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‘He who is greedy for gain troubles his own house.’ Proverbs 15:27 NKJV

Paul wrote these words to Timothy: ‘People who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.’ (1 Timothy 6:9–10 NLT) This is often misquoted as ‘money is the root of all evil,’ but what the Bible actually says is quite different. If money was inherently evil, God wouldn’t have blessed Solomon with it (see 1 Kings 3:13).

There’s nothing wrong with having money. The real problem starts when we let a love for money become more powerful than our love for God. Then money can control us, and our desire for more can lead us to acquire it in the wrong way. ‘He who profits unlawfully brings suffering to his own house, but he who hates bribes [and does not receive nor pay them] will live.’ (Proverbs 15:27 AMP)

We might think one small lapse won’t matter because nobody will be hurt by it. But the impact of dishonesty can be wide ranging and long lasting. When it comes to having a healthy relationship with money, we should pay attention to our desire for more. If we find that money is the main thing that motivates us, we need to check in with God to make sure we’re not letting it replace Him in our lives, and that we’re not allowing it to lead us towards a path of dishonesty. When we’re honest with Him and listen to His wisdom, He’ll help us get back on track.

SoulFood: 2 Kings 21–23, Matt 20:17–28, Ps 139:13–24, Pro 13:25

word4today an adaptation of The Word For Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024

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