1 Timothy 6:9–10

Context

1 Timothy is traditionally regarded as a letter from Paul to Timothy, who had remained in Ephesus, charging him to care for the church and to guard against false teaching. Since the modern era, some scholars have regarded the letter as a later work written under Paul's name. In chapter 6, verses 3–5 criticize false teachers who treat godliness as a means of gain, and verses 6–8 commend contentment, urging readers to be satisfied if they have food and clothing. Verses 9–10 continue this line of thought by warning of the consequences of a heart set on wealth. Verse 11 follows with "flee these things." Verses 17–19 separately exhort those who are already rich not to be proud but to share.

Interpretation

• Traditional reading: The passage is read as a warning against covetousness (excessive desire). Its concern is not wealth itself but the intention to be rich ("they that will be rich") and the love of money. This understanding is common in preaching across many denominations, including Presbyterian, Methodist, and Baptist churches.
• Stewardship reading: The passage serves as a basis for the doctrine of stewardship, which holds that because wealth is entrusted by God, those who hold it should use it as managers rather than as owners.
• Methodist reading: This reading connects the passage with the principle John Wesley taught in his sermon "The Use of Money"—earn honestly, save, and give all you can—and treats the whole matter of earning and spending money as a question of holy living.

Debates and Issues

• Translation: Rendered literally, the Greek original reads "root of all evils." Because there is no article before "root," translators differ on whether the phrase means that the love of money is the sole root of evil or a root of all kinds of evil. The Korean Revised Version and the New Korean Revised Version use the phrase ilman ak (literally "ten thousand evils"), an older expression meaning "all kinds of evil."
• Quotation out of context: The verse is often shortened to "money is the root of all evil." Commentators frequently point out, however, that the text identifies not money but "the love of money."
• Relationship to prosperity theology: Critics of prosperity theology hold that teaching faith as a way to obtain material blessing is precisely the attitude this passage warns against. Those who emphasize material blessing counter that the passage cautions only against attachment to money, not against the blessing of wealth itself, and that wealth can be used for missions and relief of the poor.

In the Korean Church

The passage is frequently used as a sermon text on the Christian view of material possessions, offerings, and stewardship. The expression "the love of money is the root of all evil" (in its Korean Bible wording) is also widely used as a proverb outside the church.

Related Passages

• 1 Timothy 6:17–19 — an exhortation to the rich
• Matthew 6:24–34 — the teaching that one cannot serve both God and mammon
• Hebrews 13:5–6 — an exhortation to be free from the love of money and "content with such things as ye have"
• Philippians 4:11–13 — Paul's contentment
• Luke 18:24–27 — the saying that it is hard for the rich to enter the kingdom of God