November 08, 2026
• Rev. Dr. Rob Fuquay
St. Luke’s UMC
November 8, 2026
I Hate to Admit This But…True Confessions from a Pastor about Stewardship
“I Worry About Having Enough”
I Timothy 6:6-10
John D. Rockefeller, founder of the Standard Oil Company and richest person in the world at the time, was once asked by a reporter, “How much money is enough?” He replied, “Just one more dollar.”
That’s one of those stories that makes you laugh at first, but then makes you say, “yeah.”
How would you answer that question, how much is enough for you? If you thought about your standard of living right now, current obligations, and needs you might come up with a significant figure, but then you might realize, if it was a little more I could do this, or I would be secure if that happened. Having enough isn’t really about having a dollar amount as it is a feeling that enough would be just a little more.
In this series I am sharing true confessions as a pastor about stewardship, and today I Hate to Admit This, but…I sometimes worry about having enough.
Now, I didn’t for most of my life. I was pretty carefree when it came to money and future needs. I saved. A wise pastors told me early on to start investing as much as I could in the United Methodist pension plan. I still had memories as a teenager when our church took collections for a denomination-wide appeal to raise funds for retired pastors. Our pension service wasn’t strong back then. There were pastors who had lived in church-owned houses their whole careers. Because they never made all that much money and didn’t have much savings, they retired not able to afford a place to live. And this led to the creation of a whole new United Methodist Pension Service.
So I saved money but just never thought too much about the future, until about 20 years ago I attended a conference to better understand the pension fund. They ran a projection of what I might be able to expect when I retire. For the first time I started thinking about what I’ll need for the future.
Then came the death of my parents a few years back. They didn’t exactly have all their financial affairs in the best order, and because my dad was so private about those things, my siblings and I never knew just what they did and didn’t have.
That motivated Susan and me to get our affairs in better order. And, then, of course, came the decision about my own retirement. And it really caused me to look ahead and make sure we have planned well. But, I wonder, have I saved enough? What if there’s a catastrophic health issue? What if we live as long as our parents or even beyond. Will we have enough?
I embarrassed to admit that, because I know that my income is within the top 1% of wealthiest people in the world. The vast majority of the world would say to me, “What have you got to worry about?” If you want to know how you compare to global incomes, you can to the website, www.Givingwhatwecan.org. There’s a calculator on that site that shows how you compare to the rest of the world.
So I feel guilty even admitting this concern, because there are so many who have a much more legitimate reason to worry about having enough. But this question doesn’t depend on how much you have. From the poorest to the wealthiest, people worry about having enough. Maybe you do too.
But to get a handle on that worry, we have to understand what’s behind it.
How much is enough? Just one more dollar.
The seeds of that question are probably what prompted Paul to write one of his most famous, but often misquoted, statements about money: “For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” (1 Timothy 6:10). People sometimes say “money is the root…” but Paul said, “The love of money is the root…”
He wrote that to his protégé, Timothy whom Paul left in Ephesus to help the church there. Paul knew Ephesus well. It was one of the largest, most prosperous cities in the Roman empire. It boasted of having one of the 8 Wonders of the World, the famous Temple of Artemis.
This is what caused a huge controversy for Paul when he was there. People responded to his preaching and turned away from their Artemis idols. These were little objects you purchased and put in your home so the god Artemis would help your family be prosperous. It was like a good luck charm.
But the people who made these idols were not so charmed. Their business plummeted. So they worked up the whole city against Paul. And what that story reveals is the real religion of the people. Their real god was money. They worshipped prosperity and wealth.
Paul had walked the long colonnade of the agora, the shopping district right in the heart of Ephesus. He knew how vendors displayed all the latest fashions from Rome and the newest things people needed to have. Ephesians were surrounded with the idea that you are just one purchase away from contentment.
And I imagine once Paul got to thinking about Timothy and how he would manage being in a culture that literally buys into that thinking.
So he wrote to warn Timothy about the love of money, not because money is the problem, but the craving of it and where that craving comes from. He said, “There is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these.” (6:6)
Twice in that sentence Paul mentions being content, being satisfied, at peace. For Paul that’s a spiritual issue. If contentment depends on what you have it will fluctuate. Contentment will depend on the next purchase. Genuine comes from God. It's an ability to look at what we have and see God’s blessing.
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism who live in England in the 1700’s, had a memorable encounter when he was in college at Oxford. He met an elderly porter, a man who delivered luggage to the wealthy students. It was a cold night and observing the man’s coat was thin and tattered, Wesley suggested he go home and get a warmer one. “This is the only coat I have,” the man replied, “and I thank God for it.”
Wesley if he had eaten and the man answered, “I have had nothing today but water to drink, but I thank God for that.”
Wesley, was getting uncomfortable, and reminded him that the gates would be locked soon and he wouldn’t be able to get home. “Then what would you thank God for?” Wesley asked.
The man said, “I will thank God that I have dry stones to lie upon.”
Wesley said, “You thank God when you have nothing to wear, nothing to eat, and no bed to lie on. What else do you thank God for?”
The simple man replied, “I thank God that he has given me life, a heart to love him, and a desire to serve him.”
Wesley ended up giving him a coat from his closet and some money for food, and after he left, Wesley wrote, “I shall never forget that porter. He convinced me there is something in religion to which I am a stranger.” (Maxie Dunnam, Jesus’ Claims, Our Promises Upper Room, 1985, pages 61-62)
Contentment doesn’t depend on things. Now, that doesn’t mean that it’s noble to be poor. But it does mean that there is another kind of poverty, maybe a worse kind of poverty, where can be plenty wealthy but never satisfied.
Adam Hamilton, who just won an election in Kansas on Tuesday… wrote a little book after the economic crisis in 2008. It’s called Enough. In it he asks this very helpful question, “Which tent will you live in?” Discon-tent-ment or Con-tent-ment? He says, “You and you alone determine which tent will be yours…Choosing contentment does not mean that we must stop buying things or move into cramped homes. That is not realistic, and I do not believe that is what God requires. Rather, choosing contentment means we look to God as our Source, giving thanks for what we have.” (p71)
Last week I suggested that we have enough right now to be generous. Today I suggest we have enough to be content…if we look for it. Right now we have reasons to be content and joyful and at peace. Just look for them.
And faith is about believing that in the future we will have this, that God will still look after us. Now, that doesn’t mean don’t plan, don’t get ready or prepare for the future. Some Christians say that if we really trust God, we don’t need to save money or have retirement accounts. I don’t call that faith. I call it being irresponsible.
After all Jesus said in one of his teachings, “For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not first sit down and estimate the cost, to see whether he has enough to complete it?” (Luke 14:28) Estimate whether you have enough he said. Jesus wasn’t against preparing for the future.
But he also told another story about a man who had a bumper crop one year, in fact, more than his barn could hold. So he built more barns in order to store up as much as he could for the future, and the stress of it all killed him. In other words, there is a limit to preparing. You can get so focused on having enough that it takes a toll.
The trouble with the question, “Will I Have enough?” is that it’s an inwardly focused question. It focuses on me. Will I have enough? Versus, will I BE enough? Will I have enough to give and do for others?
Financial worries take a toll, especially when they get beyond our ability to control. When all the planning in the world on our part still can’t change an entire economy or guarantee that we won’t have challenges in the future, and if we let it, those worries can start to affect our living.
And the remedy, as trite as this sounds, is to serve. Give our attention to others and what they are going through. Sometimes doing that gives us gratitude. To be around people worrying about so much more puts our worries in perspective. Other times it’s just a great spirit-lifter to give our attention to others, to helping them. We find God meeting us in encounters like that. Because that’s the way God works. God solves the world’s problems through people. God uses people like us to becomes answers to problems.
That’s our fundamental identity. We aren’t just teachers, or lawyers, or retired engineers, or clerks. We are answers. And when we look for how we can be an answer to others we find hope for our own problems.
A good example of this is in our Mosaic ministry. Jason Darko is a St. Luke’s member who volunteers in the Mosaic ministry. Early in life he was diagnosed with a learning disability. He was enrolled in special education in Washington Township Schools, then went to Vincennes University in the special education assistance program called STEP and graduated from their Licensed Practical Nursing Program.
Growing up, church was not a comfortable place. One experience stands out. He was asked to read a scripture verse out loud in the children’s service, but he wasn’t able. The teacher thought he was playing around. He was embarrassed and started crying and remembers just wanting to leave.
But church profoundly changed for him on October 3, 2013 when he read in the bulletin that Sunday that volunteers were needed for a “Special Needs Children’s Ministry.” He responded and knew immediately that this was the right place for him to connect.
Grateful for the staff and leaders he worked with over the years, Mosaic became to him like soil where people with disabilities can grow and find acceptance, and best of all learn from each other. Volunteering in Mosaic has been healing for Jason’s journey. Each week he feels like he is cultivating a garden.
Closing…