Why is money the root of all evil?

“Because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have turned away from the faith and have stabbed themselves with much pain ”(1 Timothy 6:10).

Paul warned Timothy of the correlation between money and evil. Expensive and flashy things naturally capture our human craving for more things, but no amount will ever satisfy our souls.

While we are free to enjoy God's blessings on this earth, money can lead to jealousy, competition, theft, cheating, lying, and all sorts of evil. “There is no kind of evil that the love of money cannot lead people to once it begins to control their lives,” says Exhibitor's Bible Commentary.

What does this verse mean?
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart also be" (Matthew 6:21).

There are two Biblical schools of thought on money. Some modern translations of Scripture suggest that only the love of money is evil, not money itself. However, there are others who stick to the literal text. Regardless, everything we worship (or appreciate, or focus, etc.) more than God is an idol. John Piper writes that “It is possible that when Paul wrote these words, he was fully aware of how demanding they were going to be, and that he left them as he wrote them because he saw a sense in which the love of money is really the root of all evil, all evil! And he wanted Timothy (and us) to think deeply enough to see it. "

God assures us of His provision, yet we strive to earn a living. No amount of wealth can satisfy our souls. No matter what earthly wealth or object we are seeking, we were made to desire more from our Creator. The love of money is evil because we have been commanded not to have any other gods besides the one, true God.

The author of Hebrews wrote: “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God said: 'I will never leave you; I will never forsake you '”(Hebrews 13: 5).

Love is all we need. God is love. He is our Provider, Sustainer, Healer, Creator and our Father Abba.

Why is it important that love of money is the root of all evil?
Ecclesiastes 5:10 says: “He who loves money never gets enough; those who love wealth are never satisfied with their income. This also makes no sense. “Scripture tells us to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Jesus himself said to give to Caesar what is Caesar's.

God commands us to pay tithing as a matter of loyalty of the heart, not a number to be checked religiously from our to-do list. God knows the tendency of our hearts and the temptation to keep our money. By giving it away, it keeps the love of money and God on the throne of our hearts at bay. When we are willing to let it go, we learn to trust that He provides for us, not our cunning ability to make money. “Money is not the root of all kinds of evil, but the 'love of money',” explains Expositor's Bible Commentary.

What does this verse NOT mean?
“Jesus replied, 'If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possession and give it to the poor, and you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come and follow me ”(Matthew 19:21).

The man Jesus spoke to could not do what his Savior had asked. Unfortunately, his possessions sat above God on the throne of his heart. This is what God warns us about. He does not hate wealth.

He tells us that his plans for us are far more than we could ever ask or imagine. His blessings are new every day. We are created in His image and are part of His family. Our Father has good plans for our life: to make us prosper!

God hates everything we love more than Him. He is a jealous God! Matthew 6:24 says: “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate one and love the other, or you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money ”.

What is the context of 1 Timothy 6?
“But devotion with contentment is a great gain, as we have brought nothing into the world and cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothes, we will be satisfied with them. But those who wish to be right fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. Because the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils. It is because of this longing that some have turned away from the faith and have pierced themselves with much pain ”(1 Timothy 6: 6-10).

Paul wrote this letter to Timothy, one of his best friends and brothers in the faith, however he intended that the church of Ephesus (left in the care of Timothy) also listen to the contents of the letter. “In this passage, the apostle Paul tells us to desire God and all the things of God,” wrote Jamie Rohrbaugh for iBelieve.com. “He teaches us to pursue holy things with great passion, rather than focusing our hearts and affections on riches and riches”.

The entire chapter 6 addresses the church of Ephesus and their tendency to drift away from the very core of Christianity. Without a Bible to carry with them as we have today, they have been influenced back and forth by different attributes of other faiths, Jewish law and their society.

Paul writes about obedience to God, contentment being rooted in God, fighting the good fight of faith, God as our provider and false knowledge. He builds and then scales to uproot them from evil and the lopsided love of money, reminding them that it is in Christ that we find true contentment, and God provides for us - not just what we need, but blesses us on and over there!

“The modern reader reading these 2300-year-old portraits of flawed characters will find many familiar themes,” explains Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary of the New Testament, “and will confirm Paul's claim that money is at the root of broken friendships. , broken marriages, bad reputations and all kinds of evil “.

Are wealthy people at greater risk of abandoning the faith?
“Sell your goods and give them to the poor. Provide yourselves with bags that will never wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys ”(Luke 12:33).

A person does not have to be rich to succumb to the temptation of the love of money. "The love of money produces its destruction by causing the soul to abandon the faith," explains John Piper. "Faith is the satisfied trust in Christ to which Paul referred." Who is poor, orphaned and in need depends on who has the resources to share to give it.

Deuteronomy 15: 7 reminds us that "If anyone is poor among your fellow Israelites in any of the cities of the land that the Lord your God gives you, do not be hard of heart or hard on them." Both time and money are important, as to reach those in need with the gospel, their physical needs to survive must be met.

Marshal Segal wrote for Desiring God: "The craving for more and more money and to buy more and more things is evil, and ironically and tragically it steals and kills the life and happiness it promises." On the contrary, those who have very little can be the happiest, because they know that the secret of contentment is life in the love of Christ.

Whether we are rich, poor or somewhere in between, we are all faced with the temptation that money presents to us.

How can we protect our hearts from the love of money?
"Wisdom is a refuge as money is a refuge, but the advantage of knowledge is this: wisdom preserves those who have it" (Ecclesiastes 7:12).

We can protect our hearts from the love of money by making sure that God is always seated on the throne of our hearts. Wake up to spend time in prayer with Him, however short. Align schedules and goals with God's will through prayer and time in God's Word.

This CBN article explains that “money has become so important that men will lie, cheat, bribe, defame and kill to get it. The love of money becomes the ultimate idolatry “. His truth and love will protect our hearts from the love of money. And when we fall into temptation, we are never too far away to return to God, who always awaits us with open arms to forgive and embrace us.