When you do this, you get the joy and God gets the glory. You are not the owner of your things you are the manager. As Randy Alcorn points out in his excellent book on money, you don’t own anything. The proper view of money should be stewardship. Why do you want more? And what are you going to do with it once you get it?Īnswer these question and you’ll have a better grasp of where you stand on money and material possessions. The difference lies in the desire and motive. Material possessions are not the problem greed and covetousness and pride are. Seeking to make a lot of money for the right reasons is not a sin not living generously is. Having a lot of money is not a sin loving money more than God and people is.īeing a millionaire is not a sin looking down on those who aren’t is. The questions should be, “Do you love God more than money?” And, “Are you stewarding your money wisely for God’s glory?” The question is not, “Do you have a lot of money?” When we speak about money, we have to ask the right questions. Like a good Father, God provides good gifts for his kids to enjoy - including money. richly provides us with everything to enjoy.” (1 Timothy 6:17) But this can’t be true since in the same exact letter Paul says that God “. Poverty theology says that money and ambition and material possessions are a bad thing. If prosperity theology means to come to Jesus and he’ll make you rich, then poverty theology means that if you come to Jesus you should be poor. My fear is that this common misconception that money is the root of all evil will lead to poverty theology. So we conclude: money by itself is not a root of all kinds of evil, but an unhealthy affection and desire for money is. Amazingly, this is the only occurrence of this word in the entire Bible. He says that “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” The difference is the word “love.” In the original language, the word that Paul uses to describe the word love can be “an affection for money.” Words like “covetousness” and “greed” can be used as synonyms. Paul does not say that money is the root of all evil. The Love of Money is A Root of All Kinds of Evil But when we examine these verses closely, we see several nuances. You may start to feel guilty and wonder how you can give all your money away and seek to be poor like all those other godly Christians.
With a quick glance at these verses, you may think money is bad. How much more for those who are already rich? Paul says that those who desire to be rich fall into temptation. I once heard David Platt give the observation of the word “desire” in this verse. “.those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmless desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction (1 Timothy 6:9). One way we can better understand this verse is to read the verse before it, where Paul says: Like all Bible verses, this verse must be read in its original context. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10). “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. In the letter of 1 Timothy, Paul encourages Timothy and says: I think where the misunderstanding lies is a simple misreading of a popular Bible passage. Some seem to think that money is inherently evil, and we should find no delight whatsoever in money. On several occasions, I’ve heard this expression from others: “Money is the root of all evil.” I’ve heard it from Christians, from irreligious people, in the media, and lots of other places.
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