Thoughts on 1 Timothy 6

Today’s reading: Leviticus 12; 1 Timothy 6

“It is through this craving [for money] that some have wandered away from the faith…”

This should be a really sobering quote for the majority of people who I imagine are ever very likely to read this post. Money can be incredibly powerful; it can be used to accomplish great things, but the love of it can bring incredible (even eternal) harm.

You often hear people misquoting 1 Timothy 6 and saying, “Money is the root of all evil,” but I kind of put that statement in the same category as the serpent’s words to Eve in the garden. This statement twists God’s words just enough to leave you saying, “I don’t think that’s really true,” and to let your guard down. But this isn’t what Paul says. What does he actually say? “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils.” Money itself is not the issue, but the love of it, and even that love is not the root of all evil, but a root of all kinds of evils.

The perceived need for money, especially among those of us who already have plenty, is very real. Aside even from the cultural and social pressures to continue to “climb the ladder” and have more and nicer things and to “provide a better life for your kids,” etc., entire industries exist just to drive you to feel financially insufficient. Watch 10 minutes of tv and you are fed a constant stream of all the things you don’t yet have, but which would really make your life much more complete than it is today. Then add that every industry, from cars, to shoes, to clothes, to cell phones come out with new looks and colors each year for no reason other than to mark a visual contrast as a constant reminder that you don’t have the newest yet, and you should feel bad about yourself because of that, and you are pressured to continuously feel financially inadequate, no matter how financially stable you might otherwise be.

This is the attitude Paul warns about. The issue is not having money, but is the craving for more, and the inability to be content with “food and clothing.” This is an area where the Christian has to seek a firm footing and take a stand in the midst of the flow of the culture around us. Before the Lord, we need to learn to truly be content with our basic needs being met, so that we aren’t drawn away from faithfulness to what the Lord has before us, or worse, drawn away from the faith entirely.

And how do we fight against that tendency? Paul gives us a good place to start in what he says to the rich, “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life.”

The best way to fight against the love of money that we are constantly inundated with today is to use the money we do have for the work and glory of God, rather than the comfort and glory of ourselves. Paul here is echoing the words of Jesus when He said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” When we invest in something, our heart follows our money in that investment. So when we are investing in ourselves, in our comfort, in our portfolio, in our retirement, in our manicured lawn, in our new phone, in our whatever it is, our heart will follow and we will be consumed by the most mundane and worthless things. But when we instead invest in the things of the Lord, in His church, in caring for the poor, in showing hospitality, or in the thousand other things that He might point us toward in using the money He has gifted us, our hearts are drawn toward those we are loving with our money and toward the Lord who has supplied us the money in the first place.

Getting practical

My practical suggestion to any follower of Jesus reading this is to find something you can be excited to support. Giving money can be an immense burden when we are giving because we feel compelled or when we just don’t care about what we are giving to, but finding something you can be passionate about can be the start of incredible transformation. Each of us is unique, with different interests and desires, and God has work that aligns with those interests and desires. I nerd out about bible translation, for example, and get extremely excited to be able to give to support translation projects for people groups who don’t currently have the Word available to them. My wife, on the other hand, has a heart for orphans, and so is excited to be able to give to projects providing care, education, etc. for vulnerable children in different parts of the world.

When you find something you are excited to support, giving financially stops becoming a question of how much you think God probably expects you to give or tithe so that you can keep the rest for yourself, and starts to become a question of where you can maybe pull together a little bit more to further support this exciting work the Lord is doing. And this is what will guard our hearts against the love of money that Paul warns Timothy about here in 1 Timothy 6.

As with everything in the Christian life, transformation does not come by gritting your teeth and powering through to becoming a more godly person. Transformation comes when we step out to serve in the ways and roles God has before us. The love of money is no different. Paul’s warning here is not to tell the rich to tithe 10% (and just to be clear, if you think Christians are just called to “tithe” 10% and the rest is yours, go back and read a little closer. The tithe the Jews paid was actually about 30%…). Begrudgingly meeting a minimum will not lead to transformation, but will lead to greater discontentment. But the Lord loves a cheerful giver, and when we choose to give cheerfully, investing in things which will last unto eternity, we lay up treasures for ourselves in Heaven and we experience a transformation of our hearts and our loves in the here and now.