by Cara Dack

Created on: June 02, 2010

“Money is the root of all evil” is a popular biblical misquote often bandied about. The term itself is quite ridiculous for money is an inanimate object, merely paper or metal or (more commonly these days) numbers on a computer. Money can no more be evil than a gun or a feather duster.

The actual quote is as follows, “For the love of money is the root of all evil,” (1 Timothy 6:10, King James Version) Love of money is, quite simply, greed. What St Paul is actually warning Timothy of is the greed which is associated with the desire to accumulate material goods. A few verses earlier he states, “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” (1 Timothy 6:8, King James Version)

But is such greed really the root of all evil? Certainly there seems to be many evil deeds being perpetrated every day which do not obviously have greed at their core. One example would be pedophilia. While it is certainly fueled by desire, it is a lustful desire rather than a desire for material possessions. The same could be said for all sexual assaults. Another example is murder. While many murders do have greed as their motivation, many others are motivated by hatred, jealousy or even just unwarranted violence.

On the flip side, most wars are fought because one country has something that another country wants. Often it is as simple as wanting the land itself as we bear witness to in the Middle East. While religious conflict plays it's part, this is, first and foremost, a land struggle.

However, the evil that St Paul speaks of seems less to do with such heinous crimes and more to do with the destruction of one's own character. The desire for the accumulation of money is often the precursor for other vices which, while not illegal, certainly do no good for the soul. It also cannot be denied that in a world where 10% of the population owns 90% of the land, a little of the charity that St. Paul encourages would not go amiss. If we followed St. Paul's commands and only kept what we needed to feed and clothe ourselves, passing the rest on to those less fortunate, the world would be a much nicer place.

In conclusion, while it cannot be categorically stated that “the love of money is the root of ALL evil,” it is certain that it accounts for a good deal of human suffering.

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