(Benard Kagame is a motivational speaker and has in the past been a gospel TV/Radio host. He is the proprietor of www.barakatupu.com. He is also a counsellor and an MC)
Money is a medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes collectively; the assets, property, and resources owned by someone or something.
God created man and bestowed upon him the ability to carry a lot of responsibilities then he (man) went on and invented money.
Historians believe that metal objects were first used as money as early as 5,000 B.C. Around 700 B.C., the Lydians became the first Western culture to make coins.
Other countries and civilizations soon began to mint their own coins.
Money has been in use for such a long period making life comfortable for others and miserable to many.
Many people say that money is everything; others even say it’s the only thing. In the Bible, money and possessions are the second most referenced topic – money is mentioned more than 800 times and nowhere in the scripture is debt viewed in a positive way.
Very few people learn how to correctly manage money. Most contemporary Christians have turned everything into spiritual including money matters.
It’s unarguable that we have to work hard to get money but how to manage it is the bone of contention.
We work hard for it and some individuals even commit crimes for it. Ironically schools teach us about many different topics, except one of the most important – how to think about and handle money.
Without the application of biblical principles, money can turn from a blessing into a curse. Apostle Paul’s advice, in his first letter to Timothy, was: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
This verse is often misconstrued as, “Money is the root of all evil” whereas “money” is substituted for “love of money” and “the root of all evil” is substituted for “a root of all kinds of evil.”
These phrases although seemingly subtle, have an enormous impact on the meaning of the verse. The apostle affirms that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
While many believers coveted money, they erred from the faith, abandoned Christianity and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
Note what the root of evil is – the love of money. If people inordinately love money, it will push them to all types of evil.
In addition, covetous persons will quit the faith in a bid to get money thus, they have erred from the faith.
“Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world. For the world was dearer to him than Christianity, 2 Tim. 4:10.”
Those that depart from God treasure up sorrows for themselves. Some university students turn to be sex workers to get money to fund their lavish lifestyles.
Most of them were brought up in godly ways, but once they are exposed to campus life they turn into something else in the name of money.
The Bible is quite clear that sin is the root of all evil (Matthew 15:19; Romans 5:12; James 1:15).
From the actual text, it’s the love of money from whence evil stems. Wealth is morally neutral; there is nothing wrong with money per se, but when money begins to control us, that’s when trouble starts.
Greed causes people to do all sorts of things. Most courtroom dramas are usually motivated by jealousy, greed, or both.
The love of money is what motivates people to steal, cheat, gamble, embezzle, and even murder.
Indications that people have a wrong relationship with money could include interest in get-rich-quick schemes, financial hoarding, desire to kill people for money and such.
These types of behaviour are unbiblical, and we hurt ourselves when we fall into any of these traps.
It is good to have money but we must remember our priorities and put God first.
As the Bible says, “But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:18).
In the next article, I will tackle some of the common misconceptions I’ve come across in my day to day life so that we may draw a thin line between foolishness and wisdom when it comes to money matters and Christianity.
“You must gain control over your money or the lack of it will forever control you,” Dave Ramsey once said.