How The Gospel Frees You From The Love Of Money | Good News Unlimited

How The Gospel Frees You From The Love of Money

Nov 14, 2016 29879

The Bible doesn’t actually say that “money is the root of all evil,” although many people think it does. What the Bible actually says is the “the love of money is the root of all… evil” (1 Tim 6:10). And it is the root of all evil not just in society in general, but all too often, among Christians as well.

We hear people rightly talk about the freedom that the Gospel brings, and for many people I’ve met that means financial prosperity. But the Bible actually teaches the opposite. It doesn’t teach that you will achieve freedom through money, but freedom from money!

In Hebrews 13, the author is explaining what kind of life Christians should lead, and he writes,

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. (v.5).

 There are people who become Christians precisely because they aren’t content with what they have in a material sense, and they are hoping that by being a Christian, God will bless them with more money. But the Bible commands us to be content with what we have, and to be free from the love of money.

The passage continues to explain the reason why we should be content with what we have, however much or little that might be. It is because,

 God has said,

“Never will I leave you;

    never will I forsake you.”

6 So we say with confidence,

“The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

    What can mere mortals do to me?” (vv.5–6).

We have often read this beautiful promise and not made the proper connection with the issue of money. Because God will never leave you, and because he is your helper, you should be content with what you have. The reverse is true also. When you are content with what you have and trust in God, then you can know that God is with you. And I would prefer to have the Lord God with me than all the money in the world. As Paul wrote,

Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey (Rom 6:16, NLT).

If you are a Christian, you have chosen a new master, Jesus Christ. Now that we belong to him (1 Cor 3:23), he provides for all our needs. No matter who’s in government, you are a citizen of heaven. No matter who is the president, Jesus is Lord. No matter which way the economy’s headed, you’ve got an eternal upside.

If you trust money, you can’t trust in God. Free from the love of and dependence on money, whatever happens, the Lord will provide for your material needs. If you don’t have it, it’s because you don’t need it. He gives and he takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

It doesn’t mean that it’s easy. For some people it is the hardest thing in the world, because all of our society, our culture, and even our upbringing and education is all about how to get more money. It takes faith as you learn to trust God. But this is the freedom that the Gospel brings, and is the path to peace and joy and everlasting happiness. – Eliezer Gonzalez