The Wisdom of Slaving Away

Scripture Passage that caught my attention today: 1 Timothy 6:10a For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil,

Observation: Context, context, context.

Application: One of the most well-known non-verses in the Bible is this: “Money is the root of all evil.”

Those with more first-hand knowledge of the Bible (especially those of us with middle or greater incomes) are quick to point out that what the Bible really says is that it is “The LOVE of money” that “is the root of all kinds of evil.”

There, that feels better now, doesn’t it?

Today, however, I noticed the context within which this popular verse is placed; the entire section is written in regard to slaves!

Here’s the whole section:

Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be blasphemed. 2 Those who have believing masters must not be disrespectful to them on the ground that they are members of the church; rather they must serve them all the more, since those who benefit by their service are believers and beloved.
Teach and urge these duties. 3 Whoever teaches otherwise and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that is in accordance with godliness, 4 is conceited, understanding nothing, and has a morbid craving for controversy and for disputes about words. From these come envy, dissension, slander, base suspicions, 5 and wrangling among those who are depraved in mind and bereft of the truth, imagining that godliness is a means of gain. 6 Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment; 7 for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it; 8 but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. 9 But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.

Does this context change what the verse means? Maybe, maybe not.

Many scholars believe that 1 Timothy, even though it says it was written by Paul, was probably actually written by one of his followers at a considerably later time, a time when the early church was transitioning from a start-up movement into more of an enduring institution. As such, the early leaders were dealing with behavioral issues within congregations and were endeavoring to find ways to establish more order.

Their intentions were surely good in the sense that they wanted all things to be done in such a way as to present a faithful witness to Christ. Clearly they didn’t seem to want too many apple-carts upset at the same time. Yet their actual recommendations/directions were often very rooted in the social customs of the time. For example, women’s roles were limited and slavery was an accepted practice.

Still, pearls of inspired wisdom come through. Indeed, the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. We see it everyday, not just in the financial centers of the world, but in our own family economies. And indeed, as it says a couple verses earlier: “we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it…”

Surely these wise sayings are of benefit to everyone. Which means that those of us who consider ourselves free would do well to take to heart what was spoken to slaves long, long ago. We may have more in common than we realize.

Prayer: Lord, help us to all be of service to you, for you have already been of eternal service to us. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today include: 1 Timothy 5-6, and Titus 1-3)