“Money is the root of all evil” is not in the Bible. Come on, you can think of sins you’ve done money had nothing to do with. Money is not evil. People are.
1 Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.” Right before that, it says, “Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
Even a person who isn’t rich can love money and fall into ruin. It’s not about what’s in your wallet. It’s about what’s in your heart. But there’s more going on here than simply talking about money.
Back in verse 3, Paul said, that if anyone teaches a different doctrine than the sound words of Christ which produces godliness, then he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing. He craves controversy, producing envy, dissension, slander, evil suspicion and constant friction among people depraved in mind and deprived of the truth.
These teachers lead others to believe that being a Christian means there’s something in this world to be gained from it. Not content with the gospel of salvation, they twist the truth, and those who want what they’re selling will pay for it with their lives.
Sum it up with verse 10: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils,” causing people to wander from the truth in pursuit of their own passions. So money is not the root of all evil. But the love of money leads to all kinds of false teaching, when we understand the text.
