The Danger of Loving Money (6:6-10)
22
But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. 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 a pang. (6:6-10)
The Bible is replete with warnings against loving money. Perhaps none is more pointed than the one given by our Lord in Matthew 6:21: “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” What believers do with their money is one of the truest measures of their spiritual maturity.
How should believers view money? First, they must realize that having money is not wrong in itself. First Samuel 2:7 says, “The Lord makes poor and rich” (cf. 1 Chron. 29:12). The Bible does not teach that being wealthy is a sin. Some of the great men of the Old Testament, such as Abraham, Job, and Solomon were extremely wealthy.
Second, they should recognize that money is a gift from God. Moses cautioned the Israelites not to forget that truth:
Beware lest you forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; lest, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, then your heart becomes proud, and you forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. Otherwise, you may say in your heart, “My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.” But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. (Deut. 8:11-18)
All that believers have has come to them through God’s providence.
Third, believers must be willing to part with their money if God so requires (cf. Matt. 19:27). Job understood that principle. In Job 1:21 he said, “The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Fourth, those who have money must not be given preferential treatment. James warned,
My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives? Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Is it not the rich who oppress you and personally drag you into court? Do they not blaspheme the fair name by which you have been called? If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. (James 2:1-10)
Fifth, those with money must not be proud, nor seek security from it. In 1 Timothy 6:17 Paul instructed the rich “not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.” Proverbs 11:28 cautions that “he who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.”
Sixth, believers must never make the pursuit of money the highest goal of their lives. In Matthew 6:33 the Lord Jesus Christ commanded, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.”
Seventh, money must be used for eternal purposes. Jesus said we are to use our money to make eternal friends; that is, to lead souls to the Lord (Luke 16:9).
Finally, money must not be loved—selfishly hoarded or indulgently spent. Proverbs 11:24-25 says, “There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.” Our Lord echoed that thought in Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” Paul told the Corinthians that “he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Cor. 9:6-7). Sacrificial generosity should mark every believer, and the absence of such a perspective reveals that one loves money.
The principle concerning loving money is found in verse 10: The love of money is a root of all sorts of evil. That applies directly in this context to those who are teachers, but also applies to every believer as a general rule. True preachers must avoid the money love of false teachers, as must all Christians. Like a gun, there is nothing inherently wrong with money. But like a gun, money can be used for good and evil purposes. Thus, the issue is not money, but one’s attitude toward it. The sin in view is the sin of greed.
What are the danger signs of loving money? First, those who love money are more concerned with making it than with honesty, or giving a quality effort. Believers must pursue truth and excellence, for which money may be the reward.
Second, those who love money never have enough. Like the leech’s daughters of Proverbs 30:15, all they can say is “Give, Give.” Such people stand in sharp contrast to Paul, who wrote to the Philippians, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am” (Phil. 4:11).
Third, those who love money tend to flaunt it. They derive an inordinate pleasure from wearing, driving, or living in what money buys.
Fourth, those who love money resent giving it. They want to use it all for their own selfish gratification.
Lastly, those who love money will often sin to get it. They will cheat on their income tax or their expense account, or pilfer from work. Those who compromise their principles for money betray a heart that loves it more than God, righteousness, and truth.
In the preceding passage, the apostle discussed false teachers (6:3-5) and their inordinate love for money. That issue leads to his discussion in verses 6-10. He wrote to counter the perverted notion that religious piety was a means to material gain (v. 5). Paul looks at the nature, effects, and illustrations of loving money.
THE NATURE OF MONEY LOVE
But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. (6:6-8)
Loving money is dangerous because of its very nature. Paul lists three features of money love that highlight that danger.
LOVING MONEY IGNORES THE TRUE GAIN
But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment. (6:6)
This verse is closely connected with verse 5. De (but) could also be translated “indeed.” In that case, Paul would be saying in response to the false teachers who saw their religious activity as a way to get rich, “Indeed, godliness does provide great gain.” The NASB translation reflects an adversative sense of the word. Paul’s meaning then is “But as over against the false understanding of godliness displayed by the false teachers, true godliness does result in great gain.” The apostle’s point is that true godliness is profitable, but not as some think.
Godliness translates eusebeia, a familiar term in the Pastoral Epistles. It means “piety,” “reverence,” or “likeness to God,” and here even “religion,” in the true sense. As such, it describes true holiness, spirituality, and virtue. When accompanied by contentment, such religion or godliness is a means of great gain. Autarkēia (contentment) means “self-sufficiency,” and was used by the Cynic and Stoic philosophers to describe the person who was unflappable, unmoved by outside circumstances, and who properly reacted to his environment (cf. Geoffrey B. Wilson, The Pastoral Epistles [Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1982], 85). To be content means to be satisfied and sufficient, and to seek nothing more than what one has.
For the Christian, unlike the Greek philosophers, contentment derives from God. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:5, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God.” In 2 Corinthians 9:8 he adds, “God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.” The apostle gave testimony to his own contentment in Philippians 4:11-13:
I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
In verse 19 of the same chapter he adds, “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” For the believer, then, contentment is more than a mere noble human virtue. It is based on the sufficiency provided by God the Father and Jesus Christ. Loving money deprives one of that contentment, thus ignoring the true gain provided by true godliness.
True godliness produces contentment and spiritual riches. People are truly rich when they are content with what they have. The richest person is the one who doesn’t need anything else. When asked the secret of contentment, the Greek philosopher Epicurus replied, “Add not to a man’s possessions but take away from his desires” (cited in William Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1975], 129). He is richest who desires the least. Proverbs 30:8-9 puts it this way: “Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is my portion, lest I be full and deny Thee and say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be in want and steal, and profane the name of my God.”
A godly person is motivated not by the love of money but by the love of God. He seeks the true riches of spiritual contentment that come from complete trust in an all-sufficient God. David said in Psalm 63:1-5,
O God, Thou art my God; I shall seek Thee earnestly; my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh yearns for Thee, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have beheld Thee in the sanctuary, to see Thy power and Thy glory. Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise Thee. So I will bless Thee as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips (cf. Ps. 107:9; Isa. 55:2; 58:11).
No amount of money will make up for a lack of contentment. John D. Rockefeller once said, “I have made many millions, but they have brought me no happiness.” Cornelius Vanderbilt added, “The care of millions is too great a load … there is no pleasure in it.” Millionaire John Jacob Astor described himself as “the most miserable man on earth.” Despite his wealth, Henry Ford once remarked, “I was happier doing mechanic’s work.” And John D. Rockefeller commented, “The poorest man I know is the man who has nothing but money.”
Love of money and contentment are mutually exclusive. As a Roman proverb put it, money is like sea water, the more you drink the thirstier you get (Barclay, The Letters to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, 132). Ecclesiastes 5:10 sums it up, “He who loves money will not be satisfied with money.”
LOVING MONEY FOCUSES ON THE TEMPORAL
For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either. (6:7)
In the Greek text, the word nothing is placed first in the sentence for emphasis. We bring nothing into the world when we are born, and we cannot take anything out of it either when we die. In Job 1:21 Job said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there.” Ecclesiastes 5:15 adds, “As he had come naked from his mother’s womb, so will he return as he came. He will take nothing from the fruit of his labor that he can carry in his hand.” People whose lives are dominated by the love of money spend their time pursuing what is locked into time and space. They ignore the things that have eternal value. Proverbs 27:24 warns that “riches are not forever.” As an old Spanish proverb put it, there are no pockets in a shroud. The modern equivalent of that saying is that hearses do not haul trailers.
Our Lord had much to say about the foolishness of pursuing temporal riches. In Matthew 6:19-20 He said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal.” Mark 8:36 adds, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” In Luke 12:15-21, Jesus gave a parable to illustrate that point:
And He said to them, “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” And He told them a parable, saying, “The land of a certain rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’” But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
To be so focused on temporal possessions as to miss the eternal riches is the height of folly.
LOVING MONEY OBSCURES THE SIMPLICITY OF LIFE
And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content. (6:8)
The more money and possessions one has, the more complex life becomes. The preacher in Ecclesiastes 5:11 mused, “When good things increase, those who consume them increase. So what is the advantage to their owners except to look on?” Material things demand time and energy that could be better spent on eternal realities. Food and covering (the basic necessities of life) should be enough to make Christians content. Paul does not condemn having possessions, if God graciously provides them. No vow of poverty is required. What he does condemn is a self-indulgent desire for money rising from discontent. The supreme goal of a believer’s life must be to love and glorify God, not to amass material possessions. As we love and glorify God, He may choose to bless us with riches. In that case, we are to deal with them from the same motive of loving and glorifying Him.
Our society replaces people with things, conversation with entertainment. By so doing, we have lost the simple joys of life, which center on relationships, the essence of Christian fellowship. Material things can pull believers away from those vital relationships with God and others.
The clearest statement on living a simple life free from the love of material things comes from our Lord. In Matthew 6:24-33 He said,
No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single cubit to his life’s span? And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith? Do not be anxious then, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “With what shall we clothe ourselves?” For all these things the Gentiles eagerly seek; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you.
The simple life involves accepting what God provides and avoiding covetousness.
The following practical principles will help keep life free from the desire for more material possessions.
First, believers must consciously realize that the Lord owns everything they have. They are mere stewards of their possessions. Purchases should be evaluated as to how they would advance the kingdom, or make one’s ministry more effective.
Second, believers must cultivate a thankful heart. Since God owes them nothing, anything they receive from Him should make them thankful.
Third, believers must learn to distinguish wants from needs. That principle, if followed, would greatly increase the amount of money available for the Lord’s work.
Fourth, believers must discipline themselves to spend less than they make. The ease of buying things on credit has become a severe temptation. As a result, many people are so hopelessly mired in debt that they will never get out.
Finally, believers must give sacrificially to the Lord. Laying up treasure in heaven for the work of the kingdom should be their highest joy and source of greatest reward.
THE EFFECTS OF MONEY LOVE
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. (6:9)
The sin of loving money is dangerous not only because of its nature, but also because of its effects.
LOVING MONEY RESULTS IN SINFUL ENTRAPMENT
But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare (6:9a)
People who want to get rich are tempted strongly and often caught in painful, debilitating sin like an animal in a snare. Boulomai (want) refers to a settled desire, one born of reason, not emotion, and describes clearly those guilty of the sin of greed. The present tense of the verb empiptō (fall) indicates a continual falling into temptation and traps. Greedy people are continually entrapped by their consuming drive for more. Their pursuit of what they want is their passion. Their sinful behavior becomes compulsive and controls their lives.
The Bible cautions against becoming entrapped by material things. In Deuteronomy 7:25 Moses warned the Israelites, “The graven images of their gods you are to burn with fire; you shall not covet the silver or the gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it, for it is an abomination to the Lord your God.” Love of money is a trap that needs to be carefully avoided.
LOVING MONEY RESULTS IN SUCCUMBING TO HARMFUL DESIRES
and many foolish and harmful desires (6:9b)
Loving money leads to the trap of crippling sin, which results in one being controlled by foolish and harmful desires. Epithumia (desires) usually speaks of evil desires. They are foolish because they are irrational, senseless, illogical. Those controlled by them thrash around like an animal in a trap, victims of their own evil lusts. When their desires are thwarted, they may even resort to violence (James 4:1-2). Their sinful desires are thus harmful to them. Those desires lead to the opposite of true happiness, because they have nothing whatsoever to do with the spiritual realm or the service of God. That alone is the source of true joy.
LOVING MONEY RESULTS IN ETERNAL JUDGMENT
which plunge men into ruin and destruction. (6:9c)
The wholehearted pursuit of material wealth ultimately ruins one’s spiritual life. Plunge is from buthizō, which means “to sink,” “submerge,” or “drag to the bottom.” The pursuit of riches ultimately drowns men. Olethros (ruin) is often used of the body, though it can have a more general meaning (cf. 1 Thess. 5:3). Apōleia (destruction) usually refers to the eternal ruin of the soul (cf. Rom. 9:22; 2 Thess. 2:3; Heb. 10:39; Rev. 17:8). The three terms together paint a picture of the total devastation of both body and soul. Love of money destroys people.
The Scriptures contain many tragic examples of those destroyed by money love. Achan’s love for money brought defeat to Israel, and death to himself and his family (Josh. 7:1-26). Judas betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for a paltry sum of money (Matt. 27:3-5). In Acts 8:20-23, Peter sternly rebuked Simon, who sought to buy the Spirit’s power:
But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.”
James condemned in no uncertain terms those who love money:
Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure! Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter. (James 5:1-5)
“Neither their silver nor their gold,” sums up Zephaniah 1:18, “will be able to deliver them on the day of the Lord’s wrath.”
THE ILLUSTRATIONS OF MONEY LOVE
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 a pang. (6:10)
The phrase the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, is the theme of this section. Everything else is an exposition of the significance of that statement. Love of money translates philarguria, a compound word that literally means “affection for silver.” As already noted, money is not intrinsically evil. Paul condemns the love of money, not money itself. That love becomes the root from which develops all sorts of evil. It is hard to imagine a sin that has not been committed for love of money. Such love causes people to indulge themselves, show off, distort justice, take advantage of the poor, lie, cheat, steal, and murder.
Paul closes this passage by illustrating the danger of loving money. Some by longing for it, he warns, had wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. Paul does not name names, but he would shortly have an example from his inner circle. Demas was perhaps even then turning aside to pursue the things of this world (cf. 2 Tim. 4:10). He, and others like him, have wandered away from the faith. Here, as in Jude 3, the faith refers to the body of Christian truth. For these apostates, gold replaced God.
Not only have they become apostates, but they have also pierced themselves with many a pang. Like an animal placed on a spit, they have skewered their own souls and brought themselves consuming grief. A condemning conscience, unfulfilled desires, dissatisfaction, and disillusionment are their lot. As Psalm 32:10 says, “Many are the sorrows of the wicked.” The ultimate pang they will suffer may well be eternal torment in hell.
Believers must pursue God, not money. Like David, they should be able to say, “As for me, I shall behold Thy face in righteousness; I will be satisfied with Thy likeness when I awake” (Ps. 17:15).
C. T. Studd was one of nineteenth-century England’s greatest cricket stars. After his conversion to Christ, he decided upon a missionary career. Before leaving for the mission field, he decided to give away his inheritance. His biographer picks up the story:
So far as he could judge, his inheritance was £29,000. But in order to leave a margin for error, he decided to start by giving £25,000. One memorable day, Jan. 13, 1887, he sent off four cheques of £5,000 each, and five of £1,000…This was no fool’s plunge on his part. It was his public testimony before God and man that he believed God’s Word to be the surest thing on earth, and that the hundredfold interest which God has promised in this life, not to speak of the next, is an actual reality for those who believe it and act on it.
He sent £5,000 to Mr. ID. L.} Moody, expressing the hope that he would be able to start some Gospel Work at Tirhoot in North India, where his father had made his fortune. Moody hoped to carry this out, but was unable to, and instead used the money to start the famous Moody Bible Institute in Chicago …
£5,000 he sent to Mr. George Müller, £4,000 to be used on missionary work, and £1,000 among the orphans; £5,000 to George Holland, in Whitechapel, “to be used for the Lord among His poor in London,” … and £5,000 to Commissioner Booth Tucker for the Salvation Army in India. (Norman P. Grubb, C. T. Studd: Cricketer and Pioneer [London: Lutterworth Press, 1953], 65-66)
Various other organizations received the remainder of the £25,000. His actual inheritance turned out to be a few thousand pounds more than he originally figured. He gave some of that money to other organizations and the rest to his fiancee as a wedding present. Not to be outdone, she gave that money away. The couple then went to Africa as missionaries with nothing (Grubb, C. T. Studd, 66-67).