The Root of All Evil

• For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. (1 Timothy 6:10 NKJV)

  In previous articles here, we’ve talked about the inner struggle that some of us face — particularly those who have been around Christianity for awhile — where business and financial success are concerned. One of the biggest contributors to this struggle is an abundance of erroneous teaching about the Bible and what it really says.

  

  The Root of All Evil?

  This screwed-up teaching is so pervasive that even people outside the Church have been infected by it.

  For example, here’s a direct quote from a 2008 Newsweek article:

  “For one thing, Scripture is full of exhortations against accumulating wealth. The New Testament, especially, repeatedly reminds followers of Christ that earthly wealth means nothing in heaven. ‘It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God,’ says Jesus.”

  These few sentences are so full of misunderstanding about Scripture that it’s almost infuriating. (Where does Newsweek get off interpreting Scripture anyway?!) But the tragedy is that many churches have actually taught fallacies like this — arguably with good intentions.

  Another big example is the, “root of all evil,” Scripture referred to in the title of today’s message. Not only is it frequently misquoted as, “money is the root of all evil,” but the entire passage that it comes from is (in my experience) usually preached from a fundamental place of misunderstanding.

  If you’re hearing from those you look up to (spiritually speaking) that it’s wrong to accumulate wealth, doesn’t that directly work against you?  Isn’t business challenging enough without wondering if God is upset with us for doing well in it?  Is God so cruel as to require that we work to provide for our families and even call us into the business world only to tell us that we are only pleasing to Him when we fail?

  It’s time that we take a hard look at some of these teachings and find out what the Scripture really says.

  Stay tuned for more on this topic. If you’re ready to dive into some more intense study of this and other topics related to money, business and profit, be sure to check out our 5-part audio teaching series on bulldozing the barriers to your business and financial success.