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 KJV)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:10 ESV)
1 Timothy 6:10 is one of the most misquoted verses in the Bible. Some mistakenly quote it as ‘money is the root of all evil’. Money is like the key you need to open your door or it is like the phone you need to contact others; money is more of a tool and a means to an end. To speak frankly, money is very good because life on this earth depends on it so much; you need money to cater for your needs, you need money to fulfill your responsibilities, you need money to access important services, etc. Since money is the medium of exchange in this world, you cannot live without it. Therefore the saying ‘Money is the root of all evil’ is wrong and not biblical – for the Bible does not say that at all.
Though we can deduce from real life that money is good just like a car key or a phone, the Bible teaches that the love of money is evil and there are lots of historic and present events to confirm this teaching.
In real life, we see that not all sins are motivated by the love of money. Quite a lot of sins are motivated by lust, pride, jealousy, hatred, etc. E.g.: Cain killed Abel as a result of jealousy, Herodias had John the Baptist killed because she hated him, etc. We can see that the love of money is not the single causal factor of all sins on this earth. Therefore we have many causes of sin; in other words, we have many roots of sin; examples are lust, pride, hatred, fear, the love of money, etc.
In 1 Timothy 6:10, the King James Version says ‘the love of money is the root of all evil’ Everyone understands this verse means that the love of money is the single causal factor of all sins or the love of money is responsible for all sins committed by man. The way the King James Version puts it makes the verse contradict other Bible verses that suggest that we have many other causes of sins.
In 1 Timothy 6:10, the English Standard Version says, “… the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils…” This agrees with the rest of the Scriptures better. This suggests that the love of money is one of the many roots of evil or the love of money is one of the many causes of sin.
What is the meaning of the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil?
‘The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil’ means that the love of money leads people to commit all sorts of sins such as adultery, prostitution, murder, theft, bribery, etc. Lovers of money are willing to do anything to make money without considering the morality of it. Unbelievers are not the only people guilty of the love of money; some Christians also become lovers of money.
The lives of many people in history and those of the present, both Christians and unbelievers, perfectly confirms 1 Timothy 6:10. Historic and present events have plentiful examples of people who stained their hands with awful sins in the quest for money and paid the price thereof.
Examples:
1. Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus for money
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is one of the historical figures who became a victim of the love of money and he put it on display perfectly. Judas Iscariot, at the time he was appointed to become one of the disciples of Jesus, did not have such a malicious intention to betray Jesus for money; such a thought might have been far from him. However, Judas Iscariot, like any other human being, had a weakness. His weakness was greed for money. Consequently, he became a lover of money. In those days, people contributed money to Jesus’ ministry. The contributions were kept in a money box, which was entrusted to Judas Iscariot to keep. Being a lover of money, Iscariot started stealing money from the money box for himself. (John 12:4-6).
Iscariot was not content with whatever money, be it big or small, that he was stealing from the money box; he wanted more. But how would he get more? He began to see his own master, Jesus, as a price for the taking. Satan entered into him and gave him the boldness to go to see Jesus’ enemies, the Jewish religious leaders, in an attempt to betray Jesus for money. Eventually, Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus to earn more money, thirty silver pieces (Matthew 26:15). After betraying Jesus, Judas Iscariot became apostate; he could not join the disciples again; he was automatically cut off. At the end of it all, he could not even spend the money that he greedily craved for, for he took his own life when he was seized by remorse for what he did. By and large, the sin of love for money in Iscariot’s life drove him to become:
- A thief; he stole from the money box.
- A traitor; he betrayed Jesus for money.
- An apostate; he broke his relationship with God.
- A murderer; he betrayed Jesus to His death and he also killed himself.
The love of money gave birth to many other sins in Judas Iscariot’s life. The saying is true that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. More so, Judas Iscariot’s suicide confirms that those who love money pierce themselves through with many sorrows.
2. A newlywed killed husband in order to collect insurance money
A newly married woman has been convicted of soliciting the killing of her husband who was a firefighter. The accused woman got married to her deceased husband four months earlier. This evil act she orchestrated was motivated by the love of money, for she plotted her husband’s death to collect his $100,000 life insurance policy.
According to the report, she had a 17 years old daughter and hired her daughter’s boyfriend to find someone to kill her husband so that she could collect the insurance money. Little did she know that her husband had not yet changed the beneficiary on the insurance policy from her ex-wife’s name to her name. So when he was killed, it was the ex-wife who received the money. Testimony shows that the accused gave her daughter’s boyfriend a $1000.00 down payment to carry out the killing. The boyfriend contacted his cousin to do the job. His cousin failed in his attempt to execute the job, so he also turned to someone else to carry out the killing. Prosecutors said the killer ambushed the victim and shot him four times as he returned home from getting fast food the accused wife had requested. On 8th August 2017, the court sentenced the accused to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lest we forget, the accused wife who was driven by the love of money to kill her husband was also found guilty of the following
- aggravated murder,
- conspiracy,
- felonious assault and other charges
It was the love of money which led her and four other accomplices to commit murder and other criminal offenses, confirming that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Also, since they were caught and sentenced, the saying is true that those who love money pierce themselves through with many sorrows.
This case is one of several cases in which a husband kills a wife or a wife kills a husband all in the quest for money.
3. A young man attempted killing his mother for money ritual
In another report, a young man who was 29 at the time, attempted to kill his mother for money rituals. The suspect lived with his mother and his nephew in the same house. On 11 August 2018, the suspect went to his mother’s provision store and told her to meet him inside the house for an important discussion. At the same time, he sent his nephew to go and buy him a white handkerchief and a cigarette. As soon as his mother entered the house, the suspect attacked her, smashing her head with a plank, pressing iron, and a UPS charger to ensure she does not survive the lethal attack. When his nephew arrived, he was surprised not to see her grandmother in the provision store, so he went into the house only to see the poor woman lying in a pool of blood. Shocked, he raised an alarm that attracted neighbors to the scene. The police were called upon and they arrived at the scene to arrest the suspect and secured the scene for further investigation. The victim was rushed to the hospital for treatment and was found to be hanging on to her life.
This case is just one of several cases in which a person uses or attempts to use another person’s life in a ritual for money. The love of money truly makes some people lose their sense of judgment for they do not mind taking the lives of their mothers, fathers, children, wives, etc., and those of other innocent people for money rituals. And those who do this kind of thing mar their own life forever, for they live in fear and regret, and never find any peace, and sometimes, they are haunted by evil spirits till the day their short miserable lives come to an end. Indeed, the love of money is the root of all evil for it leads people to commit many outrageous sins. many kinds of sins and those who love money heap upon their own heads many troubles.
4. A prostitute killed her lover for his money
This is the story of Melissa – a young woman who started as a sex worker but managed to keep two personalities of herself. To many people, she was a wholesome Christian girl, decent and god-fearing. But in reality, she was a ruthless prostitute capable of murder.
She walked into the life of this Christian young man, who also clung to her in love. A few months later, they got married. According to her husband, on day two of their honeymoon, Melissa mustered the courage to tell him that all along what she was doing for work was prostitution. It hurt so much to hear that, but her husband could not divorce her; he accepted her and wanted to continue living with her as husband and wife. They had two little girls and they lived a simple life.
Her true nature was far from gone. A few years into their marriage, the simple, suburban life began to bore her. She wanted more in life than that. She wanted a bigger house, more money, and the kind of excitement her husband could not provide. Then she announced to her husband that she was going back to work as a prostitute; in fact, she told her husband that she would go to work in a brothel to make a few thousand dollars on weekends. Though her husband did everything to stop her, she did not give in. She got her way and started working as a prostitute. She was out all hours with her clients, leaving her husband to become a stay at home dad to take care of their two kids.
One of her clients, Sam, who was a wealthy businessman was later going to be her ultimate victim. According to her husband, she started seeing this wealthy businessman privately; and she was making more money off him. She also told her husband that she was going to start dating Sam so that she could take advantage of his financial estate and she would make sure that whatever finances he had she would take advantage of it. Her husband, finally, left her and took his two kids with him.
Melissa moved into the apartment with her new lover Sam. She somehow convinced Sam to make her a company director with access to his bank account. After he had granted her request and she had had access to his bank account, she wanted all of his money so she contracted one of her other lovers to kill him with a crowbar. The hitman tried the assassination but failed, though he successfully wounded Sam, for while he was beating Sam down with the crossbar, a Good Samaritan neighbor interrupted and the hitman run away. Sam received medical care and survived the vicious attack.
Three months later, Melisa arranged a second hit. This time, all her scheming paid off. The hitman she contacted shot Sam ten times at point-blank range in his bed. Sam was already dead when health personnel came in to pick his body. Melissa was later arrested, charged, and convicted of the murder of Sam.
We see the love of money put on display. Melissa displayed the love of money to the core; because of the love of money, she became a prostitute, adulteress, and, eventually, a murderer. We see that all kinds of sins sprang up from her love for money. The saying is true that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.
Conclusion
People who love money, Christians and unbelievers alike, inevitably, stain their hands with many sins and they suffer the consequences thereof. The word of God, the verses of the Scriptures, is true. The Scriptures are fulfilled in our lives and in the lives of other people every day. Unfortunately, for the most part, we do not take notice of them.