Indeed, religion with contentment is a great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, just as we shall not be able to take anything out of it. If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.
But you, man of God, avoid all this. Instead, pursue righteousness, devotion, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. Compete well for the faith. Lay hold of eternal life, to which you were called when you made the noble confession in the presence of many witnesses. (1 Timothy 6:2-12)
Written at the beginning of the 1st century sometime after 100 A.D. (and not written by Paul as claimed), this author of 1 Timothy portrayed what is human nature at its worse: the pursuit of money. It reads: “For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains.”
Money buys leisure, pleasure and people; such as government sycophants willing to sell their souls for moola and all it brings especially power, influence, and “friends.” Indeed, it is the root of all evil when its pursuit leads to corruption, betrayal, and, eventually, ruin and destruction. It can be an addiction and thirst that cannot be quenched. Just think of the course the United States is on.
According to Robert Reich in his 2018 book “The Common Good” and his 2023 commentary:
(begin) Since 1971, when Lewis Powell urged the leaders of American corporations to devote a portion of their profits to politics, America has witnessed the largest and most entrenched system of legalized bribery in its history. This money — supplemented by additional money from the super-wealthy — has rigged the “free market” for the benefit of large corporations and the rich. And what have they gotten for their money?
— Lower trade barriers have enabled corporations to outsource abroad, making more stuff in low-wage nations and then selling it back to Americans, who get the benefit of cheaper goods but also lose higher-paying and more secure jobs. As a result, entire sections of America have been denuded of manufacturing jobs.
— The deregulation of Wall Street has enabled corporate raiders (now dubbed shareholder activists and private-equity managers) to force CEOs to abandon all other stakeholders except shareholders.
— Deregulation of finance also allowed high-paid bankers to pocket huge sums while exposing most Americans to extraordinary economic risks, culminating in the Wall Street crisis and the taxpayer-funded bailout of large Wall Street firms. Americans who subsequently lost their jobs, savings, and homes were understandably outraged — especially after these same bankers were never held accountable. Within a few years of the financial crisis, most bankers returned to pocketing vast fortunes, but most other Americans were still living with the consequences.
— Weakened unions, causing the unionized portion of the workforce to drop from 35 percent of all private-sector workers in the 1960s to just 6 percent today, and wages to stagnate.
— Laws against monopolies have been weakened.
— Laws that prevent corporate insiders from getting rich in the stock market by using confidential information have been negated.
— Laws that prevent the wealthy and big corporations from bribing politicians with campaign donations have been weakened or repealed.
It has been a vicious cycle. Each change in laws has ratcheted wealth and power upward, making it easier for the wealthy and powerful to gain further legal changes that ratchet even more wealth and power upward. (end)
So, is it true that “those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains?” Yes.
That evil risks plunging our country into ruin and destruction. Our nation has pierced itself with many pains – the pains of division caused by anger, hate, racism, and many failures to love our neighbor as ourselves. Evil stems from envy, rivalry, insults, evil suspicions, and mutual friction among people with corrupted minds, who are deprived of the truth. Religion is a means of great gain when it is based on love.
Deacon David Pierce
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