For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. - 1 Timothy 6:10
Do you think of yourself as someone who loves money. Well, if not, how about someone who needs money. Even if you are still at home under the care of your parents, when you wander away from home on some social soirée, for one reason or another. Most often for simple, inexpensive things since you are still a dependent on someone else for food, health and shelter. But eventually when you venture out on your own, you must bear the weight of the cost of living your life - surviving.
So you learn to see having money as a necessity. At first, you make it a point to live within your means. You don't spend more than you make. If you are careful, you might even have some money left over at the end of the month. All the while you are being bombarded opportunities to buy with things that would be nice to have but not things that you necessarily need to have. Maybe your friends have them - nicer things than you have and you want to be like them. Or perhaps you see something on social media, the internet, or television that catches your interest. If you only had more money.
But wait - you don't have to have all of the money you need to buy the things you want! You can buy things on time. You just need a credit line. Then you can go in to debt and pay over time. All you have to do is be willing to pay interest. Here is an example.
Say you buy a $30,000 car on credit. You pay $5000 down and pay the rest in equal payments for 5 years at 10 percent interest. You actually pay a total of $43,184 for the car over 5 years. In other words, you pay an additional $13,184 in interest for a car that has been depreciating, losing value, every year. So by year 5, on average, your $30,000 car will have depreciated by 42% of its value or $12,600. So the car that you paid $43,184 for will be worth $17,400. My point is not that you should not have a car - but that we buy thing on time because we want them - or in the case of a car - need them with little regard for the true cost. When you tell someone what you paid for the car you will most likely say $30,000 not $43,184.
Don't get defensive on me. I am not suggesting that you don't need a car. Or that you should not finance some purchases - but that going into debt has been made easy.
The Average household credit card debt in the US is $11,153 as of the 1st quarter of 2026. Total U.S. credit card debt: $1.25–$1.32 trillion depending on the reporting agency (Federal Reserve, Experian, NY Fed). Money that people didn't have when they bought whatever it was that they bought. You can even get your paycheck a few days early from a bank or lending institution - of course there will be a cost. And what is the motivation - the need for instant gratification. I want it and I want it now!
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. - 1 John 2:15-16
And what is the "balm" that helps satisfy the lust of your old nature - it's money - either yours or someone else's. Be on your guard Christian! There are many things in this life that vie for the affection of your heart. Your heart that should be devoted to God alone. Money in and of itself is not evil - it is the lust born from our old nature that draws us away from God.
Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets. - Matthew 22:37-39
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