For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. 1 Timothy 6:10
“For the desires that help men to live are not blameworthy, as is clear from the fact that they are with us from a very early age. Love of possessions, however, comes a little later – although still in childhood – and in this way it is evident that it does not have its ground in nature, but is a matter of individual choice.
Saint Paul rightly termed it the root of all kinds of evil, and the kinds that it usually begets are niggardliness, trickery, rapacity, thievery and, in short, greed in all its forms, which St Paul called a second idolatry (cf. Col. 3:5). Even in the case of evils that do not spring directly from it, greed nearly always provides the fuel for their sustenance.
Such evils, begotten of the love for material things, are passions of a soul that has no zeal for spiritual work. We can free ourselves more easily from passions that are a matter of our own volition than from those rooted in nature. It is disbelief in God’s providence that makes it difficult for us to eradicate the passions that arise from our love of possessions, for such disbelief leads us to put our trust in material riches.
‘It is easier’, said the Lord, ‘for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God’ (Matt. 19:24). But if we trust in material riches, this means nothing to us; we long for worldly, perishable wealth, not for a kingdom that is heavenly and eternal. And even when we fail to acquire that wealth, the mere desire for it is extremely pernicious.”
Gregory Palamas (1296-1359) was a monk of Mount Athos and later archbishop of Thessalonica in “St Gregory Palamas
To the Most Reverend Nun Xenia” in Philokalia V4.305.
As I continue my reading through the Philokalia whilst traveling in Australia, I have come to this section by a largely unknown monk, that I cited only one other time in 2014.
Back then, I located this quote: “When we coddle the flesh in order to foster its desires, then the passion becomes evil and self-indulgence gives rise to the carnal passions and renders the soul diseased.”
Today’s post echoes this idea. We must be careful about what we desire. The desire for wealth is “extremely pernicious” as it shifts our trust away from God’s providence. You can’t serve or trust in God and mammon.
Regardless of the level of supply we enjoy from God, we must make the choice to put it to work faithfully, give it generously, and not trust in it to sustain us otherwise the desire itself will lead to all kinds of evil.
Take a few minutes today to assess your desires. Assess if the love of money has a grip on you. The “love of money” simply means a belief that you need money to sustain you. Is it time to repent?
Do this because it is not the gifts of God (money and possessions) that sustain us – only God does. Harboring the desire for money demonstrates idolatry as our trust has shifted to the wrong place.
Repent today before this misplaced love causes you to pierce yourself with many sorrows. Literally the Greek implies you stab yourself multiple times leading to you to die a slow and painful death.