0717 THE LOVE OF MONEY

JULY 17 = 1 TIMOTHY 6

THE LOVE OF MONEY

Have you ever heard the expression, money is the root of evil? If so, did you know that it comes from the Bible? And if so, did you know that it was kind of misquoted? Let’s find out the nuances of this old proverb.

The actual statement is “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” And its context is found in 1 Timothy 6. Here Paul is talking about what we live with and what we live without, and why we make those choices. He starts with this:

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 

Elsewhere, we heard Paul say that he had learned the “secret” to contentment. So he could live with wealth or poverty and be content. Here he says some of the same things. After all, “we brought nothing into this world, and we can take nothing with us.” As Job said, “Naked I came into this world, and naked I shall return.” That kind of perspective helps me to ask why I spend so much energy pursuing things that I can only use for my lifetime? When I’m gone, even if heaven is not my reward, I won’t have need of or use for those things that I acquired. And if I find a way to pass them on to my children, or even on to their children, at some point my prized possessions will break, or rot, or be stolen, or go out of style, just as Jesus said they would (except for the going out of style part).

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 

Life can provide so many temptations. We become discontent over many ambitions. We want affirmation from others. We want to be famous. We want to succeed in the public arena. We want money, yes, that’s what we want! With money, we can BUY all those other things we want. With money, my name could be known everywhere. With money, I can have that car or house or thingamabob that turns heads and draws attention. With enough money, I no longer have to work for a living! I can involve myself in other people’s business, or can buy a company and change the world from the top down. I could live like a king! Wake up when I want, do what I want, eat what I want, sleep whenever I want. Yes, that’s the perfect solution! And then, too late, I realize that I have fallen into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge me into ruin and destruction.

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. 

Yes. It was that love of money that started all this. The love of power. The love of independence and selfishness. The love of self. Greed. Covetousness. Envy. Excess, drunkenness and carousing. Gluttony, loss of self-control and loss of consideration for others. The lust of the flesh. The lust of the eyes. The pride of life. All that is in the world, according to John. Money is not the problem here, you may notice. Rather, it is the LOVE of money that does you in.

Here, then, is Paul’s instruction for how to overcome the love of money and its sinful influences within you.

Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 

What happens when we are eager for money? We stop relying on God, and only think about ourselves. We stop believing in God to meet our needs, because we imagine that our vast money allows us to gain just about anything in the world, we find ourselves deeply grieved and without a solution.

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

So, what are those to do who alreadty have great wealth? Zacchaeus volunteered to give away much of his fortune gained from tax collecting. Jesus told the rich young man to sell everything and give it to the poor. Maybe it takes something as radical as that for us to get to heaven. But what if it did? What if that was what God said? Would you do it?

Here is the ironic balancing truth to this teaching: God gives us everything for our enjoyment! We are SUPPOSED to find pleasure in the things of this world! But if we are not truly content with whatever God gives us, rather than finding pleasure, we find envy about the “next” thing we need. 

Our advertising culture and online robots are trained to elicit in each of us discontent. To convince us that we will be happy if we can just get that one. More. Thing. And so we forget the secret to contentment. The reason that we live.

Godliness with contentment is great gain. May you be content today. Amen.