1 Timothy 6:5-10

Godliness is not a means to financial gain. It was a lie when false preachers preached it in Ephesus and it is still a lie, regardless of whom you have heard preach it on TV. Godliness is not the means to anything. Godliness is the ends produced by living to please God. Paul knew what the false teachers were teaching and he warns Timothy that people who believed this lie would cause problems in the church.

Perhaps some people believed this lie because they were deceived, but based on what he wrote, Paul believe most wanted to believe the lie because they loved money more than the truth. He knew the love of money was especially dangerous for Christians. Loving, desiring or coveting money creates a point of weakness in the life of a Christian. Those who desire to get rich will find themselves tempted repeatedly to take shortcuts, to do wrong and act contrary to God’s will for financial gain. Wicked men find that they can easily trick people who desire money into doing foolish and sinful things. Too often, lovers of money willfully do evil because they have given into their desires.

When people surrender to their unrighteous desires they do evil. Paul lived in a world full of evil and he was wise enough to know that much of it was rooted in people’s love of money. Paul made this point by paraphrasing a well-known proverb of his day. We must remember that Paul did not say that money was evil; rather he was condemning their love of money.

Christ warned that no one could serve two masters. It is impossible to go in two spiritually opposite directions at the same time. Christians cannot pursue a right relationship with Christ while at the same time pursuing unrighteous financial gain. Either love for Christ or love for money will win. Money is not evil, and Christians can do many good things with it. However, they cannot be righteous and have a love of money.