1 Timothy 6:18

This verse is also from Paul's letter to Timothy in Ephesus and continues his direct instructions to wealthy members of that church. The word 'command' is strong — this is not a gentle nudge but a pastoral directive. Being 'rich in good deeds' is a deliberate echo of the wealthy believers Paul is addressing: he wants them to become rich in a different currency. In the original Greek, 'generous and willing to share' carries the sense of a spirit of community and an open-handed readiness — holding resources loosely enough that others can benefit from them. Paul is describing generosity not as an occasional act but as a character trait, a default way of moving through the world.

Lord, I want to be rich in the ways that actually matter. Loosen my grip on what I've been holding onto. Make me the kind of person whose generosity is second nature — whose first instinct, even on hard days, is to give. Amen.

'Rich in good deeds.' Paul doesn't say occasionally generous, or fairly giving for someone in your tax bracket. He says rich — the same word he's been using for the wealthy people he's talking to. He's essentially asking them to take the energy they've channeled into financial accumulation and aim it somewhere else entirely. Become wealthy in a different way. It's not an argument for poverty as a spiritual ideal. It's a radical reorientation of what abundance is for. There's a version of the Christian life that stays tidy and contained — church on Sunday, avoid the obvious wrongs, say grace at dinner. Paul won't let you park there. He commands generosity. He commands readiness to share. He's describing someone whose default posture toward the world is open-handed, whose first instinct when they have something is to wonder who else might need it. That's not natural for most people. It has to be practiced until it becomes who you are. What would it look like for you to actually become rich — not in your account, but in the way you show up for the people around you this week?