For the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced
themselves with many griefs. But you man
of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love,
endurance and gentleness.
-
1 Timothy 6:10-11
“The love of money is the root of all evil.” Although this is one of the most misquoted
passages of the Scripture, it is true that becoming consumed with quest for
material luxuries can sidetrack even the most well-meaning Christian. Paul adamantly warns his friends not to allow
greed to distract them from the things that are really worth going after:
righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, and gentleness.
So how do we acquire all these great things? We must ask God to build them into our
lives. Then be ready for the way He does
so! For example, is God allowing you to
go through hard times? Now is a great
time to learn endurance! Don’t quit. Don’t
give up hope. Endurance is learned by
enduring, not by avoiding hardship at all costs. What about pursuing love? Maybe God has linked us in some way with a
person who is very hard to love. Love
that person anyway! Pray for her. Do something kind for him. Love grows the most when it’s the hardest,
and the person who is hardest to love probably needs love the most.
Pursuing riches takes a lot of effort. So does pursuing godliness. Each will take us in a different
direction. One leads to grief; the other,
to joy. So choose your path wisely.
