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by Nathan Buck

There is an old saying, "follow the money," that is used when people are implying that there is a financial motive behind a situation, decision, corruption, crime, etc. It is a saying that is considered a "truism," because although it is not ALWAYS true that people's motives revolve around money, it is OFTEN true that getting or keeping wealth (or some form of security) is at the heart of how decisions are made. When the Apostle Paul writes his letter to Timothy, he states that "the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil." Take a moment and read 1 Timothy 6:3-21.

Notice the two issues Paul ties together as he mentors Timothy: the love of money, and an unhealthy interest in controversies. It's important for us to realize that these two go hand in hand. Whenever someone is determined to get rich, or keep their wealth and security, it leads directly to - or may require them to create - conflict and controversy.

Consider the story by Dr. Seuss called The Sneetches. One group had stars on their bellies and one did not. The ones with stars thought they were better. The ones without thought if they had stars they would be better. Along came Sylvester McMonkey McBean, with a machine to solve their problems - for a price. He capitalizes on their class/race war and rakes in the money as the sneetches go round and round adding and removing stars from their bellies. Eventually, they have no money left, and all of them are a mix of star-bellied and non-star-bellied sneetches again. The sneetches are left with the consequences of their vanity and discontentment, and McBean drives off with the cash.

In that one story, Dr. Seuss captured the heart of greed, the nature of discrimination, and the insidious destruction that comes from pride. He also perfectly illustrated what Paul was writing to Timothy and lays a groundwork for considering our current events.

Let's look at a couple recent examples. Few considered there may have been a profit motive for the Parkland, FL school district. According to an editorial article by The New American there was an alliance between the school district and local law enforcement, with a specifically stated goal to end the pipeline of students going to jail. Federal funding is not favorable toward schools with high crime rates, because funding is linked to attendance numbers, and attendance is directly affected by crime rates. If a school holds kids accountable for crime and expels or suspends them, then their attendance drops and so does funding. The pressure to keep kids in school at any cost and report a low crime rate is very high. So, was money part of the formula for disaster in Parkland? Very likely.

In the last few days, news analysts have questioned if there is incentive for sanctuary cities/states to hide their crime and illegal immigrant numbers in order to keep federal funding dollars. The law suit between the Justice Department and California will bring to light a lot of legal, jurisdictional issues, and financial motives.

It doesn't take long to realize that there are very few decisions that we make on a daily basis, for our work or personal lives, that do not involve money or financial security in some way. We are naive if we think money doesn't play a significant role in the situations boiling over in our culture today. If we look closely, the conflicts over gender norms, wage gaps, abortion, healthcare, immigration, etc. all have underlying profit or security motives. In every one of them, the strife is created by wanting something we think we need, or the strife is being provoked by someone who stands to gain from the conflict. We need to be able to see the REAL motives and not get caught up in the controversies. The controversies are the smoke screen to hide what is really going on politically, morally, or socially.

When the surface level reactions are all we see and respond to, when the media frenzy and emotional stories are all we hear, we lose sight of the facts and get caught in the spin cycle just like the sneetches, all the while we are being fleeced by Mr. McBean.

So, how do we break the cycle? Paul tells Timothy how, in verse 6 and verses 11-21. He says, "Godliness is a means for great gain, when mixed with contentment." There were those in Paul and Timothy's day who thought they could use their religion to get rich. Paul has pointed out previously that their lifestyle was not godly because the motive was wealth and not true godliness. Here he is telling Timothy that if someone is truly godly (God focused) and is content with who God has made them to be and where He has placed them in life and society, then they will have everything they need. In fact, he indicates they will have something more valuable than any worldly wealth or security they could try to get.

The hard part is being content with God, with ourselves, and with our situations. Humans have a tendency to lay aside moral standards to suit themselves. Friederich Nietzsche, the famous nihilist philosopher wrote in Beyond Good and Evil, "A living being wants above all else to release its strength; life itself is the will to power." In His view, the 'will to power' was the driving force behind life. Not moral goodness, not the betterment of humanity, just power. Because once you remove moral standards and morality is relative to your perspective, then really no one else matters. All that matters is your expression, your narrative that leads to power. We cannot have it both ways, either everything is meaningless beyond our own grasp for power, or moral standards by God are essential for the common and the extraordinary good. Now, consider this: are intersectionality, identity politics, gun control, sanctuary cities, gender norms, the new feminism, etc. a result of godliness mixed with contentment?

Are we willing to look at who is pulling the strings and what they stand to gain? Are willing to look at what we stand to gain (or lose) by participating in the spin cycle? Don't misunderstand my point in looking at what Paul tells Timothy. When there is injustice and discrimination and abuse, we need to address each with facts and take action to hold people accountable with evidence. We should make policies to correct it with sound judgement and facts as well. But if we think we can make good policy or bring justice without godliness and contentment at our core, then we are mistaken. And if we think, as an ally to any of these, that we are safe from examining our motives because we "don't stand to gain" from helping a cause, we should take caution. Even on issues we don't directly gain from, we may be being used as the machine of Sylvester McMonkey McBean.

Take some time and read 1 Timothy 6:3-21 again. Reflect on what Paul is telling Timothy. Then consider the news items that get you stirred up. Consider why they matter to you, what you actually know through verified fact, and what God has actually taught on the subject (not just what you heard in a sermon or on a TV show claiming what the Bible says). Then prayerfully consider what action you should take that will help others take hold of the full life God has intended for them.

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