First Timothy 6:10 says, “For the love of money is the root of all evil” (KJV). Having money is not evil. It’s the love of money—covetousness—that leads to evil.
A person with no money at all can love money to the point of killing another person to get it. The New Living Translation of verses 9-10 says, “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.”
(For more on what God really thinks about money, see these 60 Scriptures About Prosperity and Success.)
But make no mistake, there are warnings about money, too. Like in every other area, it’s impossible to handle money correctly without God’s help. He never said He didn’t want people to have money. He is saying that it’s going to be tough to stay away from trusting and loving money—it’s a danger to you—but you can do it if you stick close to the Father.
As Kenneth Copeland says, “God doesn’t mind if you have money. He just doesn’t want money to have you.”