Is the love of money the root of all evil?

[evangelist6589]

KJV seems to indicate that it is, but ESV/NIV say its the root of all kinds of evil.

1 Tim 6:10 (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.

1 Tim 6:10 (ESV)
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 Tim 6:10 (KJV)
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.

How can the love of money be the root of all evil? Would not the root of all evil be the total depravity of man and the wickedness of his heart? What of a serial killer that DOES NOT love money? What of Adam Lanza and James Holmes? These men did not love money but loved killing. These were/are wicked men so it would not make sense that the love of money would be the root of all evil.

 

[blessedwife318]

Context is king and if you just read around the verse instead of just making a snide comment about the KJV you would see that the context is about contentment, and I think we can all agree that discontentment is the root of many many sins.

 

[padredurand]

KJV seems to indicate that it is, but ESV/NIV say its the root of all kinds of evil.

1 Tim 6:10 (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.

1 Tim 6:10 (ESV)
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 Tim 6:10 (KJV)
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.

How can the love of money be the root of all evil? Would not the root of all evil be the total depravity of man and the wickedness of his heart? What of a serial killer that DOES NOT love money? What of Adam Lanza and James Holmes? These men did not love money but loved killing. These were/are wicked men so it would not make sense that the love of money would be the root of all evil.

Take the verse in context. This passage addresses Christian discipleship.

1 Timothy 6:6-12 NAS77

6 But godliness actually is a means of great gain, when accompanied by contentment.
7 For we have brought nothing into the world, so we cannot take anything out of it either.
8 And if we have food and covering, with these we shall be content.
9 But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.
11 But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness.
12 Fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
​

You can be dirt poor and be content. You cannot be ungodly and be content. Folks, in their desire to want more things have walked away following the Lord. They press to gain more stuff at the cost of desiring more of the sufficiency of Christ.

This is the consummate counter-prosperity passage. Jesus said something like this in Matthew 6:33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you." Choosing to pursue material gain first is ruinous to a fulfilling Christian walk.

This is how Webster defines evil

E'VIL, a. e'vl. [Heb. to be unjust or injurious, to defraud.]

1. Having bad qualities of a natural kind; mischievous; having qualities which tend to injury, or to produce mischief.

Some evil beast hath devoured him. Gen 37.

2. Having bad qualities of a moral kind; wicked; corrupt; perverse; wrong; as evil thoughts; evil deeds; evil speaking; an evil generation.

3. Unfortunate; unhappy; producing sorrow, distress, injury or calamity; as evil tidings; evil arrows; evil days.

E'VIL, n. Evil is natural or moral. Natural evil is any thing which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings.

Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude.

There are also evils called civil, which affect injuriously the peace or prosperity of a city or state; and political evils, which injure a nation, in its public capacity.

All wickedness, all crimes, all violations of law and right are moral evils. Diseases are natural evils, but they often proceed from moral evils.

2. Misfortune; mischief; injury.

There shall no evil befall thee. Psa 91.

A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself. Prov 22.

3. Depravity; corruption of heart, or disposition to commit wickedness; malignity.

The heart of the sons of men is full of evil. Eccl 9.

4. Malady; as the king's evil or scrophula.

 

[Aaron]

KJV seems to indicate that it is, but ESV/NIV say its the root of all kinds of evil.

All kinds means all kinds, not some kinds.

 

[Alcott]

All kinds means all kinds, not some kinds.

It does?

From the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites and the Gadites and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle [I Chronicles 12:33].

There was absolutely no kind of weapon of war they did not have?

Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem [Nehemiah 13:16].

Nothing that was ever a kind of merchandise was not there?

 

[Sapper Woody]

It does?

From the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites and the Gadites and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle [I Chronicles 12:33].

There was absolutely no kind of weapon of war they did not have?

Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem [Nehemiah 13:16].

Nothing that was ever a kind of merchandise was not there?

Yes, it does. They had all kinds of weapons. Sword, staff, spear, thrown, shot. There you go. Same with merchandise. They had food, luxuries, linens, furnitures, etc. "All kinds" does not have to mean every single make and model. It means it had representatives from each group, or kinds.

 

[Yeshua1]

KJV seems to indicate that it is, but ESV/NIV say its the root of all kinds of evil.

1 Tim 6:10 (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.

1 Tim 6:10 (ESV)
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 Tim 6:10 (KJV)
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.

How can the love of money be the root of all evil? Would not the root of all evil be the total depravity of man and the wickedness of his heart? What of a serial killer that DOES NOT love money? What of Adam Lanza and James Holmes? These men did not love money but loved killing. These were/are wicked men so it would not make sense that the love of money would be the root of all evil.

Just glad that God didi not state to us that money itself is all evil, as many in the Christian left would have us all to believe!

 

[Alcott]

Yes, it does. They had all kinds of weapons. Sword, staff, spear, thrown, shot. There you go. Same with merchandise. They had food, luxuries, linens, furnitures, etc. "All kinds" does not have to mean every single make and model. It means it had representatives from each group, or kinds.

What kind of rifles did they have?

 

[Sapper Woody]

What kind of rifles did they have?

Now you're just being silly. If something is non existent, it obviously is not included in a set.

 

[Aaron]

It does?

From the other side of the Jordan, of the Reubenites and the Gadites and of the half-tribe of Manasseh, there were 120,000 with all kinds of weapons of war for the battle [I Chronicles 12:33].

There was absolutely no kind of weapon of war they did not have?

Also men of Tyre were living there who imported fish and all kinds of merchandise, and sold them to the sons of Judah on the sabbath, even in Jerusalem [Nehemiah 13:16].

Nothing that was ever a kind of merchandise was not there?

Yes. It is the root of all evil. The root of an apple tree looks nothing like the bark, branches, leaves, blossoms or fruit, but none of those things would be without it, and they're nourished by it.

The love of money. What is money? Why do men love it? Why does Satan savor the things that be of men? Fully answer those questions, and you will understand how the love of money is the root of all evil.

 

[wpe3bql]

Although it might not have been the only reason Judas Iscariot sought to turn Jesus over to the religious Jewish big wigs, but I noticed that Judas didn't reject their offer to pay for his dastardly act either.

 

[Van]

I think the verse could be translated "a root of all the evils." We are to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, so when we shift our love back to ourselves and our desires, that is a root of all the evils.

 

[just-want-peace]

And what, pray tell, does a love for money have to do with a hatred of another due to slander, or insults, or many other social faux pauxs?
Or a sexual lust for a female.
My take is that "all kinds of evil" just means that many, many, sins are the result of a love for money; not every sin possible.

 

[Alcott]

What is money?

A medium of exchange.

Why do men love it?

Because it gives them a legal claim to possession of something.

Why does Satan savor the things that be of men?

Looking up "Satan" and "savor" in biblical reference searches, they are not to be found in any one verse together. So that is just your own idea.

Fully answer those questions, and you will understand how the love of money is the root of all evil.

As money means the right to possess, it's obviously related to power. Together they mean selfishness. People do many things to have or to keep power.

Now, how did those troops have all kinds of weapons of war, and the merchants of Tyre have all kinds of merchandise, if that means absolutely no exceptions in distance or time?

 

[Aaron]

A medium of exchange.

Forget the medium. Whether it's gold or paper currency, money is power. The debtor is servant to the lender.

Looking up "Satan" and "savor" in biblical reference searches, they are not to be found in any one verse together. So that is just your own idea.

[Mat 16:23 KJV] 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

As money means the right to possess, it's obviously related to power. Together they mean selfishness. People do many things to have or to keep power.

It's the power to satisfy the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. In short, self love. All the law and commandments hang on the love of God and the love of others, then all manner of sin, which we know through the law, stems from the violation of that love, the love of one's self.

Now, how did those troops have all kinds of weapons of war, and the merchants of Tyre have all kinds of merchandise, if that means absolutely no exceptions in distance or time?

Noah had all kinds of animals that live on land. If he had two dogs, he satisfied that kind. He didn't have to have two wolves, two coyotes, two shepherds, etc.

A rifle is merely a means of launching a projectile. It uses an explosion instead of a spring. Same with missiles. They had methods of aiming them. That's all radar and lasers are. What is a nuclear weapon except a form of fire? They had fire. They had hand weapons and mechanized weapons. When speaking of kinds, there is nothing new under the sun, as Solomon said.

 

[Alcott]

Forget the medium. Whether it's gold or paper currency, money is power. The debtor is servant to the lender.

Which areyou?

[Mat 16:23 KJV] 23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

When Jesus made Peter the "pope," then called him Satan? I guess that fits, in spite of the fact that either you or the KJV spells a root word wrong.

It's the power to satisfy the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. In short, self love. All the law and commandments hang on the love of God and the love of others, then all manner of sin, which we know through the law, stems from the violation of that love, the love of one's self.

There have been time I was sure I hated myself, or hated my family [Luke 14:26], but it never really stuck that way. If God is the only one who can have power, and therefore through biblical tenet, be selfish, we just have to face it and know our loving and hating fall short.

Noah had all kinds of animals that live on land. If he had two dogs, he satisfied that kind. He didn't have to have two wolves, two coyotes, two shepherds, etc.

And how did he get 2 of every microscopic species?

A rifle is merely a means of launching a projectile. It uses an explosion instead of a spring. Same with missiles. They had methods of aiming them.

No, a projectile launcher that uses explosion is quite a different thing-- a different kind-- than one that uses tension or centripetal force.

That's all radar and lasers are.

Projectile launchers? Nope.

What is a nuclear weapon except a form of fire?

This one is really crazy. Combustion [fire] is a chemical reaction, usually at the molecular level, sometimes at the atomic level. A nuclear weapon-- whether fission or fusion-- is a chain reaction at the subatomic level, and produces heat at a far greater degree than any chemical reaction.

They had fire. They had hand weapons and mechanized weapons. When speaking of kinds, there is nothing new under the sun, as Solomon said.

And Solomon's word included hydrogen bombs, did they? "Hand weapons" is a KIND of weapon? :laugh: A fist full of dirt to throw and a Luger are the same KIND of weapon? :laugh:

 

[Reformed]

KJV seems to indicate that it is, but ESV/NIV say its the root of all kinds of evil.

1 Tim 6:10 (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.

1 Tim 6:10 (ESV)
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 Tim 6:10 (KJV)
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.

How can the love of money be the root of all evil? Would not the root of all evil be the total depravity of man and the wickedness of his heart? What of a serial killer that DOES NOT love money? What of Adam Lanza and James Holmes? These men did not love money but loved killing. These were/are wicked men so it would not make sense that the love of money would be the root of all evil.

The NASB renders 1 Timothy 6:10 as "all sorts of evil." Whether it is "all kinds" or "all sorts" the meaning is the same. That is really how the Greek presents it, and how the KJV should be understood. Money itself is not the root of all evil in the world. Money is the root of all kinds, various kinds, a myriad of evil. The love of money is really the love of greed. It is selfishness on steroids. If you take the love of money down to its lowest common denominator, it is the love of self. An argument can be made that the love of self is the root cause of all sin, i.e. all evil.

 

[evangelist6589]

The NASB renders 1 Timothy 6:10 as "all sorts of evil." Whether it is "all kinds" or "all sorts" the meaning is the same. That is really how the Greek presents it, and how the KJV should be understood. Money itself is not the root of all evil in the world. Money is the root of all kinds, various kinds, a myriad of evil. The love of money is really the love of greed. It is selfishness on steroids. If you take the love of money down to its lowest common denominator, it is the love of self. An argument can be made that the love of self is the root cause of all sin, i.e. all evil.

Very helpful post thanks. I did not look at the NASB but I know its closer to the Greek than the NIV/ESV.

 

[Aaron]

There have been time I was sure I hated myself, or hated my family [Luke 14:26], but it never really stuck that way. If God is the only one who can have power, and therefore through biblical tenet, be selfish, we just have to face it and know our loving and hating fall short.

blah, blah, blah, weapons, blah, blah, blah

It really doesn't matter, because No matter how one slices it, the love of money comes up self love, and that is the root of all sin.

 

[Alcott]

It really doesn't matter, because No matter how one slices it, the love of money comes up self love, and that is the root of all sin.

Money = self?