Money: Evil or Not?

1 Tim 6:10 (NKJV)
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

In the above picture you see what the world hankers after, money – power – respect – and lascivious debauchery and perversions. These money will facilitate – but at what ultimate price? Unfortunately, its many sorrows and finally death.

There are three key lessons that can be gleaned from the above scripture relating to money and these are
1.      The love of money – This is so because of what money promises those whose values are not centered in Christ namely POWER. It is this power that leads to the corrupting of the individual.
2.      Straying from faith – The Word teaches obedience, humility, subservience and stewardship. When we allow power to corrupt us, it will inevitably draw us away from these virtues.
3.      Greed – When we strive to obtain what we do not deserve, we inevitably become carnal, allowing our base nature to LUST after the things of the flesh.

1 John 2:16 declares “For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world.” Many have been inadvertently snared by these things and have been slowly drawn away from God, and money facilitates these things.

In a poll carried out some decades back, Americans were asked what they would be willing to do for $10,000,000. Two-thirds of those polled agreed to at least one or more of the following:

• Would abandon their entire family (25%)
• Would abandon their church (25%)
• Would become prostitutes for a week or more (23%)
• Would give up their American citizenship (16%)
• Would leave their spouses (16%)
• Would withhold testimony and let a murderer go free (10%)
• Would kill a stranger (7%)
• Would put their children up for adoption (3%)

Whilst this makes for interesting reading, it also raises major concerns, that money does make people do the strangest of things.

The most fundamental question here is why? Why would someone be willing to kill a stranger for money, even when they have never killed before? What makes money so attractive that people will bend or break their moral conscience to just get a chance at money?

The most obvious answer is that with money, one can acquire a lifestyle they don’t have. It was Al Pacino’s character in the film Scarface that made a statement that sums up totally the driving philosophy behind many people’s quest for money as shown in the picture below.

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Can we then say that money is evil? That is not true, money is neuter. Money is like a knife, it is neither good nor bad. It always depends on the person handling it. The knife can be used to kill someone, yet often times it is used for more good than bad. Imagine a kitchen without a knife! Ask a chef how tough that would be.

Money is an amplifier. It simply amplifies what is in essence already there. If one is kind, loving, considerate and patient, then money will amplify these qualities and make them true philanthropists. However, if one is greedy, selfish, rude and inconsiderate, then money will just amplify these qualities.

There is one extra quality that those who pursue money inevitably seek, POWER. With money comes power. Power gives the bearer of the money the ability to wield it. It is this power that corrupts, again, only according to the intrinsic qualities and character traits of the one who brandishes it.

Based on the above, we can conclude that money is not evil. However, if we love money too much, then we would be willing to do anything to acquire it. This then brings in another factor, GREED.

Greed is an overwhelming desire to have more of something than is actually needed. Greed is getting more than one deserves. Someone will always be paid according to what they put in. Call it equity if you like. When one desires way beyond their input, that then becomes greed.

The bottom line is, the love of money, the unhealthy desire for money, to acquire that which having money promises, is what is evil. But the money itself has never been and will never be evil. 
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Extract from “The 7 Principles for Financial Prosperity” book. © 2015. All rights reserved.