One of the greatest dangers during financial
uncertainty is a hidden monster called greed.
We think only about ourselves. It poisons our
soul. Now is the time to be free of greed that
we might help others. We are the salt and the
light of the world. But how does that really
work? That's today. Welcome to this edition of
Living on the Edge with Chip Ingram. Our mission
is to inspire Christians to be genuine followers
of Jesus and to empower them to be active disciple
makers in our world. Now, I'm sure it's no surprise
that the idea of keeping up with the Joneses
is a source of significant anxiety for many.
So today, Chip will explain what you can do to
avoid the trap of materialism and fully embrace
the practice of contentment. He has a lot to
share, so here's Chip with his talk, In Financial
Uncertainty. If you have a Bible, go again to
the book of Philippians, chapter 4, beginning
in verse 14. How many people know what I'm talking
about if I say a scouting report? What's a scouting
report? You look at the film, you watch the other
team, and what do you do? You figure out what
their strengths are, what their weaknesses are,
so you come up with your game plan. If you have
small children and someone says, can your little
girl come over and stay overnight with our house,
and it's someone from school, and you don't know
them, what do you do? You make phone calls to
find out about these people. You go on the internet
and find out if there's any, you know, sexual
offender or predators in that neighborhood. I
mean, you check out what's going on. And students,
you guys do scouting reports. You know, you see
that girl and she kind of catches your eye or
that guy and he kind of catches your eye and
you think to yourself, you know, that might be
sort of one of those. And so you ask so -and
-so who asked so -and -so asked so -and -so and
you find out all about her to see whether that's
worth pursuing. On a less light note, I had a
very, very good friend in my years in Dallas
who was a squad leader in Vietnam. And he would
take 12 to 15 men out and they would do a little
circular about three to four miles and make a
loop. And he said the most terrifying thing,
because he was the leader and he had about 10
to 12 men in his care, and he said we would go
out and we'd make this loop, but just not every
day, but very frequently, we'd find ourselves
where we'd be in jungle, jungle, jungle, and
then we'd have to go across the space of about
100 yards, maybe 200 max, and it would be wide
open, just rice paddies, but you were completely
exposed. And so he says, I'd get a couple of
my scouts and they would literally, I mean, get
down, belly with their rifles, go all the way.
And then it says, when they made it and had everything
checked out, they'd get up on one knee and motion
us. And he said, I mean, you watch guys with
packs. We would run across there as fast as we
could with our hearts pumping because we know
the exposure in that 100 yards. And he said,
if we had a good scouting report, it wasn't a
problem. But he said, there were times where
I ran across there, and then I heard, boom, ba
-bam, bam, ba -bam, ba -bam, ba -bam, bam. And
I would watch as one of the men I was responsible
for would be hit, and we would all hit the ground.
And I had men with bullet holes and blood coming
out of them that died in my arms because the
scouting report was inaccurate. We're going to
talk about contentment's greatest competitor.
We're going to talk about how to beat it. And
the Apostle Paul, inspired by the Spirit of God,
is going to give you a scouting report. And this
scouting report is just, in fact, it's more serious
than my friend in Vietnam. If he got a bad scouting
report, people could lose their physical life.
The scouting report that you're going to get,
if you don't understand it and heed it, you can
lose your soul. You can lead your kids and your
friends for all eternity off the wrong path.
So this is a serious message. The Apostle Paul
gives us the scouting report in 1 Timothy chapter
6, verses 5 to 10. And a good scouting report
does about four basic things. It says, well,
who's the foe? How formidable is the foe? What
are his tactics? And then where are we vulnerable?
So let's follow along. The context is some false
teachers are moving through the church. And so
he says in verse 5, false teachers produce men
of corrupt minds. That's the product of false
teaching. who have been robbed of the truth and
think that godliness is a means to financial
gain. That's the context. Paul is writing to
his son Timothy and he writes this letter and
he says, Timothy, when you receive this, you've
got to understand these false teachers are going
around. They've been robbed of the truth and
what they teach, they actually teach. Can you
believe this, Timothy? That walking with God,
serving God, loving Christ is a way to get rich.
The reason you walk with God is he's going to
make everything turn out great and you'll be
wealthy. Does that sound familiar? And then he'll
give his thesis. By contrast, godliness with
contentment is great gain. That's our word. The
fact of the matter is walking with God and knowing
God and loving God when there is a sense of supernatural
sufficiency in Christ is a great gain. And then
he'll give two facts. Why is this true? First,
for we brought nothing into the world and we
can take nothing out of it. Timothy, these guys
are promising and people are wasting their lives.
But Timothy, you need to remember, you come in
as this little naked baby and you go through
ups, downs, but you know what? They may put clothes
on you. They may put you in a big expensive casket
or a wooden box or burn you up and put you in
an urn. But you come in with nothing and you
leave with nothing. And it's 100 % true for 100
% of the people. So it doesn't make a lot of
sense to follow these false teachers. The second
fact you need to remember is that if we have
food and clothes, we will be, and then circle
the word, it's our word content. If we have food
and clothing, put a line under the word clothing
because literally it means covering. The apostle
Paul says their teaching doesn't make sense.
But if we have food and covering, and the idea
is covering for your body, clothes to keep you
warm, and a covering, a roof. It could be a tent.
It could be an RV. It could be a house. It could
be a condo. But if you have something over your
head to protect you from the elements and you
have food with Christ, Paul says, you got all
you need. If he gives you more, great. Be a wise
steward of it. That's all you need to be content
with that. And then verse 9, he's going to give
the scouting report. In contrast to that mentality,
people who want to get rich fall into temptation
and a trap and into many foolish and harmful
desires. And what do those harmful desires do?
They plunge men into ruin and destruction. Well,
why and how does that happen? Verse 10, for the
love of money is not the... But the love of money
is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people,
eager to get rich or eager for money, have wandered
from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs. Now, I said a good scouting report answers
those four questions. Let's take this text and
let's answer those four questions. Question number
one, who is our foe? The technical name is Philogoria.
The little phrase there, who want to get rich,
the phrase love for money, eager for money, the
root word behind those, philo, to love, remember
like Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love,
philo, goria, greed. The street name is just
materialism, greed. The belief more, more, more,
gotta have, that will satisfy. The love of money,
age old. That's who our foe is. How formidable
is our foe? If you have a pen, pull it out. I
want you to circle a few words that tell you
how formidable this foe is. Circle the word plunge.
Circle the word ruin. Circle the word destruction.
Circle the phrase, a root of all kinds of evil.
In other words, the love of money, it's not just
a financial problem. 60 % or more of most marriages
that fail are rooted in... Some financial issues.
It is a root of all kinds of evil. Circle the
word wandered. Circle the word pierced. And circle
the word griefs. This foe is formidable. It is
a deeply, deadly, powerful, ruthless enemy that
wants to destroy your physical life, your emotional
life, your family life, your spiritual life,
and take your soul. That's how formidable. What
are its tactics? Put a box around the word temptation.
Put a box around the word trap. Put a box around
the word foolish. And put a box around the word
harmful desires and you will see the tactics.
The word temptation. What's temptation? Temptation
is simply usually offering a good thing in a
bad way. Temptation is missing the mark. Temptation
is a, temptation then he uses a parallel word,
allure. The word for lure or trap here, it's
that shiny thing that a fish sees that gets its
attention, but behind the shiny little lure is
a hook. And so money promises power, position,
popularity, self -image. Money will give you
this. Money, you can live like this. People will
love you. They will like you. You'll be significant.
You'll be of value. And so you chase money and
then a hook. That's what the word is. And that
hook will plunge you into destruction. in relationships.
It'll alienate you from God. It'll, like Jesus
said, it'll be like the worries of the world
and the deceitfulness of riches. It'll take the
work of the Spirit of God and the Word of God
in your life, and little by little, it will strangle
you. But notice the tactics. Did you notice some
of the words? Trap, temptation, foolish, harmful
desires, and then the product is some For their
eager love for money have wondered. It's in the
passive voice. You don't wake up and make a willful
decision one day to say, you know, I love God
and, you know, I like being a student at this
school and I want him to really use my life or,
you know, I'm married or I'm single and I'm glad
God's given me these kids and this is what really
matters. You know what? I'm just tired of living
this way. I think I'll just chase money and throw
all that away and I'll go hog wild and try and
get rich. No one wakes up and does that. Remember,
what did Jesus say? It's the deceitfulness of
riches. You understand what deceit means? It
means that when you are loving money and when
you are wandering away from Christ, the only
person that doesn't know it is you. They have
wandered from the faith. It's a picture of like
two people talking in a boat and there's a current
in the stream. And they get talking and they're
in a good conversation. And as they're talking,
the dock is right here. And as they're talking,
oh, how's that going? And how's that going? And
they're so engrossed in the talking, but the
boat is being pushed down the stream. And when
they stop talking, they look up and they're two
miles away from where they thought they were.
That's this word. You just wake up one day and
you're far away from Christ and your priorities
are out of order and there's tension in your
marriage and your kids are seeing things in you
and you are driven and work is totally out of
proportion and things and what's new and what
you gotta have and your debt continues to rise
and to grow and pretty soon you have rationalized
your way and you have pierced yourself with many
a grief. That's whose tactics. And where are
you vulnerable? First and foremost, in your heart.
The heart is deceitful above all else. You're
listening to Living on the Edge, and Chip will
be back to continue our series, I Choose Peace,
in just a minute. But let me quickly tell you,
we are more than a broadcast ministry. We're
passionate about supporting pastors globally,
developing helpful resources, and sharing the
gospel with this next generation. So if you'd
like to partner with us in these areas, go to
livingontheedge .org. Well, here again is Chip.
Can I just let you in on something? The issue
this morning is not... If you have a problem
of philogoria, the issue is not if you're being
deceived. The issue is not if you are greedy.
We're just going to try and find out how greedy
you are and how greedy I am. All right? We are
living, we're vulnerable not only in our heart,
but you are living in a culture and I'm living
in a culture with every commercial and every
magazine and every advertisement and every new
style and every new car. We are the people. The
goal of an advertisement is to what? Produce
discontent. Those old shoes aren't good enough.
That old car's not good enough. You don't want
that house. Those kind of sinks aren't in anymore.
You know what? The skirts are too long. Now they're
too short. Now they go to the middle. The heels
are high. Now they're flat. Now they're red.
Now they're white. Pink is in this year. Light
blue is going to be next year. Lime green really
coming in. And so we got closets full of stuff
that we don't wear that's good because we've
been hooked and deceived. So the issue today
is not, are you greedy? It's not, am I greedy?
The only issue is to what extent is the hook
in your mouth and what are you going to do about
it? And what am I going to do about it? Because
the implications ruin, plunged, pierced, destruction.
I mean, this is way heavier than my Vietnam story.
Because you might jot on the bottom of your notes,
Luke 16, 13 through 15. When Jesus took the whole
area of spirituality, he said, you know what?
There's basically two options. You can either
worship me or you worship what he called mammon
or money or greed or materialism or consumerism.
You are either in this camp or in that camp.
And so what I want to help you by God's grace
and his spirit through his word, I want to help
you and I want to help me. Break the grip of
greed in my life and in yours. This isn't something
you can just grow into someday some way. It is
possible to come to a point spiritually where
you can say, when times are terrible or when
times are great, as I learn to be grateful, as
I learn to be teachable, as I learn to be flexible,
and as I learn to be confident, I can do all
things through Christ who gives me strength.
It is possible to be completely content in this
life. by the power of the grace of God through
your relationship with Christ. And that's priceless,
as the commercial says. I mean, that is really
priceless. I think it was John Paul Getty who
at the very end of his life had amassed millions
and millions and millions and they asked him,
what's it really take to be satisfied? His answer,
just a little bit more. And so what we're going
to see from the Philippian church, they are going
to be a model for us. We're going to look at
the Philippian church and how they related to
Paul, and they will model how that you can break
the grip of greed from your heart and life and
how I can do it as well. So after saying he can
do all things through Christ who strengthens
him, he's going to say, here's how to break the
grip of greed. Develop personal compassion. See,
what greed does, it hardens your heart. What
your focus on money does is things, things, things,
things become important, and God, God, God, and
people, people don't. And so the only way to
combat that is you've got to get your heart tenderized
so it's soft toward God and soft towards people
so you care. How do you develop compassion? By
putting others' needs ahead of our wants. That's
how you do it. You take some of your wants. And
you find someone who has a real need and you
say, I'm going to let go of that want and I'm
going to take the time or energy or money for
that want and I'm going to give it to this need.
Watch how the Philippians model this. Verse 14,
after he says he can do all things through Christ
who gives me strength, he says, yet it was good
of you to share in my trouble. Moreover, as you
Philippians know, in the early days, it was about
10 years ago, and best you can piece it together,
the church was planted plus or minus around 10
years ago. And if you want to get the story,
jot on the corner of your notes Acts 16. That's
where Lydia, the church, started there by the
riverbank, and then the Philippian jailer, you
know, he comes to Christ, and, you know, Paul
gets in trouble like usual. So they built this
bond, and this is a real connect, and he goes,
it was good of you. Literally, it was beautiful.
It was winsome. It was a thing of beauty, the
way that you were to coin a nail with me. You
shared with me. We became partners. And he said,
when did we become partners? In my troubles.
And the word for trouble there is a technical
word in the New Testament for the afflictions
or the pain that would come on a person's life
for sharing Christ. And he goes on to say, you
know, you remember the old days when you were
first acquainted with the gospel? And then I
set out from Macedonia. Not one church shared
or literally partnered with me in the manner
of giving and receiving except you only. And
Paul basically is saying is, you know, this is
a thank you letter. And Epaphroditus brought
the financial gift. And I'm prison. And I just
want you to know. Thank you so much. I've learned
to be content, so I didn't really need it. Yet
it was good of you to help out. And then he goes
on to say here that moreover, you know, you were
the only church to share. You were this poor
little church and you saw my need and you generously
gave to supply my needs. You put my needs ahead
of your want. And that's how you do it. This
idea of giving and receiving, it's all through
the New Testament of those who supply spiritual
food for us, giving, need to receive financial
provision so the ministry can go forward. That's
what Paul will make that point in all the churches.
And I thought to myself, where or how did this
most profoundly get worked out in my life? And
I was in Dallas Seminary. Because when you see
a principle like this, you think to yourself,
well, you know, when I really get a lot of excess,
then I can help some other people. But, you know,
what you know is that everybody is mentally middle
class. You do know that. I don't care what you
make. You make $100 million. I mean, the billionaires,
they're rich, not me, right? You know, you make
$80 ,000. You make $30 ,000. I don't care what
you make. Whoever makes more, they're rich, and
you're kind of in need. It's life. And so I thought
of a time when I learned this when, in my mind
at least, I was very poor. And so we're in seminary
and I'm making just under $1 ,000 a month and
I have three kids and going to school full time.
And a guy comes to chapel, I'd never heard of
the group, called World Vision. And he came and
there was about 1 ,000 students in this chapel
and he showed a video thing where, you know,
I'm crying and thinking of these poor kids and
saying, boy, I wish I could help them, but I
mean, I can barely pay my rent. And the guy gets
up and he said, you know, you're probably wondering
why I would come to Dallas Seminary to show you
this. And I'm thinking, yeah, I'm wondering.
I mean, first of all, I'm glad I know now. But
I thought, boy, I sure would love to help him.
But I mean, I can't. And he said, a lot of you
are probably thinking that, you know, you've
got two jobs. You're barely making it. Your wives
are putting you through. You don't make any money.
So why would I come here? And he said, before
I answer that question, can I just ask you a
little quick question here in the group? And
I still remember this. He said, how many of you,
I know you don't have hardly any money, but how
many of you, just as a little treat, maybe at
least once or twice a month, take your families
out to McDonald's? And like 95 % of the hands
went up. I went up. I mean, that was big time.
I mean, three kids, two and a half happy meals.
We split the cheeseburger. Everybody gets water.
I can get out of here for 14, 16 bucks. I mean,
and that's, you know, whoa, hey, kids, here we
go, right? Ronald, we're going to have fun. Golden
arches. I mean, that was the moment. And I'll
never forget. And then he clicked a button and
put a picture of what I'd seen. And he said,
you know, if you go to McDonald's twice a month,
you know what I'm asking you? That's a want.
Would you be willing to give up going to McDonald's
once a month and take that $16 to feed and educate
that child? And I'll never forget walking home,
that was 30 -some years ago now, I think, and
bringing a little picture of a little girl or
a little boy, I can't even remember now, and
that started probably a 30 -some year journey
that I thought, yeah, decision. Am I going to
go to McDonald's twice or that kid get to eat
once? You see, compassion, your heart gets soft
when you take your once and sacrifice your once.
for someone else's need. This is Living on the
Edge with Chip Ingram, and you've been listening
to part one of Chip's message in financial uncertainty
from our series, I Choose Peace. Chip will be
back shortly to share some helpful application
for us to think about. What does it mean to be
at peace? Is it having a thriving career, happy
household, financial security? While many strive
for these goals, they often bring only short
-term satisfaction, leaving us seeking more.
In this 12 -part study in Philippians chapter
4, Chip explains where this attitude of discontentment
comes from and the ways it steals our peace.
Stay with us to learn how to move beyond temporary
calmness and develop a lasting, peace -centered
life that comes from God. If you've missed any
part of this series, catch up anytime at livingontheedge
.org or wherever you listen to podcasts. Well,
I'm joined in studio now by Chip. And Chip, you
know, over the past few years, we've witnessed
God bless the work of this ministry in incredible
ways. And the primary reason we've had this growth
is because of the support of our faithful listeners.
Now, take a minute if you wouldn't talk about
what it looks like for people to stand with us
financially to help Christians everywhere live
like Christians. I'd be glad to, Dave. What we're
really looking for is people who say, freely
I've received, I want to be a part. We're looking
for partners, not transactions. If you have a
heart for living on the edge, or if we have ministered
to you, would you consider, would you pray about
partnering with us financially? and especially
on a monthly basis, where rather than any kind
of transaction, paying for getting the teaching
every day, no, this is a heart transition to
say, God has spoken to me and helped me deeply
through Living on the Edge. I want to pass that
on. I want the grace that I've received to go
to other people. And you know, a lot of people,
they're probably like me when I was coming up.
I didn't grow up as a Christian. I was in no
position to pay for or give or do anything. I
just needed people to love me. In the church
world, I used to say, you know, there's some
people that create the wave and there's others
that ride the wave. And we at Living on the Edge
have a group of partners and we want to create
a wave where people that don't know the Lord
and people that are struggling can ride that
wave. And then as they grow and as they mature,
every now and then we pause like today. And I
say, would you like to help create the wave now?
So if we've helped you, could you prayerfully
consider becoming a monthly partner? Pray about
it, then do whatever God shows you. Thanks, Chip.
We believe helping Christians really live like
Christians will radically change the world we're
living in. So if you'd like to be part of that
mission, we'd love to have you join the team.
To become a monthly partner, go to livingontheedge
.org or call us at 888 -333 -6003. Again, that's
888 -333 -6003 or visit livingontheedge .org.
App listeners, tap Donate. Well, with that, here
again is Chip with his final application. In
this message, we're talking about choosing peace
in a materialistic culture. And as we wrap up
today's broadcast, I just want to remind you
of something. How is it that you develop a heart
of compassion? And the answer is really easy
to say, but it's really hard to do. It's practice
putting others' needs. ahead of your wants. And
I told a little story of how I begin to learn
that even when I was a very poor seminary student.
Whenever you start being compassionate, whenever
you start to choose to put other people's needs
ahead of your wants, you can expect opposition.
As we learn to choose to be compassionate, we
declare war on greed and we discover God's peace
in our heart. Why don't you just try that in
some little things today and see what God does
in your life? Great idea, Chip. And as we close,
if you're looking for a practical way to grow
in your relationship with God, check out the
Chip Ingram app. You can listen to our most recent
series, sign up for daily discipleship with Chip,
and more. We want to help you deepen your faith,
and the Chip Ingram app will help you do just
that. Well, join us next time as Chip continues
his series, I Choose Peace. Until then, I'm Dave
Drewy, thanking you for listening to this edition
of Living on the Edge.