For the Love of...

1Timothy 6:10

 

10For 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.

 

The apostle Paul wrote a letter to Timothy, a pastor and son to him in the ministry. The apostle Paul instructed Timothy on many behaviors to watch out for and the results of those behaviors. What a touchy topic this is! There is absolutely nothing wrong with money. It is actually neither good nor evil. It is only a tool that has been made necessary in our natural world. However, how the tool is used and what it is used for is a different story. The O'Jays, headed by Eddie Levert, father of the late Gerald Levert chose to take the topic head on in the early 70s. Eddie Levert used to do a lot of writing for one of gospel's well known families. Many of you know the intro of the song as, "Money, Money, Money, Money..." But what some of you don't know because you have not listened to the song in its entirety, the song is called, For the Love of Money. The O'Jays were admonishing the public not to be consumed with the "love of money" because, "For the love of money, people will kill their own brother." Part of the song says, "People, don't let money change you." For some, the love of money is so consuming that they hurt people they claim to have loved. For some the love of money will cause them to sell themselves and their soul as the O'Jays pointed out. The song was also used as a major theme in the film, New Jack City with Wesley Snipes to characterize his cold bloodedness and calculating personality. The O'Jays were only putting in layman's terms what the apostle said in his letter. For the love of money actually leads to other sins. The NKJ Study Bible gives a list of what this sin can do:

 

-"It made a person vulnerable to yield consistently to temptation;

-it created a snare for a person;

-this sin gave birth to other evil desires;

-this sin could pull a person to the depths of depravity as a lead weight pulled down a fish net;

-it became a root cause of many other kinds of evil that would cause a person to wander from a pure faith in Christ;

-it became a source of great grief to the person."

For the love of most anything to a fault can cause a blindness that can hurt yourself and others. The love that should be so great is that of God for He is love as said in His word. Loving Him and a pure relationship with Him will cause you to love others in such a way that you do not desire to harm no matter what you have obtained.