Another taboo talked about

I think it was last week that I mentioned that we are not supposed to talk about religion or politics . . . well there is another thing we aren’t supposed to talk about and that is money. Soooo, this week I preached about money. By the way, I am not on some sort of taboo-busting, taboo-discussing trend, I go where the Lectionary leads as much as possible and sometimes it leads to this sort of thing.

One of the things I addressed is the profound difference between what people think St. Paul said to Timothy in his first letter and what he actually said. What people think he said was, “Money is the root of all evil” when what he actually said was, “The love of money is the root of all evil.”*

Money is tool. It is as neutral on the continuum of good and evil as a spade or a computer. Of course money, like a spade or a computer, can be used for evil or for good but there is nothing intrinsic to money that makes it one or the other. However, loving money, now that is different. It is when we take money out of the tool category in which it belongs and put it into the love category that we fall into difficulties.

Knox Presbyterian What’s wrong with money again?

St. Mark’s Presbyterian What’s wrong with money again?

I hope you enjoy the sermon(s) or are challenged by them or . . . . Let me know what you think in the comments.

Blessings,

*Now what he really said was “ῥίζα γὰρ πάντων τῶν κακῶν ἐστιν ἡ φιλαργυρία, which we translate as something like “the love of money leads to all kinds of evil” but you know what I mean.