The love of money is a dangerous evil, and its effects are clearly seen in the lives it ruins, the harm it causes to others, and the damage it does to one’s relationship with God. The consequences of loving money are these:
The love of money ruins your Christian moral values and would mold you into a maniac capable of any evil thing possible to man, such as betrayal, murder, pimping, etc. Lovers of money prove to be very inhuman; for the most part, they prey on the poor, the uneducated, the weak, the destitute, and any other person who happens to be an easy target for their money, possession, etc.
The love of money unleashes all the selfishness in a person. People who love money are selfish to the extent that they do not care to take everything for themselves and watch others suffer. Where they have to share resources equally, they take the lion’s share; where they have to distribute to all, they keep it for themselves. Also, they do not care to engage in activities that would bring them more money but would cause the destruction of the environment and the suffering of people.
The love of money makes a person dissatisfied with what he has. And the dissatisfaction would lead to being envious of what others have. And envy would lead to being covetous, for they desire to take what others have for themselves, such as money and anything of value.
The love of money breeds crime. Crime is happening around us each day. Quite a good number of them are motivated by greed for money. Anyone who loves money is in danger of becoming an outlaw or a criminal, for the love of money has led many to fall foul of the law for crimes such as human trafficking, kidnapping, killing, embezzling, robbing, etc.
The love of money will make you the devil’s puppet. The Bible says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8):” In times past, the devil searched among the disciples of Jesus and found one loose person, Judas Iscariot, who was a lover of money. The devil used him to betray Jesus and finally destroyed him. Up to now, he is still searching in the church for Christians whose weaknesses he can exploit. The Christians who love money become very susceptible to his manipulation, for he uses money as a bait to tempt them into committing shameful and damnable sins that ruin their lives and their relationship with God.
Sometimes people who love money may not be engaged in something very bad or may not be using shady means to get rich. They may be doing legitimate business or activity to earn money. But their love of money would keep them devoted to their work so much that they barely have time and attention for their families. These lead to marital problems, juvenile delinquency, and divorces.
The love of money makes a believer fail the purpose of their calling, which is bearing fruit (John 15:16)—meaning doing good deeds by obeying God’s word. Examples: The Scriptures said, “Don’t accept bribes. Judges are blinded and justice is twisted by bribes (Exodus 23:8 CEV).” Yet the sons of Samuel—Joel and Abiah, loving money, took bribes and could not administer justice. Before Israel captured Jericho, Joshua dedicated the spoils to God and forbade them from taking any of the spoils. But only Achan, a lover of money, disobeyed and took some of the spoils for himself to displease God. Likewise, a believer who loves money is disobedient to the word and habitually sinful.
The love of money makes a believer fall into temptation and a snare. In 1 Timothy 6:9, Paul says people who, through the love of money, become rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which lead men into destruction and hellfire. Generally, anyone who loves money, rich or poor, is a sure victim of temptation because the devil uses money as bait to tempt them or lure them to evil deeds. You know what? People like Judas Iscariot did not start as evil people. Initially, Judas Iscariot did not have any malicious intent to betray Jesus, but along the way, Satan used money to lure him to betray Him.
The love of money leads to a tragic life. In 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul said that lovers of money ‘pierced themselves through with many sorrows’. The sorrows in the context of 1 Timothy 6:9 may come in the form of disgrace, imprisonment, death sentence, suicide, premature death, dismissal, etc. We see evidence of this in everyday life; both believers and unbelievers who love money and live up to it never have a happy ending, for they are sometimes caught red-handed in their crimes or their crimes are discovered later, and they are arrested, convicted, and sentenced to death, imprisonment, etc.
The love of money leads to apostasy. According to 1 Timothy 6:10, believers who love money erred from the faith. The Greek word translated as err is apoplanao, which means to lead astray or to stray (from truth). The phrase erred from the faith refers to nothing but apostasy. Indeed, the love of money would make an apostate of any Christian, like it made an apostate of Judas Iscariot.
Ultimately, the love of money ruins your relationship with God. Apart from the fact that the sinful deeds committed under the love of money will ruin your relationship with God, loving money induces Christians to respect and value their career or business more than God. They hardly find time to engage in spiritual activities that strengthen their relationship with God, such as going to church, fasting, praying, bible studies, evangelism, etc. For some Christians, the love of money has devoured their faith and piety to the extent that they find religion to be of no value and serving God to be a waste of time.