Does God Hate Money?

Does God Hate Money?

Does God Want Christians to be Broke?

Can I have money and still be a Christian?

Is the Love Of Money Wrong?

These are questions that can stem from the well-known and often misquoted verse, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” To see how grossly misunderstood this scripture is, check out my previous post linked here.

Spoiler Alert!

It isn’t MONEY that we find at the root of evil. At the root of evil, we find the LOVE of money. 

Why is it evil to love money?

The definition of the word “love” as a verb is to feel a deep affection for someone. When we feel deep affection for someone or something, it influences our behavior.

The Bible references the word “love” numerous times. Depending on the translation, the word “love” appears over 500 times. That’s a lot of instruction on what we should and shouldn’t love. I’m not going through all 500+ references, but let’s focus on two that I believe are most important. 

These love references are found in Matthew 22:36-40. To summarize, Jesus was asked which commandment is the greatest. He responded by saying that we should love God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. Secondly, we should love our neighbor as ourselves. By doing so, we encompass all of the commandments in the Bible. 

What could that possibly have to do with money? 

The answer to that question lies in the outcome of what we choose to love. If we compare the result of loving money to the result of loving God/Neighbor, we see a glaring distinction. In the former, the result is evil. In the latter, the result is the fulfillment of all commandments. 

So does that mean money is evil? 

Absolutely not! We clarified that in a previous post linked here. Money is simply a tool that is available for our use. It only becomes a problem if we choose to love money rather than loving God and our neighbor, as Jesus instructed. Evil, in this context, pertains to behavior as opposed to money itself. 

People behave differently when they love money versus when they love God and neighbor. For example, one who loves money can become greedy, financially unethical, and willing to lie, cheat, steal, or worse in pursuit of it. One who loves God and neighbor does so with acts of kindness, encouraging others, generosity, etc. 

If we look further into scripture, we find that God actually wants us to live prosperous and in abundance. These things are freely given because of His love for us. We need only to love Him and our neighbor as we love ourselves. Money and many other good things will follow suit. 

For a free consultation on how to use your money as a tool, click the following link. https://lanahinds.com/apply