Love of Money
This oft misquoted verse gives us some real insight into wealth and the pursuit of it. There are those who think one of the cardinal virtues of Christianity is the rejection of material wealth. They believe that Jesus taught the disdain for wealth when he said "Blessed are the poor." This leads us to ask what is the real issue with wealth? Wealth, like anything else, can become an idol in our lives. Jesus did say we cannot serve two masters (God and "mammon"). Paul also makes clear that the pursuit of wealth as an end unto itself is wrong -- it is idolatry.
Why is that? Because the pursuit, or love, of money leads us into all other kinds of sin. Think of the things some people will do to gain wealth -- the lying, the cheating, the stealing. As Paul says, live of money is a root of all kinds of sin. In other words, from this root other "fruit" sins spring forth.
However, wealth, in and of itself, is not evil. We must not swing into the opposite extreme. Later on Paul encourages those who are wealthy to be generous with their wealth (vv. 18-19). As the saying goes, we are blessed to be a blessing. There are many Christians who don't have the gifts of preaching or evangelizing, but are gifted in wealth generation; for whatever reason, they know how to make money. These people can be just as valuable to the church as they bless the church with their generosity.
Created 10 months ago
