Q3. Love of Money

[KWADWO]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

Love for money grows when we become discontent with what we have. Discontentment brings about envy and when it happens, we want to find all possible means to make money. The love of it, Jesus said is the root of all evil. One can only escape when we become content with what we have.

[emmaus]

The love of money grows when we see things we want but can't afford. It becomes a trap when we let temptation overtake us, doing whatever it takes to get what we want. We have to go back to our first love to escape from this trap. Jesus said, "where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

[Marloes]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

I like money because you can buy things with it.

Sometimes, people are so fixed on getting more that they forget about other people.

Than it can become a false god.

We can escape by sharing?

There is a story in Luke about poor man Lazarus, a rich man and Abraham.

The richj man goes to hell because he did not help Lazarus.

[Commissioned]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

Love for money grows parallel with love for the thing of the world. The more you want "things," "stuff," the more money you must have and the desire for more increases and pretty soon you fall into a trap. You can escape this vicious deceptive trap by falling in love with Jesus and being content with the provisions of God.

[Peggy Crans]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

I guess the love for money grows when we start to become dissatisfied with what we have. It becomes a trap when we loose focus on what is important. We think only of how we can get more and more. We think things will make us happy. How wrong to let greed take over our very being. To escape this trap we must get back to basics. God is our provider and our peace not money or things.

[rambler]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

By getting our eyes off of God and his will for our lives, we reach out for other things to give us security and fulfillment. It becomes a trap in the sense that it will enslave you and not deliver on it's promise. We escape this by avoiding it all together by being content with what we have. (Hebrews 13:5)

[DrD]

How does love for money grow? By having one's mind and thoughts fixed or centered on gaining or acquiring more and more of the things of the world. . . 1 John 2:15-17 (NRSV)

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world;

16 for all that is in the world--the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches--comes not from the Father but from the world.

17 And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

Matthew 16:24-26 (NRSV)

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

25 For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.

26 For what will it profit them if they gain the whole world but forfeit their life? Or what will they give in return for their life?

This becomes a trap because the result of such robs us of the effort, the time and delight that we should have for the Lord and put forth doing those things that contribute to our spiritual growth - which leads to a life of compromise and carnality. . .

We are able to escape this deceptive trap by seeking to please Christ - by involving ourselves in those things that are conducive to spiritual growth - prayer - Bible study - meditating in the Word and applying the Word in our lives - and of course assembling ourselves with other believers. . . Hebrews 10:23-25 (NRSV)

23 Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.

24 And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds,

25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

[Old Jerry]

The way that love for money grows is that the more that we have the more we want. After a while there isn

[Eagleswings01]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

Our love for money grows when our desire to acquire wealth becomes more intense, when we are not contented with what we have.

We can escape this deceptive trap by not entertaining thesze thoughts. Phillipians 4:8-Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just, whatsoever things [are] pure, whatsoever things [are] lovely, whatsoever things [are] of good report; if [there be] any virtue, and if [there be] any praise, think on these things.

[Kent]

As humans, we tend to be envious of others who seem to have more of the "flashy things" of life. We tend to forget that we should learn to be content with those things we have, and especially the love of God and our families. We see too many commercials on TV that lead many to believe that they simply can't be happy without a newer, bigger car, house, lots of "toys" to play with on the weekends.

To escape the traps we need to remember the teachings of Jesus and Paul and Timothy, and many others. While we can strive to become better at the work we do, we should also strive to be content with our family and with the love we know God wraps around us every day.

[Gerbrand van Schalkwyk]

How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap?

Usually as you get more you want more, it becomes your focus, it becomes what you see as most important. Or envy, as you see those around you having more and more stuff, you want it too. So you spent less and less time with God, as you are spending more and more time making money. Since you spent less time with God your wisdom (knowledge from God) grows less and less, thus you dont even know that you are in this trap.

How do you escape this deceptive trap?

Focus on God again. Read your Bible, Pray. Spend time with God.

[Craig]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

The love for money grows by feeling that love.

The desire for money brings with it cares and fears, which entangle the soul. People who determine to become wealthy fall into many foolish ... lusts. There is the desire to "keep up with the Joneses." In order ro maintain a social level in the community, they are often driven to sacrifice some the really worthwhile values in life, including having a meaningful relationship with God.

Desiring to be rich leads a person into temptation. In order to achieve their goal, people are enticed to use dishonest and often violent methods. Such methods include gambling, speculation, fraud, perjury, therft, and even murder. Such people fall into snares or traps. The desire becomes so strong that they cannot deliver themselves from it. Eventually, when wealth is gotten, it is never enough.

Greed for wealth causes people to endanger their health and jeopardize their souls. Indeed, that is the end toward which they are drifting. They become so occupied with material things that they become drowned in destruction and perdition. In their ceaseless quest for wealth, they neglect their souls.

[wifee]

a)The love of money grows into pursuit of being rich, desire for wealth,sin of greed fed by tv adverts,etc.Love for money grows,when our love for Jesus doesn’t.When covet something,the devil hooks us in.
b)It becomes a trap,leads us away from faith&trusting God to provide for us,into thinking self-improvement is through us.God gives, when we desire for more getting something newer,better never stops.We don’t realise how our focus is easily dulled by peers &a desire for latest possessions that promise happiness, can trap us if not alert to the money trap.
c) To escape this trap need to seek first the kingdom of God ,watch who we are listening to,watching.Desire to study the Word each day,being grateful for what God has given us.Trusting God for there’ s no other way, to be happy in Jesus,than to trust &obey.

[Jonathan Edwards]

  The scraping TOGETHER and obsessed ventures for amassing riches debases the mind, destroys godly traits, and causes one to be endued with selfishness, pride, and avarice which ultimately leads to destruction and perdition.

So many recent stories in the news illustrates the above.  Tragic when people suddenly die, and their estates slowly rot away, and their legacies are forgotten.  Riches become a trap when a Christian gets to enmeshed in a type of obsessed frame of mind.   The fruits of the Holy Spirit wither away, and soon serious backsliding starts.   Look what happened to St Paul's coworker: Demas.  Demas had grown cold in his walk with God.  He loved the present world;.anyone who loves the world, doesn't have the love of God.   Demas had free moral agency; he chose to backslide and fail God.

We have make our election sure. We can choose our destiny.  God will not force us to walk in holiness nor force us to serve Him.

[Krissi]

I read somewhere that a christian feels rich or poor only comparatively, that after looking at neighbors, siblings and friends, he compares his net worth and stuff to those of his cohort. Only after comparing does a christian feel wealthy or poor ... relatively so. Now and then, a Christian leaves his cohort and goes to a much poorer/richer country and suddenly feels the disparity between his own situation and that of others, but most of the time the comparison goes no further than the people he knows the best. 

This is why television and the media is so pernicious -- it permits comparison between himself and the fake, wealthy people who are portrayed on the tube or laptop screen. This may be how the desire for showy wealth grows in a christian's heart, from comparison and a sense of entitlement which in turn breeds a lack of contentment.

Most people don't love money for it's own sake, but because of what it buys. It's not the love of money, but the love of status/comparison/achievement.  

--

What to do? How to escape?

1. Throw out the television. It's sick, perverse, low-brow and an utter waste of time. Get rid of it. Permanently. Buy huge bookshelves and substitute your tv/media time with reading. I don't see anything worthy in television as it seems to breed discontent as well as fills the mind with bad thoughts. The same applies to the computer. Stay off ALL social media. I know many will disagree with me, but social media is tailor-made for comparison. It's vile.

2. Hang around with Christians who don't emphasize or show wealth. Often these are older Christians who have been around the block a few times, made and lost their fortunes, and know the unimportance of "things" in a broader perspective. Avoid materialistic people, even Christians. Avoid those who parade their stuff. Avoid those who live above their means. Choose friends well. 

3. Live wayyyy below your means. Never show wealth. Never let anyone guess you have more than shows.

4. Be willing, at the drop of a hat, to give away anything you have -- expect God to test you this way. Then, when you have nothing, you'll be forced to praise God and thank Him for your impoverished circumstances. He may reward you with wealth again ... or may not. But in the meantime, others have been blessed by your generosity. Everything you own, after all, is His, not yours. Everything He gives you He can take away. Your wealth is ephemeral and at God's whim. Treat it that way.

5. Ask God what to do with the little bit you have ... or the huge pile in your investment accounts. Again, it's His, not yours. Ask Him what to do with it. If He says to wait, then invest it in the wisest, most profitable manner you can. Think of it as making money for Jesus. Like the parable of the talents, if you make more of what you have, and submit it to God, it is possible He will give you more to submit and give. 

6.  Strangely, not having debt means having more money. Living below your means can be humbling but is always best in the end. Debt is a HUGE money trap. Debt exists because people want more than they usually need. Debt reflects greed. To spell it out ... NO mortgage, car payment, credit cards, etc. None. Use cash.

 

[Nicolaas A.P. Mostert]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10)

How does love for money grow?

From desiring and eagerness to have more.

How does it become a trap?

When it unexpectedly brought you under it's control (without knowing).

How do you escape this deceptive trap?

Acknowledge that you are trapped and turn away from it. Received what GOD has install for you.

[Clelie]

Love of money comes from some foolish desires, the flesh is in control not the spirit. Unless this desire is discarded it will grow and the desire for money will grow leading to all kinds of temptations which will act like a trap to ruins moral and physical and eventually to total shipwreck .

To escape from this trap we have to be aware of it , to turn back to reality through meditating the word of God or listening to sound advice from wise friends or pastors .

[Diane D.]

The love for money grows as we obtain and buy things that make our lives easier.  Without scriptural grounding, we tend to focus on obtaining more and more until we realize that it is a vapor and can be lost in a split second (as in the Depression). 

To escape this, ground yourselves in the scriptures, guard your hearts and keep them tender, continue to focus on what you can do for others less fortunate.  It will bring you balance and keep you constantly aware that God has given you the funds/resources to manage (not through your own efforts).

[t-c]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

Because with love for money, there is never enough of it. The more you have the more you want. Your life revolves around the accumulation of money. Everything else takes a backseat to the accumulation of money: your faith, your family and your friends.

Jesus told a rich young man who wanted to follow him to sell everything he had, give it to the poor and follow Him. You can’t love both God and money. So you would have to find a different way of life that would no longer serve money. One way would be to go to work for God. Or to give to the Lord 90% of your salary, you keep the 10%. 

 

[Katy]

Q3.The love of money grows when we spend our spare time wandering around shops looking at ‘things’ we just don’t need. We start to feel dissatisfied and discontent. These feelings may be strengthened when we see ads on tv or in magazines that suggest life would be perfect if we had the things they are trying to sell! 
If we continue in this way of life these feelings will become stronger and we may be tempted to try and get rich by doing the lotto or other things which may not be in keeping with what the Lord would like us to do! Also our minds are so taken up with our desires and spending time looking at shops etc, that the Lord is being forgotten or given a minimum of time because of our other pursuits. In the past I have found the best action is to avoid pursuits that make you ‘want’ things and concentrate on spending more time with God. Eventually I found I was not interested in shopping or looking at magazines etc which made me discontent. I now dislike shopping and only visit the shops when I really need something. I know that I have exactly what the Lord wants me to have and I am usually content with that. I have far more than many people in our world today. 

[haar]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

A3.

I think love of money grows when we start gradually paying more and more attention to how to get money and allow ourselves to gradually start spending more time and resources on how to make more money at the expense of quality time and resources for our spiritual lives.

To escape this spiritual downfall we need to pray for the grace to do only what builds us spiritually and while putting Kingdom activities first while economic endeavor follow by the leading of the Holy Spirit.
 

[Zanele Tlhakanelo]

The love of money grows when you are not satisfied with what you have and you hoard even though you are supposed to give to the needy. Some people sell their souls by doing wrong things just to have more money in your pocket. Contentment will make you understand that that which you have and are able to survive, will not make you run after money but be thankful to God with what you have.

If your intention is to acquire more, you will be trapped into doing sinful things but you need to follow what the Word of God says and He will do the rest because He is the Sovereign God who knows all our needs.

You can escape the trap by understanding to be content whether in plenty or in lack because we do not understand how much can make a person satisfied. Those who have still want more and therefore, be content with what you have.

[Niyonka16]

Q3. (1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow?

ANSWER: "The LOVE of money is A root of all sorts of evil." Money can be used for good as well as for ill, but it is the LOVE of money which is being spoken of in this verse. ******* after money and the intense desire to gain more money and increase worldly wealth, is what is being spoken about here. The love of money is not the single source of evil, but that the love of money is one of many ungodly ways that entices us into various sins and wickedness. We should always remember that the desire to get rich can cause men and women to fall into temptation.

Sadly, the love of money can become a snare with many barbs which plunge men into ruin and destruction. Some have lost their grip on the things of God and foolishly turned back into fleshly carnality, which inevitably causes much grief and heartache, and severs fellowship with our Heavenly Father.

These warnings in the Bible about the love of money and desire for wealth should be heeded, but we should also be careful that we do not distort God's Word, by taking a verse out of context or allowing Biblical truth to be distorted by a worldly interpretation, for it is the love of money that is a root of many kinds of evil.

May we use the money we have wisely. May we use it as a servant and not allow it to become a master. May we keep the Lord Jesus in His rightful position, at the centre of our life... for when He is the focus of our heart, other things are kept within a correct perspective.

How does it become a trap?

ANSWER: The desire for wealth is like a snare, ready to be sprung and trap you in its constraints. Riches are temporal. We are rich only "in this present world." You can't take it with you.

Riches are uncertain. Wealth can be an illusion that quickly disappears. Income can vanish quickly and shrink with no way to stop them.

Riches are deceitful. Wealth is deceitful in that it promises one thing, but delivers another.

Riches cause arrogance. Wealth produces a feeling of superiority to the poor. Pride and a desire for wealth feed on each other.

Riches replace God as the source of trust. When we have a comfortable life we are often tempted to trust in our relative wealth, rather than to trust in God.

How do you escape this deceptive trap?

ANSWER: The rich are commanded to hope in God instead of wealth. To escape the deception trap, we are to:

Hope in God. We are to realign our trust system. Where we find ourselves trusting in our wealth, we must repent and turn afresh to God. We must firmly fix our hope in God and reject the very great temptations to trust our income and savings to get us through.

Do good. Wealth gives us options to do more than just survive. We are to do as much of the good we can do because God has supplied our basic needs.

Be rich in good deeds. True riches are found in heaven, so we are to lay up treasures there (Matthew 6:19-20), so that we are "rich in good deeds" (Matthew 6:18).

Be generous. We have to help others with our possessions.

Be willing to share. We must be willing to give or share what is ours, liberal and generous.

[Jonathan Edwards]

Lukewarmness is the main cause.   People lose their first love for Christ; their Bible devotional practices are sporadic, weak prayer life, no concern for souls, and exhibit plain apathy for the things of God.  

Nominal Christianity-no zeal for evangelistic outreach, one hour Sunday service and the rush to get home to eat and look at football all afternoon. A trap indeed, a snare that so many nominal Christians end up in.  Solution for many is to seriously consider that a particular judgement is around the corner.  It will be either "mene, mene tekel upharsin" or "well done faithfull servant'.  There will be for each person a particular judgement at death.   Either rewards or lost of rewards.  Love of money is symptomatic of the lack of the outward work of the inward work of the Holy Spirit.

[Sister Evelyn]

Q3. ( 1 Timothy 6:7-10) How does love for money grow? How does it become a trap? How do you escape this deceptive trap?

Money grows from selfish desires. The more they have the more they want. Some people that are eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. People have ruin their lives causing destruction. For the love of money is a root to all evil. (1 Timothy 6:10). It's okay to have but it's how you use to spend it. Wisdom!  Keeping your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have. ( Hebrews 13:5).