1 Timothy 6:10Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

"And they pierced themselves through with many pains." Do you see what he hints at by saying "pierced"? What he wants to express by this turn of phrase has this meaning. Passions are thorns.

Just as whoever touches thorns from any side makes his hands bleed and wounds them, so everyone who submits to the power of the passions will suffer the same. He will subject his soul to suffering. Tell me, how many anxieties and griefs do those who are wounded by them have? This cannot even be told.

What evil does not come from them, the lovers of money? Do not covetousness, theft, cries, enmities, fights, and disputes come from this? Those possessed by this passion stretch out their hands even against the dead, even against fathers and brothers.

Do they not overthrow the laws of nature, the commandments of God, and everything in general? Have courts not been established because of them? Therefore destroy in yourself the love of money, and war will cease. Fights will cease, enmity will cease, disputes and love of contention will cease.

He who has nothing despises everything as though he possessed everything. He has great boldness before rulers, authorities, and even the king adorned with a diadem. He who despises wealth will go further and easily despise death.

Having risen above this, he will speak boldly with all, fearing and dreading no one. But he who is occupied with wealth is a slave not only of wealth, but also of glory, the honors of the present life, and everything worldly in general.

For this reason Paul called love of money the root of all evils.

In many places Paul expresses the thought that a corrupt life gives birth to evil thoughts. For example, he says, "The love of money is the root of all evils, through which some have strayed from the faith and pierced themselves through with many pains."

Many, aware of their vices and unwilling to bear punishment, cease believing in the resurrection out of fear. By contrast, those who do much good desire to behold it every day.

"And they pierced themselves through with many pains." Already in this life they have nailed themselves fast. Indeed, how many griefs they experience. How much they weep. And it is beautifully said: "pierced," or in Slavonic, "nailed."

The cares of wealth are like a thornbush, as the Lord also said (Mt 13:22). From whatever side one touches it, he wounds his hands to the point of blood, causing himself wounds and sickness.

Therefore love God (Mt 22:37) and love your neighbor as yourself (Mt 22:39). For I judge that you love yourself by the fact that you love God. Love is the root of all good things. For as the love of money is the root of all evils, so love is the root of all good things.

Greed is the root of all evils. It is also said, "The beginning of every sin is pride" (Sir 10:13). Sometimes we ask how these two sayings agree: "Greed is the root of all evils" and "The beginning of every sin is pride." If pride is the beginning of every sin, then pride is also the root of all evils.

Yet certainly the root of all evils is greed. We find greed even in pride: man strives to pass beyond his measure. What does it mean to be greedy? To go beyond the bounds of what is sufficient. Adam fell through pride, for it is said, "The beginning of every sin is pride." But perhaps he fell through greed too. Who is more greedy than the one for whom God was not enough?

Behold, brothers, we have read how man was created according to the image and likeness of God. What did God say about him? "Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of heaven, over the beasts, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" (Gen 1:26).

Did He say, "Let him have dominion over men"? He said, "Let him have dominion," and gave dominion according to nature. Over whom is he to have dominion? "Over the fish of the sea, over the birds of heaven, over the beasts, over the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

Why does man have dominion over them by nature? Because man has dominion from the fact that he was created according to the image of God. In what was man created according to the image of God? In understanding, in the mind, in the inner man, in that which understands truth, distinguishes righteousness from unrighteousness, knows by whom he was created, can understand his Creator, and praise his Creator. Such understanding belongs to the one who has good sense.

Therefore, since many have erased the image of God in themselves by evil desires and have, as it were, extinguished the flame of understanding itself by bad morals, Scripture cries to them: "Do not be like the horse, like the mule, which have no understanding" (Ps 31:9). It is as if it were said: "I placed you above the horse and the mule. I created you according to My image. I gave you dominion over them. Why? Because beasts do not have a rational soul, but by a rational soul you comprehend truth. You understand what is above you. Submit to what is above you, and those over whom you were placed will be below you."

But because in sin man abandoned Him under whom he ought to have been, he was subjected to those over whom he ought to have been.

The divine Apostle beautifully, beautifully defines the passion of love of money, calling it the root of all evils. If a flow of spoiled and rotten humor comes to some part of the body, inflammation occurs in that place.

Then it is most necessary that the collected moisture, when it rushes outward, break through in some particular place and abscess. So also, in the man in whom there is an influx of the disease of love of money, the passion most often inclines toward incontinence.

The matter of vainglory and bodily pleasure is love of money, which, according to divine Scripture, is "the root of all evils" (1 Tim 6:10). But you will say to me, O beloved soul, that we do not gather gold and have no possessions.

I will say to you in reply that neither gold nor possessions cause harm in themselves. What is harmful, as we have said, is their passionate misuse. There were rich people who pleased God without attachment to wealth, such as holy Abraham, righteous Job, and David.

But some of us, even without wealth, have nurtured the passion of acquisitiveness through trifling things. Thus we are worse than those who acquired great wealth. Having abandoned the suffering appointed for all, we give ourselves to the passions with a certain cunning, as though wishing to hide from God.

For while fleeing the love of money, we do not flee sensual pleasure. Not accumulating gold, we gather trifling things.

For a Christian, evangelical poverty is more desirable than all the treasures of the world, since it guides one toward faith and its fruits. The ascetic of Christ is safer to the degree that he is freer from the world. To the degree that he has bound himself to the world, he has already been conquered.

"Which some, desiring," oregomenoi, desiring as irresistibly as one tormented by thirst desires water, "have strayed from the faith," apeplanēthēsan. They have stepped off the straight path of faith and gone by another road.

Without arming themselves against the faith, and even without openly renouncing it, they deviated from it without noticing it themselves. All their attention was swallowed up by acquisitions.

They went where this passion led, without thinking about faith. Going so, they passed by faith and came to a place where not even a trace of faith remained.

No trace remained either in their way of viewing things or in their way of feeling, disposition, and life.

Saint Chrysostom says, "The Apostle well said, apeplanēthēsan. For love of money draws their eyes to itself and little by little closes them, so that it does not allow them to see the path of faith.

It is like a man walking on the straight road while fixing his thought on something else. Though he moves forward, without noticing it he passes by the object toward which he was hurrying.

His feet imperceptibly and unconsciously carry him away. Something similar is love of money. Having drawn the eyes of the soul to itself, it causes the one possessed by it to pass by the faith."

The heart's disposition in the lover of money is inconsistent with faith. Faith commands one to hope in God, but he hopes in riches. Faith forbids high-mindedness, but he is high-minded, as below in verse 17.

Faith does not command one to lust, but he multiplies lusts, and so forth. Thus love of money, by its very dwelling in the heart, causes its lover to pass by faith.

"For how will the lover of possessions believe the Gospel, which introduces poverty, that is, love of having nothing? This is impossible" (blessed Theophylact).

But from love of money there comes not only this inward deviation of the heart from faith. There also comes visible apostasy from it, or renunciation, when one must lose much in the production of possessions because of faith.

The lover of possessions also falls away from the faith so as not to be deprived of them. Certainly in populous Ephesus, where the rich were not lacking, such examples occurred.

The Apostle uses them to present more plainly the harmfulness of love of money. "And they pierced themselves through with many sorrows." Sorrows, odynai, are pains, griefs, and very keen disturbances.

"The Apostle mentions two harmful consequences of love of money: falling away from faith and wounding oneself with pains. But the one which seemed heavier to them he places here last: they pierced themselves through with pains.

No one can know this except by living near the rich. How much they weep, how much they lament!" (Saint Chrysostom).

"The passion for enrichment not only prevents the proper relation to God in faith, but also keenly wounds its lovers themselves with cares, loss of sleep, and fears" (Oecumenius).

"They pierced," periepeiran, means they wounded, they transfixed. Saint Chrysostom therefore says, "Do you see what he suggests by saying periepeiran? What he wishes to express by this turn of speech has this meaning.

Passions are thorns. Just as anyone who touches a thorn from any side wounds his hands to the blood and causes sores on them, so everyone who submits to the power of passions will suffer the same.

He will subject his soul to suffering. Tell me, how many cares and griefs those who are wounded by them have! It cannot even be expressed."

Let us also make a small excerpt from Saint Chrysostom's homily delivered after his interpretation of the preceding texts.

"Let us flee this root of evils, love of money, and we shall flee every evil. For what evil does not arise from money? Or rather, not from money, but from the evil choice of those who do not know how to use it.

Money can be used rightly. By its aid one can inherit the Kingdom. But now what was given to us for helping the poor, glorifying God, and pleasing Him, we turn not to the good of those unfortunate ones, but to the harm of our soul.

Through this we insult God. What evil, then, does not arise from covetousness? Do not theft, cries, enmities, fights, and disputes come from this?

Do not those possessed by this passion stretch out their hands even against the dead, even against fathers and brothers? Do they not overthrow the laws of nature, the commandments of God, and generally everything?

Therefore, if there were no love of money, war would cease, fights would cease, enmity would cease, quarrels and love of disputes would cease. The covetous should be expelled from the world as destroyers and wolves.

People greedy for money throw everything into complete disorder. A man greedy for money knows no friend. What do I say, friend? He does not know even God Himself.

Open his soul, and you will find that it is armed not with one sword or two, but with countless swords. It respects no one, but rages against all.

It attacks all and barks at all. It kills not dogs, but human souls, and loudly belches blasphemies against heaven itself.

From frenzied love of money everything has perished. I do not know whom I shall blame. To such a degree has this evil mastered everyone.

True, it masters some more and others less, yet it masters all. Just as a strong fire, thrown into a forest, overturns and devastates everything, so this passion destroys the world.

Kings, governors, private persons, beggars, women, men, children, all have been equally enslaved to this evil. As though through some darkness that has seized the world, no one emerges from intoxication.

True, countless accusations against covetousness are brought forth both in private conversation and among the people. Yet nowhere do we see correction.

What then? Is there no possibility of extinguishing this flame? There is, even if it had risen to heaven itself. We need only desire it, and we shall certainly extinguish this flame.

As it grew strong through our desire, so by desire it will be destroyed. Did not our free will kindle it? Therefore free will will also be able to extinguish it.

Only let us desire this. But how can such desire be born in us? If we turn our attention to the vanity and uselessness of wealth, and to the fact that it cannot accompany us there.

If we consider that even here it leaves us, and that although it has place only here, the wounds from it go with us there. If we look at how great the prepared riches are there.

If we compare earthly wealth with them, it will appear more worthless than dirt. If we notice that it is subject to countless dangers, and that the very pleasure from it is fleeting and mixed with griefs.

If we fasten our gaze on the other wealth, the wealth prepared in eternal life, and thereby produce contempt for earthly wealth.

If we reason that the latter does not increase glory, health, or anything else at all, yet plunges us into the abyss of destruction.

If we take into feeling that, although here someone is rich and has many servants, when he departs there, he departs alone and naked.

If we often repeat this and hear it from others, perhaps health will return to us, and we shall be delivered from this heavy punishment."