For those of you new to Free Money Finance, I post on The Bible and
Money every Sunday. Here's why.
Recently the Christian Financial Alliance asked several bloggers the following question:
“How should a Christian fight against ‘the love of money’ so heavily condemned in scripture?”
The verse they are referring to is 1 Timothy 6:10 which says (NIV):
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
Here was my response:
“I think that giving is the greatest weapon against the love of money. Giving takes the focus off of “me” and “more for me” and puts it on others — the exact opposite of what the love of money does to a person’s life.”
Many people will mis-quote the verse above and say that "money is the root of all evil." But the actual teaching says that it's the "love of money" that's the problem. And IMO, giving is the answer to combat this evil.
What do you think of my response?
Before reading your answer, giving was the answer that came to my mind. The other things comes to mind is having a realistic sense of what money can and can't do. It can't create or fix relationships, it can't make you any younger, it can't restore your health, and after your basic needs are met more money won't make you significantly happier either.
It can be used to buy import things- the basic needs, and wants as well as solving a lot of problems so it is very useful but it isn't all powerful.
-Rick Francis
Posted by: Rick Franics | January 06, 2013 at 11:24 AM
I agree with Rick.
The most important thing that money provides for my wife and I is "Peace of mind". It's knowing that we can take care of any problem that arises where money can be the solution. As Rick pointed out there are many issues that money cannot solve. Some you have no control over, others however can be largely avoided by a conscious effort to make sensible decisions throughout all stages of your life. This is particularly important as you get older. Now at 78 and 79 we lead a fairly quiet life and don't stray very far from home particularly on the roads at night where so many accidents happen.
Posted by: Old Limey | January 06, 2013 at 12:12 PM
That's a pretty clever way to tackle greed. People always forget that making more money can have big benefits for others as well as yourself.
Posted by: My Money Design | January 06, 2013 at 04:15 PM
Very well said! Deuteronomy 8:18 says, "You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day." I believe that if you are not greedy and you are active in stewardship, then god will let you prosper. Everything God gives us can be used for ministry, whether it is giving of tithe or treating your pastors family to dinner at your expense. Do like the man with many talents, and God will give you more.
Posted by: Rob @FinancialSprout | January 06, 2013 at 04:51 PM
Giving of ones time, talent and compassion making one humble, will overcome a cold check of any amount.
Posted by: Matt | January 06, 2013 at 08:06 PM
I sometimes worry that I love money too much. My wife and I are very interested in making money - we talk about it a lot, and focus a lot of energy on it, and so far have done pretty well. We also are fairly frugal and give generously. I find our own feelings on giving amusing - while we will debate for weeks over the purchase of a $100 luxury item, we don't give a moment's extra thought to sending an extra $1,000 to our favorite charity. Still, I'm very torn as to whether our giving is truly from the heart or whether we just give to cover for our underlying love of money (as in, is money actually our God?).
Posted by: Jonathan | January 07, 2013 at 01:24 AM
I agree with Jonathan. Deep inside, it seems humans are both extremely good and extremely evil. It seems to be a battle between them. I don't want to give even one cent of my money away because deep inside I really want more stuff and more exeperiences. But then I look at the people in this world that literally have nothing and I really want to give them everything. Then there's the issue of wether I'm giving to charity to actually help people or because it makes me feel good about myself? In the end I give weekly to church, monthly to organizations that feed the poor, and periodically to various other charities. How I should feel about it and how I'll be rewarded at the end of life I have no idea.
Posted by: GH | January 07, 2013 at 10:15 AM
Money comes, money goes. If you have "enough", you should stop thinking about it all the time. Stop with the pointless obsessions over saving a few cents here and there by being unnecessarily frugal, frugality does not equal morality. Why not buy a new house or a car? It helps out people working those industries. If you have enough already, its greedy to just pile it up in the bank.
Posted by: Mc | January 07, 2013 at 01:53 PM
MC,
You have a good point, except for one critical thing - how would one define "enough?" In the case of Old Limey on this board, he has enough by his own admission when considering his wealth, income, lifestyle, and age. But what about for someone like me? My wife and I are 28 and haven't yet started a family. We're living in economically turbulent times and the future is uncertain in many ways. We live on well-under half our income, give away a significant portion, and save/invest everything else.
We are on track to acquire significant wealth, but how would we know when it's enough for any contingency? It seems we couldn't know until we either hit goals that seem all but out of reach or until we're in our sunset years.
Also, there are two drivers of our desire for wealth - one is to live with security, comfort, and be able to experience the world. The other driver is and has always been that we want to be able to make a difference in people's lives through giving. We are always debating the best way to balance giving vs. investing now, believing that we will be able to make an exponentially bigger impact in the future.
Anyway, all I mean to say is that while greed is sinful, that doesn't mean it's sinful to grow your wealth even beyond a reasonable measure of "enough."
Posted by: Jonathan | January 07, 2013 at 05:00 PM
I am not agree with you for this statement "love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" Over love of money is problem. Love of money encourage people to earn money and lead a good and happy life. At present scenario, leading life is not possible without money.
Posted by: Shawn James | January 11, 2013 at 01:38 AM