How to Understand the Different Kinds of Evil

Posted on July 26, 2021June 22, 2021 by richabbaholyabba

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.
1 Timothy 6:10

God’s word tells us that the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Christian believers would do well to recognize and identify the different kinds of evil in which this particular root can manifest.

Avarice — Love of Money

The love of money causes some to long for wealth. These people believe that extreme wealth is attainable and they will spend their lives chasing after riches at any cost.

They will sacrifice marriages and friendships in pursuit of any gain. They may sacrifice their health and their moral compass. In their minds, no risk is too great in pursuit of riches. More often than not, these people never realize their goals but that does not stop them. However, this will never deter them from chasing the dream.

Too late, they realize the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil — and their kind is avarice.

Materialism — Love of Money

Others believe that such extreme wealth is unattainable. These people make their peace with the fact that they will never be wealthy. However, their particular love of money causes some to accumulate those possessions they can afford.

When the money runs out, they reach for credit to satiate their desire to accumulate more things. People in this position never chase after riches. Rather, they find themselves in constant need of just a little more money than they have right now as they have acquired more possessions than they could reasonably afford.

These people will spend all their lives in financial struggle. This is another kind of evil whose root is the Love of Money. In the end they discover the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. The price of their materialism is consumer-debt and life-long financial struggle.

Hoarding — Love of Money

The love of money causes some to hoard cash. These people are consumed with fear of losing what they already have and become miserly, frugal and miserable. Think Ebenezer Scrooge!

In the end they discover the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. They destroy relationships with those around them. They may be rich but they live as if they are poor. They never experience the joy of giving and die miserable and alone.

Too late, they discover the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. In their case it is often loneliness and the pain of broken relationships.

Greed — Love of Money

The love of money causes some to spend uncontrollably. Instead of chasing after riches, they find it impossible to hold on to money and it flows like water through their hands. While they often fail to recognize it, this is a form of greed. People with this mind-set love to spend money and deny themselves nothing. They continue to spend and acquire until every penny they earn is gone. They will even reach for credit in order to spend money they have yet to earn, regardless of the interest costs.

They end up destitute, overcome by consumer-debt. They are forced to work hard their entire lives and never have the time to seek God’s kingdom first in their lives. These are the people who are rendered unfruitful according to God’s word.

…but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Mark 4:19

This is a fairly common kind of evil whose root is the love of money.

Love of Money is the Root of All Kinds of Evil

As God’s word says, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. As believers, we need to examine our hearts and identify which kinds of evil we are most susceptible to.

Once we do that, we are in a position to repent and allow the Holy Spirit to help us overcome the love of money in our lives. Whatever kind of evil we struggle with, God can bring healing and change us from lovers of money to obedient Stewards of His abundance in our lives.

When this happens, both financial struggle and an eternal striving after riches will become a thing of the past.

The Colossal Danger of Materialism and Retail Therapy

Posted on October 19, 2020October 28, 2020 by richabbaholyabba

Materialism is the love of money in the modern age.

They say that money can’t buy happiness. And yet, Retail Therapy attempts to do just that. The problem is not that money can’t buy happiness. It is that the happiness money buys is fleeting.

Then, when we face the resulting financial struggle, the depression sets in even deeper than before.

What we call Retail Therapy, the Bible calls Love of Money. Retail therapy leads to poverty. Ergo, Love of Money leads to poverty.

When it comes to emotional depression or stress, retail therapy is a cause, not a cure.
Rich Abba, Holy Abba

Materialism Love of Money

This materialism love of money is particularly stealthy because we naturally associate love of money with riches and our modern-day consumerism does not make us feel rich.

In fact, it does quite the opposite. The depression or stress we feel is usually rooted in envy and covetousness because others have something we don’t. This makes us feel poor so we scrape and save and reach for our credit cards to afford that which we desire. If we can’t afford what we truly desire, we indulge in Retail Therapy and spend everything we have on something we can afford.

This buys us a fleeting moment of happiness but makes us poorer than we were before. On top of that, we don’t feel any wealthier because we still don’t have what we truly wanted.

This feels counter-intuitive but it is Satan’s standard modus operandi. He promises us something – in this case, wealth. Then he offers us a short-cut to achieving that promise (E.g. “Retail Therapy”). This distracts us from God and makes us worldly-minded. When this happens, sin has already won.

We rush out and spend our last dime on a wild shopping spree. This gives us that brief moment of euphoria but this does not last long. Within minutes or days, that euphoria wanes and we find ourselves worse off – in this case poorer- than we were to start with. Then the cycle begins once more.

This is how love of money keeps us locked in a cycle of constant financial struggle.

3 Reasons Why Christians Can’t be Wealthy

Posted on August 3, 2020July 29, 2020 by richabbaholyabba

Well, of course, they can. However, wealth is a touchy subject among Christians. Because of basic misunderstandings and assumptions, many Christians can’t be wealthy.

In fact the only things holding Christians back from true wealth are self-imposed limitations.

Here are my top three.

Christians Can’t be Wealthy When…

1. They Mistake Wealth for Riches

Throughout the First World, Christians and non-Christians alike find themselves in a state of constant financial struggle. Not poor – but forced to work long hours in jobs they hate just to make rent and pay their monthly bills.

Many Christians long to escape from this cycle but feel unable to. What if someone told you that you could find true wealth without becoming rich? You can!

It is our First-World mentality, not the Bible, that tells us the only way to true wealth is by becoming rich. For Christians this is a stumbling block because we understand that there lies the love of money and the road to ruin.

Riches are the measure of a bank balance. Wealth is the measure of freedom and choice.
Rich Abba, Holy Abba

Too many Christians believe the world’s lie that freedom and choice requires infinite riches. This is one reason why many Christians can’t be wealthy.

When we begin to understand wealth outside the context of riches, the stumbling block is removed. The truth is that many Christians could achieve true wealth with little or no more money than they have now.

Think of it this way; what would you do for God and his kingdom – how would you spend your time – if you could maintain your current income but were able to choose your hours and work from anywhere in the world?

You would be no richer than you are now but possibly infinitely wealthier.

2. They Bow to Materialism

Here is an unpalatable truth. Materialism is simply the Love of Money in a different guise.

Like a master-illusionist, Satan focuses all our attention on Acquisition of Riches Love of Money, while quietly hiding the Materialism Love of Money that takes root our hearts…. and we, his victims, continue to believe we are immune because we still feel poor!

Materialism is not only the Love of Money; it is the very thing that keeps us in a place of financial struggle.

Understanding Godliness with Contentment, can free us from materialism and the love of money. As our spending patterns change, we are able to create true wealth with opportunities for freedom and choice.

Not by becoming richer but rather by becoming better stewards of God’s blessing in our lives.

3. They Focus on Bread Instead of Seed

Many Christians think of any investment as the pursuit of riches and, by extension, the love of money. This, coupled with a natural human fear of anything we don’t understand, prevents many Christians from ever investing their earnings in assets that grow in value.

Instead, they spend it on their “Daily Bread” (i.e. the things they need to support themselves and their family month by month). When Christians view everything they earn as bread rather than seed, they automatically see it as something to be consumed rather than planted.

This is a reason why many Christians can’t be wealthy.

This is not a question of pursuing riches but, rather, one of stewardship. As Christians we should first acknowledge that all we have belongs to God. When we consume all the resources God places in our trust as bread, this is not good stewardship.

Some of those resources are bread, to be sure. Christians can and should use this bread to support themselves and their families. They should also be generous with the bread they have and share it with others in need or as tithes and offerings to further God’s kingdom.

However, as good stewards of the blessings with which God has entrusted us, Christians should reserve a portion of their earnings as seed to be planted for future harvest.

If unsure of how to do this or where and how to invest, then I would submit that Christians have a duty to understand this, like the good and faithful servant in Matthew 25:14-30 who wisely used what his master gave him to produce an increase.

By becoming good stewards of God’s resources, we can break the cycle and find true freedom – or true wealth! We can do this not by becoming richer but by becoming good stewards of that which God has already given us.

Christian Love-of-Money Blinkers

Posted on July 6, 2020September 7, 2020 by richabbaholyabba

As I observe fellow-Christians, I have noticed some general patterns of thinking when it comes to money. Certain things that Christians, as a group, believe with respect to money. When a brother or sister does not conform to these widely-held beliefs, this will often trigger our built-in Christian Love-of-Money alarms.

Sadly, many of these widely-held views have no scriptural basis and, in fact, defy common-sense.

Here are my top two.

Wealth-Accumulation is Love of Money

This is an unspoken belief in Christian circles. It is seldom explicitly stated but it is implied in the things we say or point out when this alarm sounds.

The moment a person begins to focus on actively accumulating wealth, our built-in Christian Love-of-Money alarm-bells start to sound. When we talk about building an investment portfolio or ways of expanding our property portfolio, Christian family and friends can quickly become concerned for our spiritual welfare.

The more interest we take in the subject and the more we apply our minds to increasing our financial literacy and the accumulation of wealth through saving and investment, the louder those alarm-bells begin to sound. Well-meaning friends and pastors might caution us against making money an idol in our lives. And not just them; if you have been involved in the church for any length of time, those same bells will begin ringing in your own head.

Pursuit of wealth is love of money, the voices will say. There are more important things in life than money. You know you can’t take it with you. Be careful that you don’t gain the whole world and forfeit your own soul.

Conversely, when it comes to putting a portion of your monthly income into a pension scheme or 401(k) each month the alarm-bells remain strangely silent. Everybody does this, the voices will say. It is sensible to put something aside for your old age.

The fact that anyone putting money into a pension, retirement annuity or 401(k) is actually paying a team of brokers to manage that pension scheme is strangely irrelevant. The fact that other people are investing and growing the portfolio (i.e. accumulating wealth) on our behalf appears not to register on our built-in Christian Love-of-Money radars.

It’s almost as if there is an unspoken belief among Christians that taking control of your own financial affairs is wrong but paying someone you’ve never met to do it for you is okay.

There is simply no scriptural basis for this mindset. Love of money is a state of heart and a state of mind. Every believer needs to deal with the love of money in their lives whether they manage their own investment portfolio or not.

You think the one who pays into a 401(k) doesn’t love money? Just consider the disappointment or even rage on the face of the last person you spoke to who bemoaned the fact that their 401(k) / retirement annuity was not going to pay out as much as they had hoped it would.

Money Doesn’t Buy Happiness

If you steer the conversation to saving and investment or throw out terms like ‘Passive Income’ and ‘Achieving Financial Freedom’ in Christian circles, expect a reaction. It’s only a matter of time before a fellow-Christian says, ‘That’s all well and good but, remember. Money can’t buy happiness!‘ That is their built-in Christian Love-of-Money alarm-bell sounding.

Don’t hold it against them. I mean this sincerely. This person has the best intentions in the world and their concern is purely for your spiritual welfare.

Conversely, though, you could talk to that same person about the new car or television you’re planning to buy without sounding a single alarm in the conversation.

In fact you could talk about a myriad of things:

Your last ski trip or overseas holiday
Tickets to next week’s football or baseball game
The latest tech gadgets you have bought
Your new dress, shoes, coat or scarf
Your latest home decoration overhaul
The kids’ new games console
Latest generation of mobile phones on the market
New films or pay-channel TV subscriptions
Latest music or sound-blaster to play it on
Great restaurant experiences or
Best spa-days away

All of these are purchases we and our fellow-Christians make month-on-month, year-on-year without a second thought.

But what are these things if not fleeting moments of happiness that we buy with money and which are gone within days of their purchase?

The problem isn’t that money doesn’t buy happiness. The problem is that it does – as our first-world materialistic spending patterns prove every day.

The real danger lies in the blinkered thinking that spends all its money buying those fleeting moments of happiness – moments that keep the purchaser in a constant state of financial struggle by the way – and then triggers a Love-of-Money alarm when somebody else elects to forego some of those fleeting purchases in order to invest in their financial future.

The unspoken message is that investing hard-earned cash in assets that grow in value and secure a future income for us and our family is Love of Money but spending it on frivolous fleeting moments of happiness is not.

There is no scriptural basis for this thinking and it defies common-sense to boot. We can’t tell someone who is trying to save money and build a second income from a few rental properties that money can’t buy happiness while we are spending our last dime on a massive tub of popcorn at the cinema!

Love of Money – The Great Irony

Posted on May 4, 2020July 14, 2020 by richabbaholyabba

Most hard-working people think of the love of money as something only those far wealthier than them struggle with. I certainly used to think this way. Today, I find this thinking ironic.

We work ten to sixteen hours a day in jobs we hate just to keep pace with our ever-increasing bills – and the neighbours. Marriages break down and children end up in therapy because parents are simply never around. We’re too busy working to give our children the things we never had when we were growing up.

All the while we pat ourselves on the back saying, our value system is more Biblical. We’re not like those materialistic rich people where everything is just about money. We choose not to pursue riches because the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.

We need to be honest with ourselves and ask the question. Could it be the love of money that drives us to the office each day? Would we still do this if our employers said, ‘We’re not going to pay you any more. After all, it’s not really all about the money.’

Could it be the love of money that keeps us locked in a cycle of acquiring things and constantly spending just a little more than we earn? Do we really need that extra living room in the more expensive suburb, or the new car and flat-screen TV that eats up the pay increase we just got?

I’m not saying rich people don’t love money. Many do. I’m simply saying let’s not judge them too harshly because none of us is immune. The love of money is sin – and we are all sinners.

While this may sound depressing, I believe quite the opposite. I find it liberating. Nowhere does the Bible tell us that either the acquisition or wise stewardship of money is evil or sinful in any way. Only the love of money – and that is something we need to deal with in our lives regardless of whether we are princes or paupers.

Which leads me to the biggest irony of all. The love of money not only distracts us from our relationship with God. It’s actually the culprit that keeps us locked in the very financial bondage from which it promises to rescue us.

Our constant need to spend prevents us from saving money. Our fear of losing what we already have prevents us from investing money. And our endless reach for just a little bit more keeps us locked in the cycle year after year.

There is a flip-side to this, however. When we break free from Mammon’s grip, we not only rectify our relationship with God; we also free ourselves of the yoke that keeps us in financial bondage. Far from denying us true wealth, understanding 1 Tim 6:10 and applying it to our lives is the very key to unlocking the wealth we desire.

The Devil’s Greatest Trick

Posted on April 13, 2020July 3, 2020 by richabbaholyabba

“The Greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”
Charles Beaudilaire

This also became the catch-phrase in the popular 1995 cult film, The Usual Suspects starring Stephen Baldwin among others.

That quote is just as applicable to the love of money. So easy to spot in someone else but almost impossible to detect in one’s own heart.

It’s easy to point out the love of money in the entrepreneur. One who embarks on the journey in search of financial freedom. When a person begins investing and actively accumulating wealth in the form of assets they must love money, right?

Most people do not spend their lives building up an investment portfolio. Most of us simply climb on the hamster wheel each day and go to work.

We buy a house because this is a sensible investment and we work hard to pay off the mortgage. We trade up as our family (and our income) expands and move into a bigger home, buy a newer car, climbing the corporate ladder and piling money into our pension fund so that someday we can retire.

We enjoy the luxury of living in a home we can barely afford and revel in the security of a job that pays the mortgage even when we take our annual vacation or when we occasionally fall ill. We cross our fingers and hope that the money we pay into the pension fund each month will sustain us in our retirement.

All the while, we run up our credit card debt, acquiring new furniture, new computers and mobile phones for the kids. Or paying for our annual vacation, knowing that our next promotion or increase will cover these expenses in due course. When all else fails, we take our bank manager’s advice and consolidate our credit card debt into the mortgage. This reduces the monthly interest – and frees us up to reach into our wallet for the credit card once more to buy life’s next essential product.

We daren’t quit our job as this will bring the entire edifice crashing down and we daren’t leave work early to watch the kids’ school play or baseball match as this might cost us that promotion we so desperately need to keep the all the plates spinning. All to ensure that nobody ever sees how precarious our financial situation has become.

Of course, this seems less like a love of money than, say, building an investment portfolio worth a million dollars. Probably because it’s so normal. After all, most of our peers are in the same boat. How could it be wrong?

The truth is, this desperate need for job security is little more than fear of loss and the obsessive focus on consumer spending is little more than greed or desire for material gain. This is the love of money in its stealthiest form. Nobody plans for this life. None of us pictured this as living the dream back in our twenties.

Rather, we started out with far nobler intentions. Then life happened and a series of rather sensible choices over time landed us in the predicament in which we now find ourselves. The love of money that once promised instant gratification has instead delivered a twisted form of serfdom in which we are little more than wage-slaves treading a hamster wheel from which there seems to be no escape.

Yet, when we examine our own hearts, what do we see?

We are not out buying private yachts. Instead, we are struggling to keep our heads above water.

Far from lusting after riches, we are barely able to make ends meet.

Chasing after wealth? You’re kidding! We are fighting for survival.

We hear a sermon about the love of money. We look around and see it everywhere. The rich and famous, Silicon Valley, Wall Street, the list goes on. Finally, we turn our attention inwards, seeking out the love of money our own hearts. And like that… it’s gone!

Make no Mistake!

Posted on April 6, 2020June 20, 2020 by richabbaholyabba

You can deal with the love of money from a place of abundance, or from a place of lack. But make no mistake; you will have to deal with it.

Doing battle from a place of financial struggle won’t make your fight any easier or more noble.

Love of Money From a Place of Lack

I used to live in South Africa – the Southernmost tip of a continent gripped by poverty. A friend of mine ran a local ministry organisation that reached out to the homeless in Johannesburg’s inner city. These were some of the most destitute people in the country.

At one point, my missionary friend came up with a brainwave. What if he could empower these homeless people in some way? Teach a man how to fish, so to speak. He got on the phone to some PR people at Coca Cola and asked if the company would be prepared to loan some small mobile coolers and donate the initial stock. The company agreed and his plan was underway. He selected some of the more entrepreneurial members of the homeless community to whom he ministered and gave them each a stocked cart.

He explained to them that Coca Cola had loaned them the carts and given them their first batch of stock. All they had to do was sell their stock by the roadside each day. Once they had sold all their stock, they could return and use some of their earnings to restock the cart at cost-price. The profit was theirs to keep. This would set them on a cycle to earn a decent living and they need never be homeless again!

The new entrepreneurs left with their carts, filled with joy at their newfound fortune – and never returned. After several weeks, my missionary friend managed to track a few of them down. Some found their way back to the homeless shelters, others to a local soup kitchen. Each story followed the same tragic theme. The entrepreneur had sold his stock and spent the money. Once the money was gone, he then sold the cart and spent all the proceeds from that. After the proceeds from the cart were gone, he found himself back on the street locked in the same cycle all over again.

The love of money had cost these men dearly. It cost them a valuable opportunity which then led to theft of equipment that was not theirs to sell. Finally, it reduced them to the very same bondage of poverty they had hoped to escape.

Utterly dejected, my friend went back to Coca Cola and explained what had happened. The carts were gone and his organisation did not have the money to pay for them. He asked the company if they would offer him terms so that he could repay the debt over a year or two. Graciously, the good folk at Coca Cola told him not to worry about it. They would happily carry the loss and cancel the debt. ‘Don’t feel bad,’ they told him. ‘We see this happen all the time.’

As I pondered this story, I realised those people are not so different from me and most of my peers. Yes, we may not be homeless and we can clearly see the folly of their actions. We can do this because we’re better educated and their financial dilemma is simpler than ours. We would never be so foolish.

But what about our own middle-class financial dilemma? Living from paycheck to paycheck with barely enough to meet our monthly bills. No matter how much we earn or how many promotions and salary increases we get, there is never quite enough money at the end of each month.

Let’s take some time today to examine our own hearts. I would urge you to consider how the love of money might be the very thing that keeps you locked in a cycle from which you long to escape.

Recognising the Love of Money

Posted on March 30, 2020July 8, 2020 by richabbaholyabba

¹⁰For 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.
1 Timothy 6:10

I’m sure you have heard this verse quoted and misquoted ad nauseum throughout your life.

Who among us has not heard someone say ‘Money is the root of all evil’? I’ve heard many preachers address this misquote from the pulpit. Preachers and teachers are quick to point out that the Bible does not say money itself but, rather, the love of money is the root of all evil.

The more common misunderstanding, however, is seldom addressed from the pulpit. Namely the conclusions we draw from this verse – particularly as Christians.

We understand that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Correct! So we conclude, by extension, that the acquisition of wealth must be the root of all evil. And the possession of money is the root of all evil. Furthermore, we conclude that anyone who has acquired or is in the process of acquiring riches must be doing so because they love money. Why?

Here is the news-flash. You don’t have to be rich to love money!

This is the first step to understanding God’s word as it pertains to wealth.

It is imperative that we understand this. I believe that 1 Timothy 6:10 is one of the most commonly misquoted – and misunderstood – verses in the Bible.

When we understand this truth, we realise 1 Tim 6:10 is actually the great equaliser. Rich or poor, anybody can love money. None of us is exempt.

Take your average hard-working person, for instance. We work ten to sixteen hours a day in jobs we hate just to keep pace with our ever-increasing bills – and the neighbors. Marriages break down and children end up in therapy because parents are simply never around. We’re too busy working to give our children the things we never had when we were growing up.

We need to be honest with ourselves and ask the question. Could it be the love of money that drives us to the office each day? Could it be the love of money that keeps us locked in a cycle of acquiring things and constantly spending just a little more than we earn? Do we really need that extra living room in the more expensive suburb, or the new car and flat-screen TV that eats up the pay increase we just got?

I’m not saying rich people don’t love money. Many do. I’m simply saying let’s not judge them too harshly because none of us is immune. The love of money is sin – and we are all sinners.

When we recognise this, we can begin to rectify the problem. I have found that, far from denying us true wealth, understanding 1 Timothy 6:10 and applying it to our lives can be the very key to unlocking the financial freedom so many people seek.

Take a look at some of the common Love of Money Blinkers that prevent us from recognising love of money in our own lives and keep us locked in financial struggle at the same time.