The Love of Money

Money….it’s the root of all sorts of evil….

Hmmm….no, not exactly.

But it’s in the Bible, you say. And if it’s in the Bible then it’s true!

Well…not so fast. You skipped a word when reading the verse in 1 Timothy 6:10. It is the LOVE of money that is the root of all evil.

For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.

1 Timothy 6:10

We’d all like to have more money. It’s how we survive in this world, right? We need money to buy groceries, to pay rent, to pay, ugh, bills…

When we start obsessing about money is when we have turned that money into a god.

I’m afraid I may have turned it into a god these past several months. I temporarily lost my job last year due to COVID. A lot of people did. So I immediately filed unemployment. On top of the unemployment an extra $600 was given per week. I built up a nice little savings. (which quickly depleted when our stupid sewer line had to be fixed.)

Then we received the several stimuluses and for awhile, life was good! I eventually went back to work and of course the benefits stopped.

I realized now that I was depending too much on that extra money. And if I’m being honest, I’m still depending on it too much.

While on unemployment apparently there was a bill passed that said up to $10,200 in benefits was NOT supposed to be taxed and that we would be receiving a refund.

I’ve been checking my account multiple times a day to see if I have anything pending. As of right now, nothing.

Money had, well has, become a god to me. I’m ashamed that I’m depending more on money than I am my Maker.

There is a song by Natalie Grant called “More Than Anything” and there is a line….

“Help me want the Giver
More than the giving
Oh, help me want You, Jesus
More than anything”

³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

James 4:3

I think God knows that if I was to receive that money right now that I would spend it foolishly. He’s waiting for me to realize that I need HIM more than money. That I need HIM more than what this materialistic world has to offer.

The Young Rich Ruler

¹⁷ As Jesus was starting out on his way to Jerusalem, a man came running up to him, knelt down, and asked, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

¹⁸ “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked. “Only God is truly good. ¹⁹ But to answer your question, you know the commandments: ‘You must not murder. You must not commit adultery. You must not steal. You must not testify falsely. You must not cheat anyone. Honor your father and mother.’^[a]”

²⁰ “Teacher,” the man replied, “I’ve obeyed all these commandments since I was young.”

²¹ Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

²² At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.

²³ Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God!” ²⁴ This amazed them. But Jesus said again, “Dear children, it is very hard^[b] to enter the Kingdom of God. ²⁵ In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God!”

²⁶ The disciples were astounded. “Then who in the world can be saved?” they asked.

²⁷ Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But not with God. Everything is possible with God.”

…the god of money is often God’s main competition for our hearts. The problem isn’t money. Money isn’t the root of all kinds of evil, but the LOVE of money is.

Kyle Idleman, “gods at war”

Who are you living for?

Just remember this: You cannot serve both God and money.”