MONEY IS JUST A TOOL. part 1

I've heard many people say "money cannot buy you happiness" and i must say i completely believed that until a couple of years ago, i discovered that, it is almost only said by those who do not have money and most often than not, used to justify laziness and spite the rich. But you and i know that, neither does poverty buy happiness. So why this mantra?  Let's evaluate this concept;

Truly money in itself is incapable of making you attain real happiness but i believe, it gives you a better chance at happiness than poverty. Giving to the poor, helping the homeless and hungry, supporting the work of God and maintaining a good home and family are all progressive routes towards happiness. Now tell me, which of these can poverty make available? So before you go all self-righteous and proclaim that money is that and that, just step back and think, is your poverty making it any better?

Then there are also those who like to quote the Bible to justify why they are not working hard enough to make some money. Most often than not, they quote Paul first epistle to Timothy;

(1Ti 6:10 ISV) For the love of money (philaguria) is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, in their eagerness to get rich, have wandered away from the faith and caused themselves a lot of pain.

Now allow me to clarify a few things.

The original Greek translation of the phrase "the love of money" is philaguria and the most direct English translation of the word is AVARICE. Now let's explain avarice and gather a few synonyms of the word.

Avarice is an intense selfish desire for wealth or possessions

SYNONYMS: acquisitiveness, avarice, avariciousness, avidity, avidness, covetousness, cupidity, graspingness, greediness, mercenariness, rapaciousness, rapacity

RELATED WORDS: commercialism, materialism, possessiveness; gluttonousness, gluttony, piggishness; appetite, craving, desire, drive, hankering, hunger, itch, longing, lust, passion, pining, ravenousness, thirst, voracity, yearning, yen; egoism, egotism, self-centeredness, self-interest, selfishness, self-regard

Noticed the overwhelming emphasis on SELF?

So in effect, the above verse can be translated as such, "For the selfish, egoistic, craving, greediness, rapacious desire for wealth and riches is a root of all evil.

So in effect Paul was not talking about just money or the love and desire for it. He was emphasizing on the selfish and greedy motivation behind accumulation of wealth for self-gratification which inevitably leads to all forms of evil against God, others and one’s self.

Anything done with the sole purpose of satisfying one’s selfish desires is evil and a sin against God....

to be continued.