"GREED" (An Article by Christian Henry) ~ 12/11/25

“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.” (I Timothy 6:10)

The first letter to Timothy is a Pastoral Epistle written by the apostle Paul, in roughly AD 63-66, to his travelling companion and surrogate son, Timothy. Timothy had a strong upbringing in the faith despite having a Greek father, as he was instructed by his mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois. When this letter was written, he was in Ephesus, serving as a leader among the various house churches that existed then. Despite his young age, he was a faithful evangelizer and teacher who stood against all manner of false teachings.

This epistle focuses both on Timothy and his work among the church of Ephesus, which received its own letter from Paul a few years earlier. He penned this letter with multiple goals in mind: to provide a warning against error as well as words of encouragement to Timothy. The segment this verse is from focuses on the relationship between godliness and finances, with advice for Timothy to guard himself.

Some try to water down the strong expression at the start by translating it as “a root of all evil,” instead of “the root...” This change, however, is both grammatically unnecessary as well as patently antithetical to what Paul had written previously. He just wrote of men being plunged into the awful consequence of yielding to those lusts that the fatal love of riches had brought upon them. The Apostle now sums up his teaching on the subject by affirming that “yes, greed is the source of all evil.” Of course, not every evil comes directly from “love of money,” but Paul is saying that there is no conceivable evil that could not spring from a love of gold and wealth. (Remember the article I wrote on the tenth commandment and how it violates all the rest.)

The thought in Paul’s mind was that the man coveting gold longs for opportunities where his covetousness (love of money) may be exercised, so much so that he has stepped off the path. They have wandered from the faith and chosen earthly wealth over the eternal wealth of Heavenly glorification. For the sake of a little gold, some give up their first love - their faith. Even in that well-known congregation at Ephesus, many who were once faithful had made that choice. They were now wanderers from the flock, and Paul, who had seen similar situations too many times, mourned their loss.

Paul mourns because he knows that those who’ve chosen to chase greed have essentially “pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” This verse echoes Psalm 16:4, “Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god….” In this case, it’s the god in their wallets. The sorrows here are, no doubt, the gnawings of conscience that will always harass the soul who has deserted the path of Christ for covetousness’ sake. The image Paul is painting seems to be that of a man who wanders from the straight, direct path of life, to gather some poisonous, fair-seeming root growing on the other side of the road. He wanders away and plucks it, and now that he has it in his hands, he finds himself pierced and wounded with its unsuspected thorns.

This is what the love of money does. Insatiable greed drives the person from the path of righteousness, which always leads to pain and misery. We need to do what we can to guard our hearts against materialism and an inordinate love of the world lest we wound ourselves with grief and sorrow. Before we take our eyes off Jesus to focus solely on money, we must count the cost.