1 Timothy 6:17-21: in context

Paul gives Timothy a specific charge to deliver to the wealthy believers in his church, and it is worth hearing because most of us, by the standards of the world and of history, are among the rich he is addressing. Charge those who are rich in this present age, he says, not to be arrogant, nor to set their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. Two dangers of wealth are named, and they are quieter than we expect. Not greed, not theft, but arrogance and misplaced hope: the way having means tempts a person to look down on others, and the way it tempts them to lean their whole sense of security on something Paul calls, bluntly, uncertain.

Then he gives the antidote, and it is not to despise wealth or feel guilty about it. Notice he says God richly provides everything for us to enjoy; the good things are gifts and may be enjoyed. The antidote to the dangers of riches is to redirect them: do good, be rich in good works, be ready to share and generous to give, so that you store up a good foundation for the future and take hold of what is really life. Wealth held with an open hand, poured out in generosity and good works, becomes a foundation that lasts, while wealth clutched as the ground of my security is, in Paul's word, uncertain, liable to vanish and take my false security with it.

That searches where I actually rest my hope. It is easy to say I trust God while quietly leaning my real sense of safety on my resources, my savings, my margin, my ability to provide for myself, so that the size of my cushion, more than the character of God, is what lets me sleep at night. Paul says that ground is uncertain, and that the way to hold wealth rightly is to keep my hope on God and my hand open in generosity. Where have I set my hope on the uncertainty of riches instead of on the God who provides, and is my wealth clutched for my own security or held open to do good?