𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝗥𝗼𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗘𝘃𝗶𝗹?

𝘏𝘪𝘯𝘵: 𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺.

You’ve likely heard the adage, “𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭.” You may have even heard others correct the quote, saying that “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭.”

Either way, this quote is not quite true, and lacks the necessary nuance.

Let me explain👇

In his first letter to Timothy, chapter 6 verse 10, Paul wrote: "𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭: 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘴” (KJV). This Bible reference discourages many Christians from investigating Bitcoin, which holds them back from adopting this freedom technology.

To say that money 𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 is the root of all evil would be akin to blaming the messenger for the message. And saying that the 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 of money is the root of all evil is like saying that all evil springs from loving work, your time to be alive, and your ability to choose. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗯𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝗲, and is therefore the farthest thing from “evil”.

Ayn Rand, in her book "Atlas Shrugged," eloquently dissects money’s true nature. Money, as she explains, is not the root of evil, but merely a medium for exchanging all kinds of goods. It represents effort, production, and the potential for trade. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳, 𝗶𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁, 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹. It cannot inherently be the root of good or evil; rather, 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘷𝘢𝘭𝘶𝘦.

So was Paul wrong? In Paul's time, money itself was fundamentally broken, just like fiat money today. Roman currency, often debased, was a tool for the powerful to manipulate value and control the populace. 𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴, often leading to corruption and moral decay. Before 2009, there was never a time when this wasn’t the case to some extent, so Paul was 𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 correct, especially with the money that existed in his day.

The heart of this issue lies in Paul’s next phrase: "𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳". This coveting of money, or 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙮 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺, aligns with what economists call “high time preference” — the preference for immediate rewards over greater rewards in the future, at the expense of values, integrity, and long-term welfare. This high time preference leads to shortsighted decisions, unethical behavior, and ultimately to both personal and societal harm.

Contrast this with bitcoin, a modern form of money that embodies the principles of 𝘭𝘰𝘸 time preference. Bitcoin, by its very nature, encourages production over rent-seeking, saving over spending, and long-term planning over short-term gratification. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻𝘁𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗹. This aligns well with the Austrian economic theory, which advocates for sound money as a foundation for a healthy, ethical, and prosperous society.

Thus, the true root of all evil is not money, but high time preference, or the craving for immediate, unearned wealth. It leads to corruption, moral degradation, and societal decay. 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘆, 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲, 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱, driving innovation, productivity, and ethical behavior.

It's crucial to understand money's role as a neutral tool, a facilitator of trade and a measure of value. By embracing sound money principles and rejecting high time preference behavior, 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁.

Make sure you 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲🤙 and 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲🔄 this, and spread the word on why neither money — nor the love of it — is the root of all evil.

And 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸🔖 this for when you need it later.

What is your opinion on this Biblical quote and my take on it?

Let me know in the 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀⬇️