Money: Your Tool or Your Idol?

Is Money Your Tool or Your Idol a blog post by Resources for Christ

You’ve heard it before. Money is a tool. Nothing more, nothing less. Money itself is amoral, neither good nor bad, but the person wielding the tool of money has great power to use it for either good or evil.

The Bible is clear in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “…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.” This verse is often misquoted and as a result the misconception can be that money itself is the root of all evil. But notice, it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. From where did Jesus say such evil proceeds? From the human heart (Mark 7:21-23).

So as Christians, let’s not avoid the topic of money, thinking that it is somehow evil or ungodly. It is merely a tool, and it is up to us whether we will use this tool for good or for bad.

Where many of us get into trouble is when we make money a goal, or should I say a “god?” Money can absolutely be idolized, often without us even realizing it. Matthew 6:24 says, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Serving mammon is when money becomes an idol, our goal, our focus, and usually so we can spend it on ourselves. The motivation is almost always selfishness or pride. However, when money is used as a tool to serve God, it can actually help us to love and serve Him, our true Master, even more effectively.

If you’re not sure where your relationship is at with money, if it’s an idol or just a tool, ask God to show you. Our hearts are deceitful (Jeremiah 17:29), but the God who made us knows our hearts and will reveal truth to us if we are willing to receive it. (Psalm 139:23-24)

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