Money Distractions

“The love of money is a root of all kind of evil.”  1 Timothy 6:10  (NRSV)

Mark 10: 17-31  1 Timothy 6:6-12                                              Rev. Todd B. Freeman

Bethany Presbyterian Church, Dallas                                                October 12, 2003

I grew up believing that the Bible said, “Money is the root of all evil.” Raise your hand if that’s what you were led to believe as well. I would venture to guess that that’s what a majority of folks believe. Well, guess what, it’s yet another example of misquoting, and therefore misinterpreting, the Bible.

The biblical verse in question comes from today’s Epistle Lesson: Paul’s letter to his young missionary friend, Timothy. I have printed the English translation of 1 Timothy 6:10 under the sermon title in today’s bulletin so that there would be no misunderstanding as to what the passage really states.

First and foremost, the culprit isn’t money per se. Money is an inanimate object that is morally neutral, being neither good nor evil in and of itself. The biblical passage informs us that the trouble comes from the “love of money.” The focus is not on the finances themselves, but on we approach the issue, primarily when money becomes the object of our affection. We are to love God and neighbor and self, not money.

And even with this point cleared up, this passage still does not say that the “love of money is the root of all evil.” It states that the “love of money is a root of all kind of evil.” That’s very different than saying “all evil.”

I hope this clarifies this biblical misunderstanding a bit. That being said, however, the Bible does go on and on and on to warn us about the evil and wrongdoing and mis-priorities that an obsession with money can lead to. Let me illustrate.

The French have a story about a millionaire in his palace who spent his days counting his gold. Beside the palace was a poor cobbler who spent his days singing as he repaired people's shoes. The joyful singing irritated the rich man. One day he decided to give some gold coins to the cobbler.

At first the cobbler was overjoyed, and he took the coins and hid them. But then he would be worried and go back to check if the coins were still there.

Then he would be worried in case someone had seen him, and he would move the coins and hide them in another place.

During all this, he ceased to sing. Then one day he realized that he had ceased to sing because of the gold coins. He took them back to the rich man and said, "take back your coins and give me back my songs."

Have you ever ceased to sing your songs? If so, what would it take to get your songs back? The message is that attachment to riches, and the preoccupation to the accumulation of stuff, can take away our freedom and joy.

Jesus was deeply aware of this and so he warned that the attachment to money could have a negative affect on one’s ability to serve as a disciple. Here, in the Gospel of Mark and elsewhere, the Bible is abundantly clear that those with money often find themselves so distracted by it that faithful discipleship – serving God and others – often takes a back seat.

One biblical commentator puts today’s story into perspective this way, "Often the Bible acts as a mirror, throwing back to us reflections of ourselves or of our culture in the characters and conversations on the page. The questions asked, the attitudes exposed, the priorities held seem amazingly modern. Certainly this is the case with this story. The man could easily be dressed in contemporary garb and re-presented as a product of a mainline Protestant church. His religious heritage, his prosperity, and his sincerity are admirable qualities.”

But let me reiterate: Money isn't evil or sinful. Money is just money. What we do with it and how we let it affect our priorities can, however, be damaging to ourselves and others, and sometimes to those whom we are closest.

And we must remember that during the time of Jesus, more than 90% of the entire population could be classified as impoverished peasants. Only a very small percentage had much money at all. A lot of the oppression that the people faced came at the hands of that group with money. That is part of the strong prophetic warning in today’s Old Testament text from Amos.

Most of you have heard of a branch of theological study called liberation theology. It came out of the Third World countries of Central America over the past several decades. The majority of the people in those countries, not unlike biblical times (including those to whom Jesus spoke, and those who first read Mark’s gospel), are very poor. Therefore, at one level, they can better relate than we can to the disciples, who were also poor, and those who suffer oppression at the hands of the wealthy.

Just in case it needs to be stated, even the poorest member of this congregation is still considered rich when compared to the world population today.

So today's passage from Mark about the rich man really does apply to all of us, not just the wealthiest sitting in our pews. Each one us, then, are called to reflect upon how money and financial concerns affect our priorities and discipleship.

Despite the rich man's sincere devotion to the Word of God, he cannot bring himself to accept Jesus’ call to discipleship. Instead, he walks away in sorrow. As one biblical commentator writes, "The man asked a big question and he got a big answer; small answers to ultimate questions are insulting. He was allowed to say no to Jesus. Where there is no room to say no, a yes is meaningless."

Remember, you too always have a choice. Your "yes" to faithful discipleship and active church membership is extremely important and meaningful – and it requires a deep commitment.

Preachers have had the tendency to broaden and generalize the man's refusal to discipleship by identifying anything that claims our highest loyalty, our ultimate concern, and prevents an uninhibited following of Jesus - not only wealth, but ambition, education, religion, work and the like. But the conversations with the disciples and Peter that follow the story of the rich man warn us about leaving the topic of money too quickly.

Possessions have a peculiar and insidious way of becoming our masters. Precisely because they hold the potential for good as well as for bad, they can easily seduce us. Thus money remains the topic of this biblical conversation.

The gospel author, Mark, strings together a series of sayings on wealth and wants to make one point very clear. Riches often constitute a formidable obstacle to persons who seek faithful discipleship. Mark makes his point by including a statement that most people, even those not knowledgeable with the Bible, are familiar with, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven."

This is an intentionally ludicrous saying that is meant to express the total impossibility of entering the kingdom of God based on our doing something to get there. This is one of the ultimate points of the New Testament. Inclusion into the family of God is a matter of God’s grace, not our works and efforts to try to earn it.

But the disciples, following the common thought of their day, see riches as a material sign of God's blessing (a notion certainly alive and well in Western Christianity today). They are thoroughly perplexed, then, by what they hear, and ask in exasperation, "Then who can be saved?"

That Jesus viewed wealth as a hindrance, not a help, to entering the kingdom of God was amazing and shocking to his listeners, and to Mark’s readers. Jesus replies that it takes a miracle for a rich person to be saved. He says, "With human beings it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."

As preachers are prone to say at this point, that’s the good news! God can save even the rich - that is, God (and only God) can get that camel through the needle's eye. Therefore, and this is Jesus’ point, God can save anyone!

It's one of those frustrating paradoxes found in the Bible. Eternal life, which includes the here and now, is a free gift of God, yet faithful discipleship demands all that we are and all that we have. It’s a complete commitment of our time, talent, and financial resources.

So, if you’re one of those who finds that money has become too big a priority in your life, let me close with another illustration. It comes from a book called Celebrating One World: A Worship Resource Book on Social Justice.

The rich industrialist from the North was horrified to find the Southern fisherman lying lazily by his boat, smoking a pipe.

 ‘Why aren’t you out fishing?’ asked the industrialist.

‘Because I have caught enough fish for today,’ said the fisherman.

‘Why don’t you catch more than you need?’ said the industrialist.

‘What would I do with it?’ asked the fisherman.

‘You could earn more money,’ was the reply. ‘With that you could have a motor fixed to your boat. Then you could have enough money to own two boats…maybe even a fleet of boats. Then you could be a rich man like me.’

‘What would I do then?’ asked the fisherman.

‘Then you could sit down and enjoy life,’ said the industrialist.

‘What do you think I am doing right now?’ said the contented fisherman.

Amen.