In a continuing series that examines well-known Bible verses often taken out of context, Pastor Lév eillé turns to 1 Timothy chapter 6. Many assume riches bring peace and security, yet Scripture paints a different picture. The apostle Paul warns Timothy that the love of money leads not to ease but to pain, destruction, and sorrow. Through clear teaching and honest illustrations, this message calls every believer to examine their heart and choose the path of godliness over greed.
The apostle draws a sharp contrast: one path marked by godliness and contentment, the other by pride, strife, and the relentless pursuit of material gain. We in the West often believe that if we can just become rich enough, we will finally enjoy rest, health, and peace. Yet the Bible declares the opposite. The love of money, so common in our culture and even in our homes, produces the very pain we hope it will relieve.
Pastor Léveillé shared a memorable story from a recent trip to Togo. The pastor’s wife there spent her days weaving baskets and selling onions by the roadside to support her family. During the visit, she quietly made gifts for the pastor’s wife and others. Later, when luggage was delayed and the group stopped at a gas station for cold drinks and snacks, the family experienced something entirely new: walking into a store and simply choosing a bottle of pop and a bag of chips. It was their first time. What we take for granted, they received with childlike delight. The contrast reminds us how easily we complain about rising prices or minor inconveniences while many around the world live with far less and still practise generous contentment.
The verse is frequently misquoted as “money is the root of all evil.” Careful reading shows otherwise. It is the love of money that is a root of all evil. With that clarification in place, Pastor Léveillé presents four vital principles drawn directly from the text.
Examine what you truly love
The verse begins, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” Before we can address greed, we must first know what we love. Love is revealed by simple gauges in daily life, just as a driver glances at the dashboard.
Where do we spend our time? If Scripture and prayer consistently fall to the bottom of a busy schedule, it becomes difficult to claim we love God above all. Where do we spend our money? What feels like an investment rather than a sacrifice? Our free thoughts reveal much: when the mind wanders on a long drive, what occupies it? What do we fear losing most? What can we not imagine being happy without? What controls our emotions? What makes us angry when taken away? Our identity often surfaces in comparisons with others.
As Martyn Lloyd-Jones observed, love craves personal expression. Our cravings tell the story. Do we crave time with God, with family, and with the church, or do we resent anything that interferes with personal pursuits? These gauges never lie. The Bible does not call money itself evil, but when money rises above God and the people He has placed in our lives, it leads to every kind of evil.
A striking modern illustration comes from popular YouTuber MrBeast, who organised the Beast Games in 2024. Contestants competed for millions and signed waivers acknowledging risks of serious injury or even death. Many willingly agreed to extreme scenarios simply for the chance at wealth. That is what the love of money does: it drives people to sacrifice what should never be sacrificed for something they cannot keep beyond the grave.
Reject the grip of covetousness
The verse continues, “which while some coveted after.” The Greek word translated “coveted” appears only three times in the New Testament. It describes a positive ambition when used of desiring the office of a bishop or the eager longing of a believer for heaven. Here it is turned toward money. These individuals stretch themselves, reorganising every priority around accumulating more. They overwork, compromise relationships, neglect family, and abandon the biblical pattern of Christian living. Their lives become stretched out of shape, no longer fitting the New Testament template for a believer.
Is your life balanced and faithful to gathering with God’s people, investing in family, giving sacrificially, and spending time in the Word and prayer? Or has the desire for more pulled your schedule, your energy, and your affections out of biblical shape? One well-known megachurch pastor began with genuine influence but gradually shifted toward image, celebrity connections, and an expensive lifestyle. Ministry became a platform rather than humble service. Hidden sin eventually came to light, and the collapse was both public and devastating. The tragedy was not only the fall but the fact that the life no longer resembled the quiet, servant-hearted pattern Scripture sets for pastors and believers alike.
Guard yourself from spiritual drift
The text warns that those who coveted after money “have erred from the faith.” This does not mean true believers lose their salvation. Christ keeps His own securely. It does mean the pursuit of riches can cause a believer to wander from the things of God. Over time, spiritual fruit may disappear, and others may even question whether faith was ever present.
A recent conversation in Montreal revealed a man absent from church gatherings for months because of work demands. Money had quietly pulled him away. Elvis Presley grew up in a poor but deeply religious home shaped by Southern gospel music. Even after fame and wealth arrived, he continued recording gospel albums that earned Grammy awards, and those closest to him said singing gospel was his favourite activity. Yet celebrity, excess, unhealthy relationships, and addiction bent his life out of biblical shape. He died at forty-two, a sobering reminder that one can remain near spiritual things and still drift far from the simplicity of a godly life.
Money cannot bless, heal, help, or rescue us. Only God can. When the pursuit of riches becomes central, even those who once walked closely with the Lord can find themselves erring from the faith.
Refuse the path that leads to pain
The verse concludes that those who coveted after money “pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” The language is reflexive: they did it to themselves. We often blame God for the consequences of choices that put money above Him.
The prodigal son demanded his inheritance while his father still lived, squandered it, and ended up longing to eat pigs’ food. Elimelech and Naomi left Israel for Moab seeking better economic prospects and lost everything. Naomi returned empty and asked to be called Mara, for the Almighty had dealt bitterly with her. Yet the text invites honest reflection: how many sorrows have we brought upon ourselves by stretching our lives out of shape for riches?
Recent statistics confirm the pattern. In 2024, forty-four percent of Canadians named money as their leading source of stress. Across developed nations, mental disorders affect more than one in five people, antidepressant use has risen dramatically, and loneliness has reached epidemic levels. The Western world enjoys more wealth, convenience, medicine, and opportunity than any society in history, yet it has not produced peaceful souls. The pursuit of more has left many anxious, medicated, overworked, lonely, and spiritually empty.
If God has your heart, money becomes a tool for His glory. If money has your heart, it will destroy you.
Conclusion
Before this message ends, consider the gauges on your personal dashboard once more. What do they reveal about who or what truly holds your heart? This week, take time to examine your schedule, spending, thoughts, fears, and affections honestly before the Lord. The world promises that more money, more success, and more possessions will bring peace. Scripture and experience declare the opposite: they bring anxiety, exhaustion, and emptiness.
Money makes a terrible god and a cruel master. It promises security but delivers sorrow, freedom but bondage, and life but leaves destruction. The answer is not to hate money but to love God more. Place Christ at the centre of your life so that your time, priorities, spending, thoughts, family, and ambitions revolve around Him. When God has your heart, money serves His purposes rather than ruling your soul.
May the Holy Spirit convict each of us personally and help us live as New Testament believers, content with what God provides, faithful in what He entrusts, and joyful in the peace that only He gives.
