May 16, 2011 – Is Money Really the Root of All Evil? – Master Key Coaching Teleseminars #41 The Master Key Mentor Teleseminars

Is money the root of all evil? That's the question we explore in this, the forty-first episode of the Master Key Coaching Teleseminars.

That question refers to what was written in the Bible in 1 Timothy 6:10.
For 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.
That's not why we're exploring it, though.

I've been interested in personal development for about twenty-five years. I've been publishing personal development books for a little over ten years. Through all that time, it seems that every few years the self-help "gurus" jump on that quotation and use it as the scapegoat for why people -- people like you -- aren't yet wealthy. Their reasoning is that since you were raised in a culture that more than likely was Judeo-Christian, that one line from the Bible has affected your thinking about money and wealth. They posit that since you "believe" that "money is the root of all evil," you tend to shun money, either consciously or subconsciously.

So, before we go any further, lets see if that's true.
Has Your Brain Been Affected By That One Line from the Bible?
At this point, I think it would help to tell you a little bit about myself. I was raised Roman Catholic. I went to a parochial school for grades one through six. I was an altar boy in church as well as a church lector. I also received all of the sacraments. Above and beyond that, I am one of the few people I know that has read the Bible cover to cover.

In other words, I've been through it.

Through it all, I don't recall ever being hammered with the notion of money being the root of all evil. (Or even the love of money, for that matter!) I'm not stating that I never heard it, just that there was never any emphasis placed on it. In the very few times that line from Timothy was discussed, it was correctly quoted and correctly interpreted: that if one were to covet money so greatly that he would lie, cheat, or steal, then that would lead to his demise.

That's how I learned it -- and that's how most people with whom I've discussed this interpret it.

That's the first thing that lead me to think that the notion that people everywhere are not wealthy because of their "flawed relationship" with money based on that line was incorrect.

The next thing that made me pause was the fact that I have never met anyone -- and I mean anyone! -- who, when asked if they would like more money, refused the offer, be that offer come in the form of a pay raise, a gift, or simply someone's generosity.

Think about it. Have you or anyone you've ever known ever run away from money?

Of course not. It's silly. More often than not, we have to actively protect our money from being stolen from us!

The last straw, so to speak, is the fact that the United States was founded on the notion of what is referred to as the "Protestant Work Ethic," which was coined by the sociologist Max Weber. In a nutshell, it means that if you work hard and get rich, then God loves you.

I think we can see the veracity in that. Think of someone in our society who is rich, be it Trump or Gates or Buffet. What's the first thing we think about them? We usually say that they're smart, right? We respect their opinions on things -- even things not remotely related to business or money. Right? True, not the same thing as "salvation," but the parallel is there. If someone is rich, we admire them and respect their views. After all, they're rich and we're not.

All of those reasons lead me to the conclusion that the notion of anyone being adversely affected in their money-making prowess because of that quote from the Bible is bunk. Plain and simple. It's just another way for some folks to sell yet another book or course so that you can "heal yourself" of the bad attitude you have toward money.

I've seen it before. Many times. As I noted, this idea comes around every few years.