makes that same distinction. It’s all about wealth – not income.⁴⁶ It’s about wealth accumulation, wealth enjoyment, and wealth sharing. Income sharing is great, but wealth sharing is different.

In the first days of the church, “They sold their lands and other property, and distributed the proceeds among all” (Acts 2:45a).⁴⁷ Were these gifts of regular income or gifts of accumulated wealth (assets)?
Later, “all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales” (Acts 4:34b). Were these gifts of regular income or gifts of accumulated wealth (assets)?
Barnabas “owned a tract of land. So he sold it, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles’ feet.” (Acts 4:37). Was this a gift from regular income or a gift from accumulated wealth?
In Mark 14:3-5, “She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.… It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages.” Was this a gift of regular income or a gift of accumulated wealth (an asset)?
Wealth sharing is a different financial issue than income sharing. It can also be a different heart issue. Suppose a person’s heart is attached to their buried wealth.⁴⁸ Then, they decide to start sharing 10% of their income. Will this type of giving touch any of their buried wealth?

Notes and references

[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 61:537. Homily 20 on Second Corinthians; https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/220220.htm].
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For example, the single Greek sentence in 6:17-19 references wealth seven times. Like verse 9, it begins with ploutos, referencing an accumulated pile of wealth and valuable possessions. It starts with rich [plousiois], richly [plousiōs], riches [ploutou], and rich [ploutein]. The result of generous sharing is a different pile of valuable stuff: “thus storing up treasure [apothēsaurizontas] for themselves as a good foundation [themelion] for the future” (1 Timothy 6:19a, ESV). Themelion parallels the double meaning of the English word “foundation” and can mean “fund.” Finally, eu- in eumetadotous often references wealth such as in eu-kteanos: wealthy; eu-ktēmōn: wealthy; eu-olbos: wealthy, prosperous; eu-piōn: very fat, very rich; eu-mēlos: rich in sheep; eu-pokos: rich in wool; eu-stachus: rich in corn; eu-chirmaros: rich in goats; eu-botrus: rich in grapes; eu-bous: rich in cattle; eu-karpos: rich in fruit, fruitful; eu-krithos: rich in barley; eu-chrusos: rich in gold. All seven terms in 6:17-19 are wealth references – not income references. (This is not, for example, prosodos referencing income or rent in contrast to stock or principal. It’s not gignomenon used to describe the earliest income taxes as opposed to property taxes on wealth in Classical Athens.)
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Weymouth New Testament
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Jesus said, “For where your treasure [thēsauros] is, there your heart will be also.” (Luke 12:34). Thēsauros references accumulated wealth, not income. It means “storehouse,” “the place in which goods and precious things are collected and laid up,” “the things laid up in a treasury,” or “collected treasures.” [Thayer, J. H. (1889). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament. American Book Company. p. 290.] Notice, Jesus hadn’t just said, “Share your income and give to charity.” Instead, he had said, “Sell your possessions and give to charity” (Luke 12:33). This is a reference to wealth and asset sharing, not to income sharing.
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