would learn to see their neighbor
as made in God’s image,
resulting in justice flowing down
like a mighty stream.
We may not set up altars to
pagan gods, or worship a golden
calf, but our 21 st century world is
full of competing gods vying for
our worship. We are confused
about what to love. It was often
the case in medieval cities
in Europe that the Cathedral
would be the tallest building in
the town square. Contrast this
with the parish church that sent
me to seminary in Atlanta. It is
across the street from the tallest
building in the city: the Bank of
America tower, reaching into the
heavens, quite literally!
What do we worship? Who,
or what, do we serve? The writer
of Hebrews cautions us, at the
end of his letter, to “let your life
be free from love of money…”
He doesn’t say “hate money,”
or “never talk about money,” he
says do not make it of ultimate
Its value lies only in its movement
importance. That role belongs to
the God of the Exodus, the Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, whom
we are called to worship in spirit
and in truth. Money is a powerful
tool and it can accomplish a
great deal. We should talk about
it, share it, and use it very wisely
for the sake of the kingdom, but
do not confuse this with true love
and worship. That belongs to
God.
1 TIMOTHY 6:6-10
The Rev. Eva Suarez
Rockwell Fellow
Many of us have likely heard the
phrase, “money is the root of
all evil.” However, I would guess
fewer of us, (myself included!)
had the full scriptural context —
Of course, there is great gain in godliness
combined with contentment; for we brought
nothing into the world, so that we can take
nothing out of it...But those who want to be
rich fall into temptation and are trapped
by many senseless and harmful desires that
plunge people into ruin and destruction.
For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich
some have wandered away from the faith
and pierced themselves with many pains.
Really, it’s not the money itself
that is the root, but the love of
money, and wanting to be rich.
In mulling over these verses,
I’ve found myself considering
16 · SPRING 2018
the relationship between money
and power. Of course financial
security is a necessity for any
of us to live an independent
and healthy life, and it is one of
the hard realities of our society
that those with the most wealth
often have the power to control
the lives of others. But do we
often think about the power that
money has over us?
Paul warns us that money
can indeed trap us, that it has
the power to take hold of our
lives, if we let it. We may be
tempted to spend more and
more to quench “senseless
desires.” Or we may be tempted,
even knowing that many people
struggle to earn enough to cover
their basic necessities, to hoard
more money than we could ever
spend.
Money is not so much a thing
in and of itself but a means — its
true value lies in its movement.
When we overvalue money, it
steps in between us and the
things we could purchase with
it, or the causes and the people
we could support. It obscures the
moral value of things, breaking
them down into mere dollars
and cents, and making it even
more complicated to think
about needs, desires, and
obligations.