Is love of money the root of *all* evil?

[Clare]

I can see that love of money is bad, but I can't see how it's at the root of lust-related evils like adultery fornication etc. It seems to me that money isnt a consideration at all in those sins. Or sloth, or anger, come to think of it. Pride, perhaps, sometimes.

So, my pedantic question is, in what way is love of money the root of all evil?

[LausTibiChriste]

Pride is the root of all evil.


A poor man can fornicate with the rest of em...has nothing to do with money

[Daniel]

I believe that St. Augustine (somewhere in his treatise On Genesis to the Letter) teaches that the phrase "love of money" is a pars pro toto. Love of money is a kind of excessive desire, and excessive desire is the root of all evil, so the love of money is said figuratively to be the root of all evil.

And yes, this is linked with pride, since pretty much all excessive desires are a kind of pride (or at least follow from pride).

[Jayne]

There seems to be a translation issue involved.  Wikipedia has an article explaining it:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radix_malorum_est_cupiditas

Radix malorum est cupiditas is a Biblical quotation in Latin that means "greed is the root of evil" (or, in sentence order, the root of evil is greed).

This Latin phrase is a translation of the original Greek manuscripts of the Bible. The most reliable Greek manuscripts cite "???? ??? ?????? ??? ????? ????? ? ?????????? (1Ti 6:10 BGT)". This is literally translated into English, "Root for all the evil is the love of money." Daniel Wallace states that ???? (root) is qualitative, since it lacks an article.[1] A more idiomatic understanding of this phrase is, "For every possible kind of evil can be motivated by the love of money." Meaning, greed can lead to any number of different kind of evils, not that all evil is rooted in the love of money.

The original biblical quotation means "the love of money is the root of all evil" (or all kinds of evil), and has been translated into English as such since the King James Version.[2] It has frequently been rendered as "money is the root of all evil".[3]

The original source is 1 Timothy 6:10 (St Jerome's Vulgate translation). The word cupiditas is ambiguous, as it may also mean cupidity, or strong desire. The Latin phrase is itself a translation from Greek, where the original word philarguria can only mean love of money.

See more at link.

[PerEvangelicaDicta]

I believe that St. Augustine (somewhere in his treatise On Genesis to the Letter) teaches that the phrase "love of money" is a pars pro toto. Love of money is a kind of excessive desire, and excessive desire is the root of all evil, so the love of money is said figuratively to be the root of all evil.

And yes, this is linked with pride, since pretty much all excessive desires are a kind of pride (or at least follow from pride).

This is one of the 3 or so topics I'm always musing about as I move through my day. 
Doesn't the distinction that all excessive desires follow from pride, indicate that pride itself is at the root of all sin?

[PerEvangelicaDicta]

Thank you Jayne!  Greed = excessive desires.

[Gardener]

What about the like of money?

[LausTibiChriste]

I like money. Gets stuff done.

Money can't buy you happiness - but poverty buys you f***ing nothing.

[Maximilian]

in what way is love of money the root of all evil?

Greed is the foundation of the 7 deadly sins. All of the other capital sins require greed first in order to function.

We can think of our worldly desires like a car. Money is the gas on which the car runs. When the gas runs out, the car stops, and when the money runs out, all of our worldly enterprises come to a halt.

One day my destination for the car is pride, and another day it is lust, and another day it is gluttony, but I need to have money to reach any of my destinations.

Or you can picture the 7 deadly sins like a house. First you pour the foundation of Greed. Then on top of it you build a first floor with rooms for Gluttony, Lust and Sloth. On top of that you build a second floor of Pride, Envy and Anger. But all of them will come crashing down without a strong foundation of Greed.

The inverse of this is the fact that Poverty is first of the evangelical counsels. If we want to build a different kind of house, then we need a different foundation.

Or to return to our car metaphor, worldly cars run on gas while spiritual cars are electric. They have a completely different type of power source. Pouring gas into an electric car will only ruin it.

When you get to the point in the road where the "steep and narrow road" branches off, gas cars can't travel on that road, only electric cars. Gas cars can take you to lots of places like Pinocchio's Pleasure Island, but they can't travel on the road to heaven.

So love of money is the root source that powers every kind of worldly intention, while poverty is the source of grace that powers a spiritual life.

[Maximilian]

Thank you Jayne!  Greed = excessive desires.

Jayne's post doesn't say that.

[Gardener]

Question: what is money?

[PerEvangelicaDicta]

Thank you Jayne!  Greed = excessive desires.

Jayne's post doesn't say that.

Pardon me, Maximilian (and Jayne!), that was more my editorial commentary to the excerpt Jayne provided re: Radix malorum est cupiditas.   As you noted "All of the other capital sins require greed first in order to function."   I was being simplistic, if you will, in that excessive desire is greed for the sin one will commit. 

[MundaCorMeum]

I like money. Gets stuff done.

Money can't buy you happiness - but poverty buys you {} nothing.

other than graces, when done properly.  And, money can certainly buy you plenty of trouble.  There's nothing inherently wrong with poverty; however, there is nothing inherently wrong with riches, either.  Scripture is pretty clear that both the rich and the poor can be holy; and, both the rich and the poor can be damned.   Not to start this debate again....we (as a forum) have been down this path several times, and I think it's safe to say we (you and I) would be on the same side of the debate.  But, it is worth pointing out that poverty, when accepted lovingly as a person's particular path to holiness, provided you aren't wrongfully neglecting any of your duties to those you are bound to provide for (whether married or not), is certainly an effective way to live out one's sanctification.  Again, under the right circumstances....not all are meant to live in material poverty. 

[Daniel]

Just pointing out, the Wikipedia article discusses the phrase Radix malorum est cupiditas which seems to be some sort of Latin motto, but it's NOT the exact same phrase which is in the Vulgate (the Vulgate's phrase is Radix omnium malorum est cupditas). Though I'm not sure this makes much difference, since the article does say "all evil".

Old Latin - Radix omnium malorum est avaritia
Vulgate - Radix enim omnium malorum est cupiditas
1582 Rheims - For the root of all evils is covetousness
DR Challoner - For the desire of money is the root of all evils

St. Jerome changed avarice to cupidity for some reason, but I don't think the meaning changed.

Greed is the foundation of the 7 deadly sins. All of the other capital sins require greed first in order to function.
[. . .]
Or you can picture the 7 deadly sins like a house. First you pour the foundation of Greed. Then on top of it you build a first floor with rooms for Gluttony, Lust and Sloth. On top of that you build a second floor of Pride, Envy and Anger. But all of them will come crashing down without a strong foundation of Greed.

The inverse of this is the fact that Poverty is first of the evangelical counsels. If we want to build a different kind of house, then we need a different foundation.
[. . .]
So love of money is the root source that powers every kind of worldly intention, while poverty is the source of grace that powers a spiritual life.

I'm not sure that's right. Take away a vicious man's greed, and he may still be prideful and gluttonous and lustful etc.. Case in point: Satan was never greedy or lustful (in the literal sense), but he fell through pride.

[Maximilian]

Greed is the foundation of the 7 deadly sins. All of the other capital sins require greed first in order to function.
[. . .]

So love of money is the root source that powers every kind of worldly intention, while poverty is the source of grace that powers a spiritual life.

I'm not sure that's right.

We already know that it's right because the Holy Ghost speaking through St. Paul told us so. The question is not whether it is right or wrong, but how are we best to understand it.

Take away a vicious man's greed, and he may still be prideful and gluttonous and lustful etc.. Case in point: Satan was never greedy or lustful (in the literal sense), but he fell through pride.

That's all speculation. We don't know the state of Satan's soul. Nor in this instance is St. Paul speaking about Satan. He's speaking about us.

When we are trying to explain something in Scripture or in Catholic teaching, we have to be careful to avoid explaining it away instead of explaining it. St. Paul said that "Avarice is the root of all evil." If this is not immediately obvious to us, then we need to explain how this is true, but we can't explain it away as if St. Paul didn't say it, or as if the truth is otherwise.

My attempts were only metaphors and I'm sure they're not perfect. But at least they are trying to explain the truth of what St. Paul tells us in Scripture. Your explanation, in contrast, is trying to say, "No, St. Paul is wrong." That can never be the correct answer.