The phrase for the love of money is the root of all evil is probably the most controversial line from Scripture,

especially among those of us who are driven or want to do something meaningful or even make a lot of money.

This phrase that comes from the book of 2 Timothy

is a letter from Paul to a church explaining to people

how to live their lives and how to take care of one another.

And in it, he just throws in this sentence of,

for the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

And we throw this phrase around to each other

and sometimes use it to carry a lot

of guilt moving forward. But this phrase, this verse doesn't mean what most people think that it

means. And if we actually look at what is being said in this passage, we'd find a lot of freedom

to pursue the things that we want to pursue.

Now if we look at the context of this passage, what Paul is telling the church is the importance of taking care of one another.

The importance of not leaving people like widows and children out in the cold of not letting each other go hungry.

He's encouraging the importance of us being there for one another and ensuring that

those who are in our inner circle are taking care of. And then he says, for the love of money

is the root of all kinds of evil. And we just pop out that phrase and use it as a way to feel guilty about

wanting more out of life. But if we actually look at this phrase, Paul uses a really unique word.

The phrase for the love of money, when translated from its original Greek, is the word philagria.

And the interesting thing about this word is that it's the only time it's ever used in Scripture.

Usually we can cross-reference what phrases or words mean, especially since Paul wrote so much of the New Testament, we can find

where else he used that word. But he only uses philagria one time. And it's in this phrase.

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