溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
Is the Love of Money Truly the Root of All Evils?
If the problem is not money itself but "the love of money," where exactly is the line that divides the two?
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil; and some, in reaching for it, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.
This distinction — that the problem is not money but the love of money — became a core principle of Christian views on wealth. Early Church Fathers used it to avoid demonizing wealth itself while still warning against greed as one of the seven deadly sins. Medieval scholastic philosophy refined this further, straining to distinguish legitimate possession from greedy accumulation both legally and theologically. Later, some Protestant ethics after the Reformation reinterpreted diligent accumulation of wealth itself as a sign of faith, steering the relationship between money and faith in an entirely different direction.
The harder it becomes to ask ourselves whether money has become an end or remains a tool, the sharper this fine distinction returns.
This verse is often misquoted as "money is the root of all evil," but the original precisely targets "the love of money." I think this small difference is decisive.
📝I, Too, Stand Before It
This verse is often misquoted as "money is the root of all evil," but the original precisely targets "the love of money." I think this small difference is decisive. Money itself is a neutral tool, but love of money carries a force capable of crowding out every other value. Paul speaks of those who, reaching for it, wandered from faith and pierced themselves — an ironic reversal where what they sought to gain ended up harming them instead. I too gauge today whether I am using my money, or my money is using my heart.
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