Money’s Temptation
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some have coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” I Timothy 6:10
Money and vast amounts of material possessions are deceiving. They can’t buy life, real joy, health, or peace, those things that most folks seek after more than anything else. Matter of fact, wealth can be harmful if it leads one to depend on it because it can vanish in an instant. The time of the Great Depression in the 1930’s has proven that point. Even as recent as the recession of 2008-2009 or even more recent as the COVID pandemic and the resulting job losses and inflation has shown us that just because we have financial security today is no sign it will be there tomorrow. Attaining wealth can make people do things that are corrupt and hurt other people along the way. It is astonishing that people who have wealth are treated with more respect and admiration than the less affluent person who is a friendlier and more generous person than a wealthy person, generally speaking. They, whoever “they” are, say that “money talks”, but can it give the words of joy, contentment, peace, and eternal life? Nope.
Paul was cautioning Timothy to not let wealth cause him to lose his contentment with a life that is godly, righteous, and focused on the will of God. Paul wrote that “the love of money is the root of all evil”. He didn’t say that “money” was the cause of evil, but the “love” of money. Jesus said that no one can serve both God and money because one will always “win out” over the other (Matthew 6:24). We have another saying, “follow the money trail” which means in a search for wrongdoing, it almost always leads to the desire for money. When criminals break into a home, they are not looking for Bibles, but money or anything of value which can be traded for money. Many marriages break up over money. I know of a couple who are getting divorced because one took much of their savings to buy a house without the knowledge of the spouse. There could have been other issues, like trust, in that marriage, but it was the secret use of money which was the impetus for the separation.
Some politicians go into office, not really to serve their constituents for they are supposed to serve the people, not the other way around, and after a few years, become very wealthy. Paul said that some folks even love money so much that they will walk away from their faith which only brings hurt and sorrows. How can one who has truly been born again completely walk away from his or her faith? A real Christian cannot because they have been “sealed” with “the Holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13b). That doesn’t mean that the truly born-again believer can’t sin because he or she still has a sin nature. Jesus in the only One incapable of sin. One reason the Holy Spirit is placed within a person’s heart when that person repents and trusts Christ as Lord and Savior is to notify the believer when he or she has crossed over the line between righteousness and sin and to convict the believer who sins so that he or she will repent. The fact that these folks of whom Paul was referring could sin and not feel conviction was a sure indication that their faith was never real.
Paul urged Timothy, addressing him as a “man of God”, a pastor and a mentor, to flee the temptation of wealth. We have pastors today who are multi-millionaires, some because they pastor mega churches, receive a very generous salary, and have made wise investments for their retirement, giving back to the church generous donations, while others are in it for the money. I heard about a pastor who changed denominations because the one he changed to paid a much more lucrative salary. A pastor should be paid enough to support his family, as much as the church can afford, for he is on call 24/7 and is responsible to his congregation in the roles of preaching the word, counseling, settling disputes, and many other duties. He wears a lot of hats. He is the one most responsible for setting the tone of the church, a huge task.
Instead of selfish pursuits in his role as pastor, Timothy was urged by Paul to follow after righteousness in his personal life for what he did outside of the church reflected on Christ and the church body in various ways: godliness, which as a representative of Christ before the church, he set the example of one who loves and serves God before the church; faith, as one who was responsible to live out what he believed and to depend on the Lord for everything; love, as one whose heart was devoid of prejudice, envy, and hatred for anyone; patience, as one who kept his emotions in check, allowing for the mistakes of others, not being harsh or arrogant; and meekness, having strength under control, keeping a level head, and not being overbearing or harshly authoritative. In other words, to be as near to Christlikeness as possible. Shouldn’t that goal be the goal of all Christians?