A verse, in context
1 Timothy 6:10, Money and Evil
"Money is the root of all evil" is one of the most misquoted lines in the language. The verse actually says, "For the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10), and even that phrase is more careful than the slogan suggests.
“For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”1 Timothy 6:10
How it is often used
How it is often used. In popular speech this verse is shortened to "money is the root of all evil," and taken to mean that money itself, or wealth, is inherently evil, or that every evil in the world springs from money. Sometimes it is used to condemn the rich outright, or to imply that having resources is spiritually suspect. The real concern behind it, that greed corrupts and that the pursuit of wealth can wreck a soul, is thoroughly biblical. But the misquote gets two things wrong. First, Paul does not say money is the root of evil; he says the love of money is. Second, the KJV says it is "the root of all evil," and the phrase is best understood as a root of all kinds of evil, since Scripture does not teach that money-love is the single source of every sin. Money is a tool; the danger Paul names is the craving for it.
The passage around it
The passage around it. Paul is warning Timothy about false teachers who suppose "that gain is godliness" (v5), treating religion as a means to profit. Against this he sets contentment: "But godliness with contentment is great gain" (v6), "having food and raiment let us be therewith content" (v8). Then the warning: "But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows" (vv9-10). The problem is clearly the craving, "they that will be rich" and those who "coveted after" money, not the possession of money as such. Notably, later in the same chapter Paul does not tell the rich to get rid of their wealth but "that they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute" (v18). So money can be used well; it is the love of it that ensnares.
What it actually means, and where it leads
What it actually means, and where it leads. Paul is diagnosing a spiritual disease: the love of money, the craving to be rich, which lures people into many evils and can even draw them away from the faith into deep sorrow. It is not money but the desire for it that is the dangerous root, and the remedy Paul offers is contentment, godliness with contentment as "great gain." The verse is not a blanket condemnation of wealth; the same passage tells the wealthy to be generous and rich in good works. This leads to Christ, who taught that we cannot serve God and mammon, and who Himself, "though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor" (2 Corinthians 8:9). The freedom on offer is contentment in God rather than bondage to money. To love money is to be pierced through with many sorrows; to be content in Christ, whatever our means, is to possess the great gain that no wealth can buy and no poverty can take.
Questions people ask
Does the Bible say money is the root of all evil?
No. The verse says "the love of money is the root of all evil." The problem Paul names is the craving for wealth, not money itself, which the same chapter treats as something the rich can use well through generosity and good works.
Does "the root of all evil" mean every evil comes from money-love?
The phrase is best understood as a root of all kinds of evil. Scripture does not teach that love of money is the single source of every sin, but that it leads to many evils and can draw people away from the faith.
Is it sinful to be wealthy?
Not in itself. Later in the chapter Paul does not tell the rich to abandon their wealth but to "do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute." The danger is loving money rather than God; the remedy is contentment and generosity.