As Paul the
apostle continued to share with Timothy his “son
in the faith” concerning people who would
be a part of the church in Ephesus, he wrote to him concerning people
who “consent not to wholesome words, even
the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is
according to godliness;”. These people
believed “gain is godliness”,
and therefore Paul taught Timothy “godliness
with contentment is great gain”. Since
“we brought nothing into this
world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out”, “having
food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Those
who have an inordinate desire to be rich were going to “fall
into temptation and a snare, and into
many foolish and hurtful lusts”,
which “drown men in destruction and
perdition.”
In chapter six and verse ten of his letter to Timothy, Paul told him
“the love of money is the root of all
evil”
where we read:
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.
The verse begins, “For
the love of money is the root of all evil:” Paul
began with the word, “For”
which means “since, because, on account of” “the love
of money” which means
“passionate, inordinate affection and avarice for money” “is
the root” which is a metaphor
for “offspring or progeny” “of all”
or “each, every, any, the whole, everyone, the total sum of
things and everything” “evil” which means “of a bad
nature, not such as it ought to be, a bad mode of thinking, feeling,
acting, base, wrong, wicked, troublesome, injurious, pernicious,
destructive and baneful”.
The verse goes on to
say, “which while some coveted after, they have erred
from the faith,...” Paul
continued, “which while some”
or “certain ones” “coveted after”
which means “to stretch one's self out in order to touch or
to grasp something, to reach after or desire something and to give
one's self up to” “they have erred” or “gone astray,
been lead away from the truth to error and strayed away” “from”
which means “separated and gone some distance away” “the
faith” which refers to “the conviction that God exists and is
the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of
eternal salvation through Christ, and a strong and welcome conviction
or belief that Jesus is the Messiah, through whom we obtain eternal
salvation in the kingdom of God”. Because these people had a
passionate, inordinate affection and avarice for money, they strayed
from belief and trust in God Almighty and His Son Jesus Christ.
Finally the verse says,
“...and pierced themselves through
with many sorrows.” According
to Paul, the result of these apostate people who loved money more
than God Almighty and His Son Jesus was, “and
pierce themselves through”
or “peripeirō heautou peripeirō”
in
Greek which means “penetrated entirely” “with
many”
or “much or large amounts of” “sorrows”
which means “consuming griefs and pains”. The result of erring
“from the faith”
was penetrating their entire lives with pains and griefs which
consumed.
While
we think upon Paul's words, perhaps we should examine our own lives
for “the love of money”.
We should remember that Paul did not say “money”
was the “root of all evil”,
but rather that “the love”
of money was the origin. We do not have to be “rich” to have an “
passionate, inordinate affection and avarice for money”. People
without much money can covet and desire it more than one with great
means. “Mammon” was the god of money in Biblical times, and Jesus
said, “you cannot serve God
and mammon”.
Let us understand that to have a “love
of money”
is to attempt to replace God in our lives, and when we do that, we
only bring trouble upon ourselves. May the Lord Jesus convict us in
any area where we have attempted to replace Him, and should the “love
of money”
be revealed in our lives, may He replace that desire with a love for
Him.
Next
time Paul tells Timothy what to flee and what to pursue, so read
ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look
for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From
Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be
Married”, and the new devotional “One Year in the Sermon on the
Mount” in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
http://www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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