The Dangers Of Building Our Lives Around Wealth

Friday, August 28, 2009, Part 1

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s” (Exodus 20:17).

“Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:9-10).

IDEA: Covetousness can destroy our faith.

PURPOSE: To help listeners take seriously the danger of loving money.

When you were growing up, did you feel that your parents ever overstated bad consequences for whatever you were doing?

Have you ever felt that the Bible does what parents sometimes do in exaggerating consequences to get you to behave?

Paul wrote to Timothy (6:9-10): “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

I. Do you think it is an exaggeration to say that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil? That was a popular slogan outside the Bible at that time.

The picture is of a root.

Have you ever had to deal with weeds in your garden?

What do you have to do to get rid of them?

Do you think that a love of money causes all kinds of evil? Is that an exaggeration?

We can talk about the problems caused by greed, but if you try to deal with only the problems, the cause is always there. If God does not help you deal with the cause, the root, you end up dealing with results but not the cause.

II. Do you think it’s an exaggeration to say that it leads to destruction (1 Timothy 6:9)? Then Paul spells out what that means:

Greed has helped destroy the testimony of people in the church.

Earlier in this chapter Paul talked about leaders in the church who have become heretics.

It also speaks of those who hear their message. If both teacher and hearer are fueled by greed, they lose their way in their relationship to God. This desire for riches can drive a wedge between you and God.

The toll is spiritual loss, shattered relationships, damaged reputations. These are like griefs that pierce like thorns.