Money

One of the most misquoted scriptures is 1 Timothy 6:10: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

The way that we hear it, though, is simply, "Money is the root of all evil." That sounds like a very different story!

As someone who grew up in the church, surrounded by those who misused this verse, I've been made to believe that money is sinful and it is wrong to want more of it. But is that what this verse is actually saying?

The word for "love of money" is philargyria, which means avarice: extreme greed for money and material gain. I read that as the love of money for money's sake. The love of money simply for your own gain.

And then, later in the verse, the word for "eager" is oregō: "to stretch one's self out in order to touch or to grasp something, to reach after or desire something" or "to give one's self up to the love of money." Interestingly, the word oregō is used two other times in the New Testament to describe healthy things to long for – aspiring to be an overseer in the church and longing for a heavenly country.

So we can see that longing and desire in itself are not wrong. But it very much depends on what your heart is longing for. Is it for power, comfort, or security from worldly things? Or is it for God's will to be done on earth as it is in heaven?

Both can require money! So, money in itself is not evil. It is a neutral source. But the spiritual impact of this source depends on how you use it.

As I'm processing my own beliefs around money, here are five ways I'm training my brain not to feel guilty about desiring money:

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Romolo Tavani

A woman from Wisconsin pleaded guilty to theft last week for stealing around $30,000 from a local church. She will serve four days in a corrections facility.

As reported by The Christian Post, Gregory Neal of Rochester, made unauthorized withdrawals of approximately $130,000 using the debit and credit cards from Journey Baptist Church in Barrington between January 2017 and March 2020.

Churches from Louisiana to Michigan this week used funds to give gas cards to those hit hard by rising prices at the pump. "That’s why we’re here, there’s been people here since 9 am this morning waiting for gas. We’re here, we’re gonna pump it for them, we’re gonna love on them," said Pastor Carlton Lynch.

More Americans are falling deeper into debt as median incomes have dropped amid the rising costs of housing, food, gas, transportation and medical care.

A plumber working at Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church was recently awarded $20,000 after he found 500 envelopes of cash, checks and money orders inside the wall of one of the church's bathrooms while doing maintenance at the church in November.

Law enforcement officials in Houston, Texas, are suggesting that hundreds of envelopes filled with money recently uncovered by a plumber at Joel Osteen’s Lakewood Church are possibly connected to a theft case from 2014.

What would happen if we thought about every dollar we spend this season as an expression of our faith? We would spend differently. Would we spend our money in ways that help create a more just local economy, in ways that begin to address the racial wealth disparity and the needs of our neighbors? From what I understand of Scripture, that seems like a more fitting way to celebrate the birth of Christ.

A free market works not because wealth is valued, but because labor is. Jesus said we can’t serve both God and money and that it’s more difficult for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of God. Jesus never said accumulating wealth itself is sinful. Exploitation of the poor is sinful. Looking to wealth for salvation and meaning is sinful. Failing to steward what we’ve been given and failing to care for those in need are sinful. When these potential downfalls are mitigated or avoided, a free market inspires people to give more.

Given the economic turmoil, social unrest, and growing misunderstanding of how economies function, what better time could there be to ensure your kids and grandkids understand the fundamentals of money and stewardship from a Biblical worldview, what money is for, how it can be properly used to bless others and advance the kingdom?