Is Money Evil?

There’s a popular saying from the Bible: “Money is the root of all evil.”

There’s only one problem: That’s not what the Bible says.

Here’s what the Bible does say, in the traditional King James Version:

For the love of money is the root of all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10)

According to the Bible, it’s not money, but the love of money that is the root of all evil. And even that is not exactly what the original Greek says. We’ll take a closer look at this verse and its context in a minute.

Quite a few of Jesus’ parables were about money.

Or were they?

Really, they are about what is of true value not just materially, but spiritually. Because value is the true meaning of money.

Is money evil? No. But our love for it and our use of it does show whether our own heart is good or evil.

What, exactly, did Paul say?

First, let’s set the record straight. The Bible does not say that money is the root of all evil.

And despite the King James translation, the Bible doesn’t even say that the love of money is the root of all evil. Here is what it does say, in Young’s Literal Translation:

for a root of all the evils is the love of money,

And in Green’s Interlinear translation, which is also a very literal translation:

For the love of money is a root of all evil;

Do you notice the difference? The love of money is not the root of all evil, but a root of all evil. In the original Greek, there is no definite article in front of the word for “root.” In other words, the love of money is a root of everything evil, but there may be other roots as well.

To cut to the chase, love of self, in the negative sense of thinking of ourselves as better than everyone else and wanting to have power and control over other people, is the other major root of all evil—and it’s an even more nefarious and destructive one than the love of money. But that’s a subject for another article.

For now, it’s important to pay attention to exactly what Paul said. And what he said is that the love of money is a root of all evil. Paul doesn’t leave us in doubt about what he means. Here is that saying in its context, in the New Revised Standard Version:

Of course, there is great gain in godliness combined with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, so that we can take nothing out of it, but if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. But those who want to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains. (1 Timothy 6:6–10)

Even here, notice that he doesn’t say that in their eagerness to be rich all have wandered away, but some have wandered away. The idea that only poor people can be spiritual is not supported by the Bible. See: “You Cannot Serve both God and Money.”

However, Paul’s point here is that if we have enough for food and clothing, meaning the necessities of life, we can be content with these, whereas if we focus our life on trying to get rich, we can easily get pulled away from a spiritual path and into a path that leads to ruin and destruction.

In short, the love of money is one of the things that can drag us away into evil, pain, and suffering if we put it first in our life.

Wealth in the Bible

And yet, money and wealth is a major theme throughout the Bible. In the Old Testament, wealth is considered good, and a blessing from God. For example, in the story in Genesis 24 of Abraham sending his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac, the servant says to the family of Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife:

I am Abraham’s servant. The Lord has blessed my master abundantly, and he has become wealthy. He has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys. (Genesis 24:34–35)

In the New Testament, Jesus is often considered to be against wealth because of his words of support for the poor and of giving to the poor. But he also told a dozen or so parables about money and wealth. And he did have some wealthy followers, as covered in the article linked above. To take up only one of the shortest of Jesus’ parables about money:

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. (Matthew 13:44)

Here, Jesus not only speaks about wealth, but he says that heaven is like wealth. We’ll return to that in a minute.

Even in the last book of the Bible, wealth shows up as something to be desired:

You say, “I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.” But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. (Revelation 3:17–18)

Here, the solution to a false sense of wealth is not poverty, but true wealth. And what is true wealth? Jesus suggests the answer when he says:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:19–20)

In other words, although the Bible rejects building up worldly wealth as an end in itself, money and wealth continue to have a good significance throughout the Bible.

Money in the Bible

In most of the Old Testament, coined money had not yet been invented and brought into common use. Instead, as reflected in Genesis 24:34–35 (quoted above), wealth was measured in “sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys.” In other words, it was measured in heads of livestock, in numbers of servants (or slaves), and in gold and silver.

The gold and silver was not in the form of coined money, since that didn’t exist yet in that society. Often it was in the form of jewelry, which would be weighed to determine its value. Metals, both precious and common, not to mention precious stones, are often mentioned in the Bible as something of value. For example:

Eleazar the priest said to the troops who had gone to battle, “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded Moses: gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and lead—everything that can withstand fire, you shall pass through fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for purification, and whatever cannot withstand fire, you shall pass through the water.” (Numbers 31:21–23)

Tarshish did business with you out of the abundance of your great wealth; silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your wares. Javan, Tubal, and Meshech traded with you; they exchanged human beings and vessels of bronze for your merchandise. . . . The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; they exchanged for your wares the best of all kinds of spices and all precious stones and gold. (Ezekiel 27:12–13, 22)

The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, says the Lord of hosts. (Haggai 2:8)

By New Testament times, coins made of gold, silver, and copper were in common use. Gold coins were used by wealthy people for large purchases. Silver and copper coins were used by the common people for their everyday trading.

Spiritual money

If, as Jesus suggests, there is not only worldly wealth, but spiritual wealth, what is spiritual money?

Let’s turn to what Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) says about the spiritual meaning of gold, silver, and copper, which were the most common forms of money in the Bible.

Here is the first mention of gold in the Bible:

The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one that flows around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold, and the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. (Genesis 2:11–12)

And here is Swedenborg’s brief explanation of the meaning of the land of Havilah and the things that were in it:

The land of Havilah symbolizes the mind; gold, goodness; and bdellium and onyx, truth. Gold comes up twice because it symbolizes the goodness that goes with love and the goodness that goes with a faith based on love. (Secrets of Heaven #110)

In short, spiritual gold is goodness and love in the human mind. These verses from Genesis even say that the gold of that land is good!

Here is the first mention of silver in the Bible:

Now Abram was very rich in livestock, in silver, and in gold. (Genesis 13:2)

And here is Swedenborg’s brief explanation of this verse:

Abram was very rich in livestock symbolizes the good impulses with which the Lord then grew rich. Silver symbolizes true ideas. And gold symbolizes the good effects that result from truth. (Secrets of Heaven #1549)

Again, gold symbolizes what is good, but here Swedenborg tells us that silver, which is the constant monetary companion of gold, represents truth.

Copper commonly shows up in the Bible as brass or bronze. This was probably an alloy of copper and tin, but it represents the “copper” of the Bible. Here is its first mention in the Bible:

Zillah bore Tubal-cain, who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools. (Genesis 4:22)

And here is Swedenborg’s brief explanation of these words:

Zillah . . . means the mother of the earthly aspects of the new church. Tubal-cain, who trained every artisan in bronze and iron, symbolizes teachings about good and truth on the earthly level, bronze symbolizing earthly good and iron earthly truth. (Secrets of Heaven #421)

What is “earthly good”? Short version, it is outward good, meaning good in action. In other words, copper represents good deeds. (Iron, similarly, represents truth in action, meaning living an honest and law-abiding life.)

In summary:

• Spiritual gold is love and goodness.
• Spiritual silver is truth and understanding.
• Spiritual copper is good actions.

These are the “treasures” that we can store up for ourselves in heaven. We do this by always loving God and the neighbor, as Jesus taught (Matthew 22:36–40); by gaining more and more knowledge and understanding of spiritual truth to serve as our guide; and by expressing these in an everyday life of good actions toward our fellow human beings.

Material money

If money and wealth has such a good significance, can earthly money really be a bad thing?

Remember, Paul didn’t say that money is the root of all evil, but that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is where our heart is that determines whether money is good or evil for us. That’s why, after urging us to store up spiritual wealth rather than material wealth, Jesus says:

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. (Matthew 6:21)

If our heart is in earthly treasure—meaning if what we love the most is getting money and becoming rich—then it will lead us into all kinds of pain and suffering in the long run, and especially in the afterlife.

But if we see money, not as an end in itself, but as a means to achieve higher goals, such as doing good for our family and friends, our neighbors, our community, our country, and the world, then material money becomes an earthly expression of spiritual money, which is love, truth, and good deeds.

Money means value

That’s because money is an expression of what is valuable to us.

Spiritually, love, truth, and good deeds are the things of greatest value. If our life is full of these, we are spiritually wealthy. When we express that spiritual wealth through the way we use our material wealth, then the money we make and spend means the very same thing: love, truth, and good deeds.

Here is a quick test of what you value: What do you spend your money on?

Of course, you value your own life, and the life of your family if you have one. This means that a lot of your money will go to food, clothing, housing, and so on. We do have to take care of the needs of ourselves and our household so that we can be healthy in mind and body. This puts us into a position to be of service to other people.

What else do you spend your money on? Whatever you spend your money on, that’s what you value, and it will give you some insight into your own goals, motives, and character.

Is money evil?

No, money is good . . . if we use it for good. It becomes evil only when we love it so much that instead of using it for good, we use it only to benefit ourselves. This is when the love of money becomes a root of all kinds of evil.

But if we make our money doing good and honest work, and we spend it for the benefit not only of ourselves and our family, but also for the good of our community, our nation, and the world, then money becomes an earthly expression of the spiritual wealth represented by gold, silver, and bronze in the Bible.

For further reading:

• The Gold Standard
• You Cannot Serve both God and Money
• Is Wealth a Blessing or a Curse?
• What Does Religion Have to Do with My Profession and My Daily Work?
• Debits and Credits