CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES
1 Timothy 6:9. They that will be rich.—The cry of the day is against those who are rich; the danger is equally great for those who would be if they could,—a somewhat comprehensive saying. Which drown men.—The word is found again in Luke 5:7 only, to describe the swamping of the fishing-boats on Galilee.
1 Timothy 6:10. While some coveted after.—The word is the same as in 1 Timothy 3:1 is rendered “desire” or “seeketh.” The R.V. “reaching after” is more accurate. Many sorrows.—Sharp griefs; lit. “gnawing pains of remorse” (Blomfield). Ellicott denies that the word is derived from the Greek for a tooth. Grimm thinks they may have a common root.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— 1 Timothy 6:9-10
Insatiable Avarice—
I. Has its root in the love of money.—“The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Not money, but the love of it, is the root of evil. Hence the warning, “If riches increase, set not thy heart upon them.” Money has been the bait that has enticed many astray. They ran well for a time, till, as in the fable of Atalanta, a golden ball was cast in their path, and, stooping to pick it up, they lost the race. The love of money kills all other love. Men have sold their consciences, their friends, their family, for pelf. Avarice degrades our manhood.
II. Weans the soul from the truth.—“Which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith” (1 Timothy 6:10). Avarice is a master-passion which subdues and enthrals our better self. God is exchanged for gold, religion for money-getting. A relish for spiritual things cannot coexist with the love of lucre. Faith becomes dim in the presence of shining coins. An American millionaire was so enslaved with money-getting that he complained he was kept on the drive from morning to night. Wealth is a splendid opportunity for doing good, but to the best it is a dangerous temptation.
III. Curses the soul with the pangs of discontent.—“And pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). The miser is in perpetual dread of poverty. The more he has the more he wants. Avarice is insatiable. Money cannot give health or happiness, nor can it prolong life by a single day. Cardinal Beaufort, Chancellor of England in the reign of Henry VI., as he lay dying exclaimed: “Wherefore should I die, being so rich? If the whole realm would save my life, I am able either by policy to get it or by riches to buy it. Fie! will not death be hired? Will money do nothing?” The miser is the most miserable of men, and of all men to be the most pitied.
IV. Plunges the soul into a course of sin that ends in perdition.—“Which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Timothy 6:9). Wealth leads to luxury, self-indulgence, and a host of sins that defile and then damn the soul. Few men can resist the allurements of sudden fortune: they plunge into excesses that soon end them, or their money. The bane of the avaricious man is often the instrument of his punishment. About the time the apostle was denouncing the sin of covetousness in this epistle, Seneca was decrying the same evil and composed his ethics; but as if to show the impotence of his own precepts, he was accused of having amassed the most ample riches—a circumstance that was no doubt the cause of his finally falling a victim to the jealousy and avarice of Nero.
Lessons.—
1. Avarice grows on what it feeds.
2. The sin of avarice is the parent of many other sins.
3. Avarice unfits the soul to appreciate the truth.
GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES
1 Timothy 6:9. The Danger of Riches.
I. Who are the rich?—
1. They who desire more than food and covering.
3. They who endeavour after more than food and covering.
3. They who lay up treasures on earth.
4. They who possess more of this world’s goods than they use according to the will of the donor.
5. They who delight in money.
II. Dangers of the rich.—
1. They enter into temptation.
2. They fall into silly and hurtful desires.
III. Duties of the rich.—
1. Gain all you Song of Song of Solomon 2. Save all you Song of Song of Solomon 3. Give all you Song of Song of Solomon 4. All that is laid out in this manner is really given to God.—Wesley.
1 Timothy 6:10. The Love of Money—
I. Tends to arrogate and narrow and impel the whole action and passion of the soul toward one exclusive object, and that an ignoble one.
II. Throws a mean character into the estimation of all things.—They are all estimated according to a standard of money-value, and in reference to gain.
III. Places a man in a very selfish relation to other men around him.
IV. Creates a settled hardness of character.
V. Operates with a slow but continual effect to pervert the judgment and conscience.—J. Foster.