The apostle Paul gave advice to his young protégé Timothy “For the love of money is the root of all evil” (I Timothy 6:10). So then it is the LOVE of the money not the money itself that is the root of all evil. Like so many things in life it is when we are out of balance about money and seeking for it that we get into trouble.
The love of money has manifested itself in many ways. Wars have been fought, people have been murdered, people have been cheated all for money and often for paltry sums. In another context families have been torn apart when inordinate of time has been spent by a parent or parents grubbing for the almighty dollar. The prsuit of money in an unbalanced way has many potentially negative outcomes.
I remember in the late Steven Covey’ great book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” the comment that “no man when he comes to the end of his life regrets not spending more time at the office.” Work and money are important in this life but the really important things in life- love, family, good health.- cannot be bought. So then what is the purpose of money in our lives?
According to best-selling author John Maxwell money has only two purposes, it gives us options and it allows us the resources to help others. We have the options of where we live, the home we purchase, how we educate ourselves and our children, and even the social groups we develop relationships with. Money cannot buy us happiness, but wise gathering and use of money can allow us to live the life we choose to live. Many don’t and will never have those choices.
The second purpose, having the ability to help others, is really the essence of what life is or at least should be about. A student of mine once completed a class project surveying seventeen religions. She was trying to find what ethical positions they had in common. The dominant principle she found was several variations of the Golden Rule, to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Having resources allows us to help those less fortunate than us.
My church has a program of supporting our missionaries worldwide. The program takes large amounts of money. Another program, Manna Worldwide helps feed and clothe children in several countries. There are many, many good programs for us to fulfill that second purpose, helping others. It is up to each of us to discover where we want to place our support.
