What You Won’t See in the Bible

(Posted September 21, 2022)

“When I was in seminary … we had a running joke. Whenever someone said something was in the Bible that wasn’t, we’d say it must be from the Book of First Opinions. I can tell from all the misattributed Bible quotes I’ve heard through the years, First Opinions is a pretty long book. It doesn’t need anything added to it.”  ---Kyle Chastain, Koinina

Just about everyone I know at one time or another has quoted something that sounds like it’s from Scripture that actually isn’t found anywhere in the Bible. Kyle Chastain compiled a few that you may have used yourself, including:

• God helps those who help themselves.
• This too shall pass.
• Love the sinner, hate the sin.
• To thine own self be true.

….AND, my favorite: Money is the root of all evil.

Is Money Evil?

This last one is actually quite close to the real quote that this week we find in 1 Timothy:   For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Now, even at first glance, reading this may evoke in you, “So…what’s the difference?” But there is so much importance in the actual quote’s words: The love of money.

Money in and of itself is an inanimate object. It can’t be the agent of evil. However, humanity’s obsession with enriching itself to the detriment of others IS the root cause of so much heartache, so much division. The truth is we are given free will to make a choice. Do I CHOOSE to do what is supportive of the community to which I belong, or do I exploit, cheat and plunder others to seize way more than my share of material blessings?

Is Being Rich a Sin?

We’ll be discussing these points on Sunday, but also we’ll see one important thing: Being rich is not a sin.

Having the talent and ambition to become rich is not a sin. It’s what you do when you get there and what you did to make it that holds the difference. So if you do come this Sunday you may learn a thing or two. As the Bible DOES NOT say, “God works in mysterious ways.”