I think we all know that we should not love money.
Read 1 Timothy 6:9,10:
"Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 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 grieves."
In his series, Gods at War, Kyle Idleman suggests that in Scripture, “Money is most often portrayed as God’s chief competition.” He claims, “Your god is determined by what you put your trust in. So for most people, money is their god.”
What if this verse was changed to read: For the trust of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Would that make it easier to recognize that it is an idol in our lives? It certainly does for me. Another way to recognize this is to consider how we would react to losing all of our money. We tend to grieve the loss of that which we love.
Paul offered a solution in the next two verses from 1 Timothy: "But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith."
The good fight of the faith is to resist the temptation to make money our source of security and peace. We should have peace and contentment regardless of whether we have lots or little money because God is our source of all treasures. We must flee the temptation of money and run towards godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. These are all of greater value than worldly riches.
