1 Timothy 6:9-10 -- Beware the trap of greed

To catch up on our adventure through 1 Timothy, click here and read from the bottom post up.

1 Timothy 6:9-10 (NIV) :

"People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Paul continues his thought from verses 6-8 and shows the other side. The opposite of "contentment" is the desire to "get rich" and "the love of money."

The desire to get rich leads to:

1. "temptation"
2. "a trap"
3. "many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction"

The first part of verse 10 is often misquoted as "money is the root of all evil." But money itself is actually neither good nor bad, but neutral. It's your attitude toward money or what you do with it that makes it good or bad..."the love of money."

Again here we can look at the news and find famous preachers that have gone into heresy--"wandered from the faith"--because of a love of money.

Be careful of the temptation and the trap of greed--wanting more. It can result in ruin and destruction and wandering from the faith.

Find the secret of contentment (v. 6) that we talked about yesterday. Be content in Christ, in your family, in your church, and in what God has provided for you. The desire for just a little bit more is a never-ending game. No matter how much you get and no matter how rich the world considers you, you'll always want more and never be happy. Beware!