The Love Of Money: Part One (1 Timothy 6:9-10)

Let's examine the warning of apostle Paul to the Christ follower. "But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs" (1 Tim. 6:9-10). This passage of Scripture is an open rebuke of the so called "health and wealth" or "prosperity teaching!" Sadly, many Christ followers have fallen for this unbiblical teaching. The proponents of this false teaching brazenly and shamefully appeal to the greed and selfishness of their spiritually naive audiences. They are the people of whom Paul wrote, "who suppose that godliness is a means of gain" (1 Tim. 6:5). The desire for money will deceive and ultimately destroy you! In this passage, Paul outlines for us a process: (1) The desire for money; (2) The deception of money; (3) The destruction brought about by money. In other words, the desire draws you in; the deception gets you comfortable and oblivious to the danger; the destruction finishes you off! Also, notice that this pattern is followed in verse 9 and is repeated in verse 10 for emphasis! 1. The desire: "want to get rich" (v. 9), "love of money" (v. 10). 2. The deception: "snare" (v. 9), "wandered away" (v. 10). 3. The destruction: "ruin and destruction" (v. 9), "pierced themselves with many griefs" (v. 10). For this teaching, we'll deal with the desire. The decision to chase after riches is a root sin! In Greek, the word "root," is placed first in the sentence for emphasis. In other words, the love of money is not the only root of evil, but it's a very powerful one. Loving money leads to all kinds of evil! What does apostle Paul mean by "the love of money"? Is he saying that it's wrong to enjoy material things? Are we sinning if we buy and actually enjoy things above the basic needs of life? No, he's not! If that were so, Paul would not have said that God "richly supplies us with all things to enjoy" (v. 17). The love of money is a decision or a longing to pursue wealth for personal consumption and luxury. Examine the lifestyles of the false teachers that teach this error about going after money! They boast about their wealth, while indulging themselves in every flagrant luxury they can! If these false teachers would bother to read 1 Timothy 6:9-10 carefully, they'd see that it is error to teach this mess! Also, if the Christ follower that's under this twisted teaching would bother to read this passage, it would set them free from greed and being selfish. Your move. Be encouraged!