Can we clear something up? “Money is the root of all evil,” is not an ancient proverb. It isn’t an old saying. It is just a bad paraphrase of what “Paul” actually said to “Timothy” toward the tale end of his “first letter.” The actual saying that people are trying to recall when they ignorantly say “money is the root of all evil” is “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil…” Yet, that isn’t even the whole sentence. We’ll get to that in a minute, let’s look at this piece of text a little more closely.
Philarguria – the Greek word translated “love of money.” Prior to looking this up, I assumed it was two words, but there it is, a single word that means “a greedy disposition love of money, avarice, covetousness.” It is a pseudo-hapaxlegomenon, appearing in the Canon only here in 1 Tim 6.10. It also shows up in the Apocryphal book 4th Maccabees in a section that sounds like it could have been written by an Enlightenment philosopher or perhaps even Richard Dawkins, subtitled in BibleWorks as “The Supremacy of Reason”, “In the soul it is boastfulness, covetousness, thirst for honor, rivalry, and malice;…” It obviously has roots in philos, which is one of the four Greek words that gets translated as “love” in English Bibles.
Rhiza – the Greek word translated as “root,” which has deeper connotations as it also can mean shoot or offspring. The love of money is a basis of and chief provider for
and here’s where my Greek transliteration gets fuzzy
Panaton ton kakon – the Greek phrase (very loosely transliterated) that is translated as “all kinds of evil,” but is more literally “all the evils.” An internet meme waiting to happen.
The Young’s Literal Translation captures it best, “a root of all the evils is the love of money…”
It is a pithy saying and one that is easily repeated and often misquoted, but the deeper question that goes unaddressed in remembering only half of 1 Timothy 6.10, is “why?” Why is the love of money a root for all the evils? The answer is “in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” As I said in last week’s sermon, the pursuit of wealth is quite possibly the single strongest opponent to faith in God. It distracts us from the work of the kingdom, which, more often than not, invites us to give our stuff away, to share it with our brothers and sister, and, most assuredly, calls us to care for the poor, outcast, widowed, and orphaned.
Money isn’t the root of all evil. The love of money takes our attention away from God’s dream and focuses it squarely on ourselves. As Adam Savage of Mythbusters fame (and my doppleganger) is prone to say, “Well, there’s your problem.”
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Christian tradition, the love of money is condemned as a sin primarily based on texts such as Ecclesiastes 5:10 and 1 Timothy 6:10. The Christian condemnation relates to avarice and greed rather than money itself. The Christian texts (scriptures) are full of parables and use easy-to-understand subjects, such as money, to convey the actual message, there are further parallels in Solon and Aristotle,[1] and Massinissa—who ascribed love of money to Hannibal and the Carthaginians.[2] Avarice is one of the Seven deadly sins in the Christian classifications of vices (sins).
Judaism[edit]
Berachya Hanakdan lists «love of money» as a secular love,[3] while Israel Salanter considers love of money for its own sake a non-universal inner force.[4] A tale about Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Apt (1748–1825), rabbi in Iasi, recounts that he, who normally scorned money, had the habit of looking kindly on money before giving it to the poor at Purim, since only in valuing the gift could the gift express love of God.[5] Berachot 54a teaches businessmen to «elevate their love of money to the same status as their love of God, which means that they should thereby love God enough to follow his commandment.»[6]
Christianity[edit]
Source text[edit]
The original Koine Greek reads, ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία (Rhiza gar pantōn tōn kakōn estin hē philargyria) — «for the root of all evils is the love of money.»[7]
The Greek word αργυρία(argyria) may, like its cognates in many European languages, be translated as silver or money.
A popular current text, the King James Version shows 1 Timothy 6:10 to be:
For the love of money is the root of all of evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
(The full verse is shown but Bold added being the subject of this page.)
Another popular text, the New International Version has «For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil….»
During the Reformation, Martin Luther (1483–1546) translated the Latin Vulgate Bible into German, and 1 Timothy 6:10 «Die Habsucht ist die Wurzel allen Übels.;…»
Soon after Martin Luther’s translation of the Bible to German, William Tyndale (1494–1536) did a similar translation into English as «For covetousness is the root of all evil;…»
The grammarian Daniel B. Wallace lists six alternative possible translations of the primary Greek text, 1 Timothy 6:10. There are two reasons for this: first, it is difficult to tell whether the noun «root» is intended to be indefinite, definite, or qualitative. Second, the Greek word for «all» may mean «all without exclusion» or «all without distinction».[8] But by reading more verses either side of 1 Timothy 6:10 a greater surety and confidence that the message is the coveting and striving of greed for something on earth is the sin the Jews and Christians define, where money could be exchanged with anything else on the earth eg power. The opposite of greed is charity, each of the Seven deadly sins has a counterpart in the Seven virtues.
Cultural history[edit]
Augustine defines love of money as a subcategory of avarice.[9] Luther referred to the love of money in strong accusations against the Catholic Church in his initial work of the Ninety-five Theses or Disputation on the Power of Indulgences. He saw the selling of an indulgence by the church, ie paying money to the church to gain a reduction of penalty of sins in purgatory (a belief unique to the Catholic church) as being more commercial greed of the church than it was doing actual good for the Christian person. Later in some sermons he shone the spotlight on commercial money lenders which happened to be Jewish and one can argue have anti-semitic undertones.[10][11] However, more to the point is thesis 43 of the Ninety Five thesis «A Christian who gives to the poor or lends to those in need is doing better in God’s eyes than one who buys ‘forgiveness’ (buys an indulgence)»[12]., as in a Jew who changed from being a money lender with greed to a money lender with charity would be doing better in God’s eyes than simply purchasing a piece of paper that said they will spend less time in purgatory from Luther’s point of view.
See also[edit]
- Mammon
- Religious criticisms of capitalism
- Almighty dollar
- Gordon Gekko
- Ebenezer Scrooge
- Mr. Krabs
- Grunkle Stan
- Scrooge McDuck
- Radix malorum est cupiditas, Latin for «greed is the root of evil»
References[edit]
- ^ Gilles Dostaler Keynes and His Battles – Page 163 – 2007 «The condemnation of the love of money is part of a long tradition, having its origins in the Bible: ‘He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity’ (Ecclesiastes, 5.10). Solon, who had exonerated the debts of the Athenians, wrote in one of the poems composed to support his reforms: The man … for whom Keynes had the greatest admiration,16 denounced chrematistics, the pursuit of wealth for its own sake.»
- ^ Polybius The Histories of Polybius: Books 1–16, 18, 20–36, 38, And 39 2004 Page 298 «… wind, but the character of their compatriots—and more in detail by Massanissa, when he discoursed on the love of money displayed by Carthaginians in general and especially by Hannibal and by this Mago who was known as the Samnite.
- ^ Berachya Hanakdan, Ethical Treatises of Berachya, Son of Rabbi Natronai Ha Nakdan Hermann Gollancz 2003 Page 172 «The love of money, and amassing of wealth. 6. The love of many children. 7. The desire to colonise and build. 8. The love of long life, and completing die round of years. 9. The love 5 of power and authority, and seeking after greatness. 10.»
- ^ Hillel Goldberg Israel Salanter, Text, Structure, Idea: The Ethics and Theology of … 1982 – Page 161 «Rabbi Israel answers explicitly that the makeup of the majority of inner forces is beyond even human estimation.29 In that … on-universal inner forces include love of money for the sake of expending it and love of money for its own sake and …»
- ^ Simcha Raz, Dov Peretz Elkins Tales of the Righteous 2012 Page 150 «During the first year that Rabbi Avraham Yehoshua Heschel of Apt became rabbi in Iasi, Romania, the people of the city sent … my heart to appreciate money, and when my love of money rises sufficiently, only then can I distribute it to the poor.»
- ^ Larry Kahaner Values, Prosperity, and the Talmud: Business Lessons from the Ancient Rabbis 2004 «Because money is so important to these people, they should follow the rabbis’ advice and elevate their love of money to the same status as their love of God, which means that they should thereby love God enough to follow his commandment …Berachot 54a»
- ^ «1 Timothy 6:10 Greek Text Analysis».
- ^ Daniel B. Wallace Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics : An Exegetical Syntax of the New Testament 1997 Page 265 «1 Tim 6:10 pi£ce JHXVTOW TWV KCCKWV eativ f| (juXapyupia This is a difficult text to translate, having the following possibilities: (1) «the love of money is a root of all evils,» (2) «the love of money is the root of all evils,» (3) «the love of money … The reason for these six possibilities is that first, it is difficult to tell whether pi£a is indefinite (options 1 & 4), definite (2 & 5), or qualitative (3 & 6), and secondly, JtdtvTwv may mean «all without exclusion» (1, 2, & 3) or «all without distinction» (4, 5, …»
- ^ St. Augustine: The Literal Meaning of Genesis – Livres 7 à 12 – Page 147 «In the stricter meaning of the word, avarice is what is more commonly called love of money. But St. Paul in using the word intended to go from the special to the general meaning and wished avarice to be understood in the broad sense of the.»
- ^ David W. Jones Reforming the Morality of Usury: A Study of the Differences That … 2004 – Page 53 «In this work Luther wrote: [The love of money] is so crass in the case of the pope and ecclesiastical estate that sticks and stones cry out to heaven. But this is nothing in comparison with what few people see, namely that the ecclesiastical estate …
- ^ Eric W. Gritsch Martin Luther’s Anti-Semitism: Against His Better Judgment 2012– Page 57 «In a sermon of 1519, Luther joined the discussion on the use and abuse of money-lending, linked to the practice of ‘usury. … German Nation Concerning the Reform of the Christian Estate,’ Luther associated commerce and the love of money …»
- ^ «The 95 Theses – a modern translation – History Learning Site». History Learning Site. Retrieved 2017-07-12.
[‘mʌnɪ]
n
деньги, денежные средства
He never has any money. — Он всегда без денег.
He would do anything for money. — Он все сделает за деньги.
I haven’t got that much money. — У меня нет таких денег.
To have money to burn. To roll in money. — ◊ Денег — куры не клюют.
Easily earned money is quickly spent. — ◊ Легко нажито, легко прожито.
Money makes money. — ◊ Деньги делают деньги. /Деньги к деньгам идут.
Not to be had for love or/and money. — ◊ Не купить ни за любовь, ни за деньги. /Ни за что на свете не купишь.
Time is money. — ◊ Время — деньги.
Money is the root of all evil. — ◊ Деньги — корень всех зол.
Money doesn’t grow on trees. — ◊ Деньги на улице не валяются.
— pocket money
— well-earned money
— ill-gotten money
— ready money
— good money
— paper money
— dirty money
— fat money
— honest money
— forged money
— money-lender
— money devaluation
— money market
— money famine
— rest of the money
— much lot of money
— lack of money
— borrow money from smb
— lend money to smb
— owe money to smb
— invest money into smth
— throw money
— throw money to the winds
— deposit money at a bank
— put money for a rainy day
— embezzle smb’s money
— save money
— advance money
— loan money
— exchange American money into French money
— count out the money
— collect money on delivery
— cost much
— collect money from smb for smth
— advance money at low interest
— buy smth with money
— pay money for smth
— have enough money to buy smth
— have enough money to pay smth
— pay money in advance
ASSOCIATIONS AND IMAGERY:
Значение существительного money вызывает образ съедаемой пищи и использования каких-либо ресурсов, что проявляется в значении ряда слов и словосочетаний: They didn’t get a fair share/slice of cake/pie. Они от этого пирога не получили своей справедливой доли. The fees have swallowed most of my grant. Взносы поглотили большую часть гранта. The rent takes a large bite out of their income. На оплату ренты уходит бо́льшая доля их дохода. This ate into our savings. Это съело существенную часть наших сбережений. The richest nations ate up/devoured the world’s resources. Самые богатые страны/нации поглотили мировые ресурсы/запасы. The government said the treasury was bare. Правительство заявило, что казна пуста́. We have to make do with scraps from their table. Нам приходится довольствоваться объедками с их стола
USAGE:
Существительное money, в отличие от соответствующего русского существительного деньги, имеет форму только единственного числа, согласуется с глаголом в форме единственного числа и никогда не употребляется с неопределенным артиклем. Как и остальные неисчисляемые существительные, money сочетается со словами some, any, much, little. В эту группу существительных входят: applause — аплодисменты, cream — сливки, hair — волосы, luggage — вещи/багаж, twilight — сумерки, machinery — механизмы и т. д..
Table of Content
- What is the love of money?
- Examples of the love of money in the Bible
- Consequence or dangers of loving money
- How to stop loving money
- Conclusion
- Food for thought
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. 1
Timothy 6:10
In the above Scripture, Paul identifies the love of money as a factor that leads many a Christian to go astray from the faith. In other words, the love of money causes Christians to deviate from the faith into apostasy. However, the Bible did not say money is evil; rather, it is the love of it which is evil. People may ask, “what is the love of money.”
Greed – greed is a bad character; and it refers to the intense and selfish desire for something. In real-life examples, people express greed for possessions, money, food, power, attention, etc. Today, our study is centered on one aspect of greed; that is, the greed for money. Greed for money is what the Bible correctly calls the love of money.
The love of money or love for money can be defined as an intense and selfish desire to get more money. And it is a bad character just like its mother greed.
The love of money is a sin just like lust and it is common to all men, Christians, and non-Christians alike. While lust is a strong sexual desire we have for the opposite sex, the love of money is a sort of strong desire we have for money.
Those who love money or lovers of money are those who are willing to do anything for the sake of money without considering the morality of it. Hence they do not mind killing, stealing, embezzling, kidnapping, bullying others with the intent of making money and they do not feel any compunction for the wrong things they do.
The love of money is a big problem in all spheres; in the family, the church, the community, and the nation. The love of money is not unique to unbelievers; some followers of Jesus Christ also fall prey to the love of money. In fact, one of the most hurtful acts of the love of money was committed in the life of Jesus when one of His disciples betrayed him for 30 silver pieces. And up to date, that act of betrayal has been reenacted over and over in the church. Also, the love of money is the drive behind numerous scandals – corruption, embezzlement, bribery, etc. in companies, communities, and the state. It is also the driving force behind many gruesome acts of murder, kidnapping, drug trade, arms trade, child trafficking, and more. In a bid to make more money, lovers of money would try out anything or would exploit any avenue regardless of its evil impact on the environment, and the life and welfare of others.
Also, the love of money is not unique to the rich, some poor people also fall prey to the love of money in a bid to escape the menaces of poverty.
All who love money are slaves of money; and slaves of money are, inevitably, living tools for the devil’s use. Since time immemorial, lovers of money have been manipulated by the devil, for the devil uses money as a bait to lure them to commit crimes that, ordinarily, they would not commit. All the time, after they are through with getting what they want, lovers of money leave behind destruction of the lives, welfare, and property of others. The family, the church, the community, and the state, would always feel the sting of the love of money because it is a bad character in people and it is always played out. This explains why crime and other unscrupulous practices have coexisted with mankind from time immemorial.
Examples of the love of money in the Bible
1. Judas Iscariot loved money
Jesus Christ appointed for Himself twelve disciples – Thaddaeus, Peter, Andrew, John, (Matthew 10:2-4), etc. Among those chosen was Judas Iscariot. At that time, people contributed money to help Jesus’ ministry and the money was kept in a money box that was entrusted to Judas Iscariot’s keep. So to say, Judas Iscariot was made their treasurer and entrusted with the keeping of the money. Fine, Judas Iscariot was doing the job. But there was something else about Judas Iscariot that was not fine and it affected the quality of his service. Judas Iscariot, like all mankind, had a weakness – a bad character – his was greed for money. Sooner or later, his weakness began to unfold: Iscariot began to steal money from the money box that was in his keep (John 12:6).
But that was not enough for the lover of money. He wanted even more money. And to get more, he saw his own master Jesus to be an easy means of getting more. Judas Iscariot was very calculative; knowing how much the religious authority of the time hated Jesus, he knew there was much to gain from betraying Him to them. His weakness of greed for money made him nothing more than a puppet susceptible to the devil’s manipulation. The Bible says that one day the devil entered into Judas Iscariot and he went to the religious leaders and offered to betray Jesus to them if only they would give him money (Luke 22:3-6). Anxious as they were for Jesus’ blood, they accepted his offer and counted to him 30 silver pieces (Matthew 26:14-16).
Eventually, Iscariot betrayed Jesus to His death and he also committed suicide and could not spend the very money that he betrayed his Master for.
2. The sons of Samuel, Joel and Abiah, loved money
Samuel – a good boy who grew up to be a great prophet before the Lord. Prophet Samuel is counted among the judges of Israel and his life was a worthy example to be emulated. However, his sons were nothing like him. When Samuel was old, he appointed his two sons, Joel and Abiah, to be judges over Israel in Beer-sheba. But his sons proved to love money, for they forsook the ways of their father and were corrupt, they went after ill-gotten money and took bribes, and perverted judgment. These are obvious signs of the love of money (1 Samuel 8:1-3).
3. Zacchaeus was guilty of the love of money
When Jesus was passing through Jericho, he got to a place where there was a sycamore tree and he looked up and saw a certain man called Zacchaeus in the tree. Zacchaeus was a chief tax collector and a rich man. Jesus said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today (Luke 19:5).”So he quickly came down and welcomed Jesus into his house with joy. In his house, Zacchaeus stood, and said to Jesus, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold (Luke 19:8).” This confession of Zacchaeus summaries his story and justifies why people called him a sinner. Zacchaeus, like Judas Iscariot, was also guilty of the love of money. According to his own confession, he had employed shady means to financial gains, despite being a chief tax collected and, most likely, well paid. (Luke 19:1-10)
4. Achan was guilty of the love of money
Before the Israelites conquered Jericho, Joshua told the army, “17 The city and all that is in it are to be devoted …….19 All the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron are sacred to the Lord and must go into his treasury (Joshua 7:17-19).” After the Lord had caused the walls of Jericho to collapse, the Israeli army charged in and took it, killing every life in it except Rahab and her family. Then the army went around collecting all the silver, the gold, and the articles of bronze and iron from the city. Each person brought what he found. They might have gathered all their findings into one big heap and then gave them to the priests to be put into the treasury of the Lord’s house. Then they burned the whole city and everything in it.
However, Achan, from the tribe of Judah, wanted to play smart here. He refused to turn in the items he took from Jericho. According to his own confession, he found a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, and he desired to have them and he took them for himself. Meanwhile, he knew he was not supposed to take anything for himself. Because of him, God punished Israel and made them lose against Ai in their first encounter. When his sin was discovered, Achan himself, his family, and his possessions were stoned to death and burnt in the Valley of Achor. Achan’s love for money explains why did such an ungodly thing. Bible Reference Joshua 7:1-26
Consequence or dangers of loving money
The Bible emphasizes that those Christians who are greedy for money and eager to become rich, of course, through dishonest means, fall into temptation and they are entrapped in sin to their own destruction (1 Timothy 6:9). The love of money or greed for money makes a Christian a sure victim of temptation of practicing sinful deeds that will ruin his relationship with God and make him apostatize.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 1 Peter 5:8
If this Scripture has never been meaningful to you before, then it will be meaningful to you now. In time past, the devil searched among the disciples of Jesus and weighed them all and found one loose person, Judas Iscariot, who was a lover of money. The devil used him to commit damnable sins and finally destroyed him. Up to this very day, the devil is still on the hunt in the church for Christians whose weaknesses he can exploit to his advantage. Those Christians who express the weakness of greed for money, become very susceptible to the devil’s manipulation. For such Christians, the devil uses money to tempt them into committing shameful and damnable habitual sins that ruin their relationship with God to their own destruction.
How to stop loving money
It is written, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” Be content with what the Lord has blessed you with. Do not envy the riches of others into pursuing the love of money; or do not be enticed into the love of money by the extravagant life of the rich – especially, the worldly rich musicians, footballers, actors, etc.
If you are already living in the sin of the love of money or greed for money, repent of it and from the other sins associated with it. Upon repenting, pray and rededicate your life to Jesus, never to go back into the love of money again. Stand on the word of God and the power of self-control given by the Holy Spirit to resist any temptation associated with the love of money.
Conclusion
The tragic story of Judas Iscariot has become an example that all Christians should look at to understand the end of a Christian who loves money. Taking Judas Iscariot’s story into consideration, the love of money will inevitably lead a Christian into apostasy. No wonder the Holy Spirit, through Paul, teaches Christians to refrain from the love of money for the love of money can lead a Christian astray from the faith, making him an apostate.
The devil will manipulate any Christian who loves money. However, it is not the devil who decides whether or not a Christian should love money. The choice to love money or not is ours.
Food for thought
- If you were asked to explain the love of money, what would you have said?
- Have you ever lived in the sin of the love of money before? How was it like?
- What should one do to abstain from the love of money?
- Does being rich have anything to do with loving money?
All topics under the Love of Money
- What does Matthew 4:7 mean?
- What does ‘continue in my word’ mean?
- What does ‘abide in my love’ mean?
- What does ‘abide in me’ mean?
- Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words
- What is the meaning of ‘cut to the heart’
- What is the meaning of ‘poor in spirit’?
- What is the meaning of ‘ye are the salt of the earth’?
- What is the meaning of the Beatitudes?
- Jesus heals the sick in Galilee
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the love of money is the root of all evil
The desire to obtain and amass money is the ultimate reason humans do evil things to one another. The phrase is Biblical in origin. The promise of wealth is what eventually led him to murder his own brother. As ever, the love of money is the root of all evil.
See also: all, evil, love, money, of, root
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2022 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
- money is the root of all evil
- corn in Egypt
- Egypt
- apple of
- apple of eye
- apple of my eye
- apple of one’s eye
- apple of one’s eye, the
- get thee behind me
- hard as the nether millstone