For the love of money is the root of all evil…….

This is taken from a verse in 1 Timothy, 6:10, the entirety of which reads:

For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

This verse has often been misquoted, and thus misused, by the removal of the first three words, which effectively makes money itself the root of all evil. If this is the case, then everyone, including people living on the street, are guilty of possessing and harboring evil because just about everybody possesses some form of money.

First, let’s establish to whom this is and is not being addressed. It is being addressed to those who are part of the community of believers, that is, members of the church the body of Christ, not the entire world. And the verse, in its entirety, plainly states that “the love of money,”  not money itself, is the thing that causes those of “the faith” to err from it, and become “pierced….through with many sorrows.”  ((Most extremely wealthy people in the world get that way and stay that way because they certainly do love money, what it buys them, and the power and influence it gives them over other people. This love for money and the coveting after it is characterized in many cases by some very ruthless actions against other people, which can bring them sorrow, but more often than not doesn’t, as they have developed a conscience that is “seared with a hot iron,” (1Tim. 2:4)  and thus are relatively unaffected by this. Indeed, unless it is inherited, they could never attain to the level of wealth they have with a conscience that informed them otherwise.))   These sorrows may not be manifest in this life, but they most certainly will be at the judgment seat of Christ, where everyone in the b of C must give an account of themselves.

Second, let’s establish some facts about money. Money is, simply, a medium of exchange for something else, both material and immaterial. It is therefore neither good nor evil; it just is.  Within the historical context of the verse, that is, when it was written, money would have been either gold, silver, or brass coin, or “scrip” ( a written document, redeemable in money). ((ref. Matt. 10:9,10; Mark 6:8; Luke 9:3;10:4))

In modern times, gold, silver, and brass coins are no longer circulated for the use of exchange, nor is the paper currency (scrip) redeemable in these metals. Modern coinage is now a combination of much cheaper metals, viz., tin, copper, and nickel, and has, in and of itself, no intrinsic value, as do what are commonly referred to as the “precious metals.”  Nowadays, physical money of any kind is fast giving way to “digital” money, that is, mere digits on a computer screen.

However one wishes to characterize what money is, everyone, including those of the faith community, has some of it, more or less. It is difficult, bordering on impossible, to exist in modern society without it.  The question remains then, what would constitute having a “love for it?”  Would simply being “rich in this world,” that is, having considerably more money than is needed for basic necessities, e.g., food and shelter, qualify as “loving” it? Not necessarily.  Even being in what is routinely referred to as the “one percent” wealth category, that is, having assets/income that qualifies one, financially speaking, to be part of the top 1% of society,  wouldn’t necessarily mean he/she is guilty of loving or coveting after money. The fact is, just about everybody “covets” after more money, at least as long as we are able to spend it on things. Moreover, is anybody ever completely satisfied with what they have?  Haven’t we all harbored feelings of insecurity in times when the money was running a bit thin?  But, didn’t the apostle Paul say, in his letter to the Philippians (chapter 4, verses 11,12), that he had learned to be content in whatsoever financial state he found himself and that by implication, those of us who are members of the body of Christ should be also?

Note that in that passage of Scripture the apostle says he had  “learned to be content” with whatsoever state he found himself, whether in abundance or in abasement.  In other words, this isn’t something that comes naturally to us; it must be learned, and it rarely is learned outside of experiencing financial deprivation at some point in one’s life. Therefore, when (not if) this comes our way– whether the state of abasement is our own doing, or not–we are not to overreact to it but rather to look upon it as a learning experience and an opportunity to use our situation to more effectively serve God.

Having said all this, let’s explore the Scripture for the answer to avoiding falling into the error of making the accumulation of money, and assets that constitute money, the centerpiece and driving force in our lives.

First, we need to make sure, as members of the body of Christ, that we are taking our instructions (regarding anything we do and say) from the right dispensation, viz., “the dispensation of the grace of God,” ((Ephesians 3:2))  because they are decidedly different from the instructions (doctrine) given in other dispensations.

In my book, “85 pages in the Bible,” I break the Bible, Genesis thru the Revelation, down into eleven dispensations, one of which I refer to as “the dispensation of the first advent.”  That dispensation would be the one laid out in what is commonly referred to as the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. These are the accounts, as recorded by the men whose names are their titles, of the Lord’s first appearing on the earth as the man Jesus Christ, which includes the chronicle of his birth, his three-year earthly ministry, his death, burial, and resurrection from the dead, and his final 40 days on earth before ascending into heaven. Let me be absolutely clear about what is written for the obedience of faith in the four gospels: it is not doctrine for the church, the body of Christ, and this would certainly include the sections about possessing money, and the things money buys, as follows:

And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease…..These twelve Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,  Nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.  Matt. 10:1, 5-10  ((Also reference parallel passages in Mark 6; Luke 9 and 10))

This states, in no uncertain terms, that the 12 are to have NO gold, silver or brass (money), or “scrip” on their appointed mission to preach the “gospel of the kingdom” to “the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” but will be totally reliant on the charity of others for their sustenance/survival.  Earlier, in Matthew 6, they were instructed not to concern themselves with the necessities of life: