entertainment | Stephen Nielsen

Since the beginning of time this evil has been with us. But we have seen the love of money sprout its evil wings, particularly in the last few decades—with the increase of knowledge, with new inventions, and with our growing economy. Here are eight different causes by which the love of money has increased.

1. There are more ways to make money. With the worlds recent growing economy and technological advances, more people are working, and thus they have more opportunities to make money, to handle money, and to see money. This phenomenon no doubt has caused people to think more about money, thus increasing the love of money.

2. Because of credit cards and bank cards. The first credit cards came out in the early 1950’s. The positive aspect of these cards is their convenience. It is so much easier to present the card then to get out your check book and write a check, or to pay in cash, if you remember to carry enough cash. The negative side is remembering that your card is like money. I mean it comes out of your bank account. So, you have to know whether you have enough money in the bank. If you have a regular credit card, you can get into a lot of trouble—debt, because on most accounts you don’t have to pay it all back every month. This is where the love of money comes in. Since it is so convenient to use your card, people often forget that it is just like cash. And if they don’t have cash they very easily say, Oh I can put it on my card, no worry! And they end up using their card(s) very irresponsibly. And in many cases, they will sort of fall in love with their cards because they allow them to very easily buy whatever they want.

3. Through visual displays of wealth. It was not too long ago that photography and magazines were all in black and white. In the last few decades color has done wonders for our visual appetites, and unfortunately, it has stimulated our lust for wealth. There is nothing like excellent photography that makes advertising profitable; but on the evil side, it gives people a visual display of wealth causing them to fall in love with all that money can buy.

I suppose the temptation of wealth, mainly for young women is the glamor magazines. It will cause them not only to desire to be more beautiful, but to be rich and beautiful. And there are other magazines that sell new homes, new cars, and beautiful vacation spots. Again, these magazines are not only selling their product, but are causing the reader to desire to be wealthy—more than their neighbors!

Visual displays of wealth come not only in magazines but in stores selling everything imaginable. I’m sure you know that most people who shop in popular stores, like Walmart, buy much more than they need. They have been afflicted by the love of money.

4. Status and power. With the prospect of status and power more and more people are seeking job promotions or even entrepreneurship and owning their own business. And the more prosperous they become many are inflicted with greed and the love of money. But don’t get me wrong, promotion and owning a business does not necessarily equal something bad. It could be a blessing from God. However, if you don’t give Him the credit and thanks for it, you will become prideful and greedy.

5. Seeking a wealthy lifestyle. It seems like more and more these days people are seeing and dreaming about the lifestyles of the rich and famous, because of the happiness they think it will bring them. Of course, before the invention of television and the movies people had no such dreams. They had to rely on their own imaginations. But these days, with our computers and with AI giving everyone a boost, and with millionaires and billionaires everywhere, it is not hard to see and desire a wealthy lifestyle.

6. Mega churches. Paul taught that an overseer must be free from the love of money (1 Tim. 3:3); but I think that in many cases the main reason for building a large church is to bring in more people, in order to bring in more money. I have also heard (from reliable sources) that these mega churches follow a secular business model. Hence, in every respect they run the church like a business. I suppose that in some areas that is wise, but it shouldn’t be that way in every area. The churches’ goal should not be to make so much money, rather to minister to people, to teach people the truth from the bible.

7. Sports teams. The four most popular professional sports teams: baseball, football, basketball and hockey, have only been around for about 170 years. When the earliest teams (probably baseball) started the players didn’t make much more than the common laborer. But today superstar baseball players could make more than 40 million dollars in a single season.

Why the big jump in earnings? I have a house painting business and I make more money now, after four years in business, but good grief! I will never make as much as a baseball player. They say that the sports industry is driven by supply and demand. The supply is the few elite players and the demand is the demand for their performance calculated according to the money generated by what fans are willing to pay for ticket sales and for television and internet viewing. So, I suppose, there is a logical reason why sports players and owners are making so much money. But isn’t the demand coming from the fans—what they are willing to pay to see a game and certain players? Those who demand to see a game will use whatever money they are willing to spend on a ticket. They demand it! They demand it because they are lovers of themselves. And they are lovers of money because that money will allow them to pay for a ticket. Hence, sports teams, you could say, feed our lust for money and for our own entertainment desires.

8. Fraudsters. Recently, all over the country, and particularly in Minnesota where I live, fraudsters have been stealing hundreds of millions from government programs. These criminals set up fraudulent, non-profit shell companies that exist only on paper, and then link them together in complex networks to disguise who actually owns and controls them; then they systematically bill state agencies for services never rendered.

During the recent pandemic they organized what they termed “Feeding our Future,” and claimed to be feeding thousands of children daily, but it was all just on paper. They fed few to no meals and submitted rosters of fake names generated by software. They also pretended to make medical visits that were never made and phony healthcare agencies billed the state for the care. Once the government distributed the funds to the fictious companies, the money was rapidly funneled here and there to obscure the paper trail. Ring leaders spent millions of taxpayer money on luxury housing, sports cars, jewelry, and international travel. Hence, in this fraudulent scheme, it is plain to see that their motive was purely self-interest—the love of self and the love of money.

From the time this letter to Timothy was written until now (nearly 2,000 years later), our self-love has gotten progressively worse; with, I suppose, dips and rises along the way. In evil times self-love increased, and in times of revival it decreased. But overall, I think in our near 2,000-year time span, it has gotten much worse. Here are seven areas where we can see the progressive worsening of self-love—particularly in the last fifty or sixty years.

1. Social Media. When computers came out, then cell phones, and then all the different social media companies (like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Snapchat, X, and Pinterest), people (mostly young people) sort of vanished from normal person to person communication, even from telephone conversations. They instead buried their heads and minds into social media technology. We will have to admit that many social media platforms are quite helpful in making yourself known and selling a product; but it doesn’t do much for your character. In fact, social media is all about building up your self-image. And in a strange way it tends to make people self-centered and will build up for them a pedestal for their own idolatry.

2. Pornography. Pornography, in one form or another, has been around for a long time; and in the last fifty years or so it has exploded. It can be seen in books, magazines, and videos, anywhere on the internet and even in social media.

I think this is one of the most deceptive evils there is, because the devil tells us, and our flesh tells us that porn is such a loving act; and when we view it, and also act on it, we feel the love—we feel that we are loving ourselves. But when it is over we feel betrayed and guilty. And it is highly addictive (read 1 Corinthians 7:18-20).

3. Gluttony. Gluttony is overeating; but it is also eating only what tastes good to us, with no regard to what is good for the body. I heard one person, in all honesty, say, I eat only what tastes good to me, not what I think is healthy. Sometimes when I go grocery shopping, I notice what other people buy. I see some carts loaded down with mostly chips, cookies, soda pop, ice cream, and cakes. They have no vegetables (fresh or frozen) at all! I also have noticed that these people are quite obese. Now, I don’t mean to be judgmental. I’m just telling you what I see.

Gluttony has always been a problem for most people, especially in rich countries. It was a big problem with the Roman Emperors—who were rich. But I think it is especially a problem with the rich countries of today—like America, that have grocery stores everywhere, and where people can buy whatever they desire. Many of us see no problem with buying and eating all that we desire—all that tastes good to us. But when we do, we are guilty of the evil of self-love.

Interestingly, when the bible talks about gluttony it puts it next to drunkenness. And its result is poverty (Prov. 23:20-21; Deut. 21:20). I suppose that is because those who are guilty of it eat and drink all their profit away. Also, in Philippians 3:19 and Galatians 5:16 we may notice that those who do not walk by the Spirit and are enemies of the cross, their god is their appetite. This gluttony is the evil of self-love.

4. The Decline of the Family. God created the family to be a blessing to each other and for love. But when sin came the family began to slowly break down, and the good and healthy love of self was corrupted into a selfish and self-centered love. I heard the other day that the average child rate in a family is now 1.5 children per family—an all-time low. In 1950 it was about 4.5, and a few centuries before that it was much higher. In fact, in the family of John Wesley, he had seven sisters and three brothers. Likewise, the family of Jonathan Edwards was also large. Then he and his wife also brought ten children into the world. Those days are pretty much gone. And what is the reason? I would say that part of it is selfishness. Certainly, the women do not want to go through the pain of childbirth, and for the damage of her figure. As a couple, they may think a large family is just too hard.

But there are other points of selfishness that cause the decline of the family. From 1950 to the present, divorce has increase drastically. Abortion is also on the incline. Bringing a life into the world is just too hard. All in all, because of self-love the family suffers.

5. Self-image. In these wicked days, because of self-love there is more emphasis on self-image. Never before has there been so many beauty creams, treatments and surgeries to make ourselves look beautiful and handsome. And there are countless weight-loss pills. And when those don’t work, we can always spend hundreds of dollars going to the gym. But most people will not stick to that.

Loving ourselves through trying to improve your image is a deadly trap. Sometimes, especially with the youth, it ends up in suicide—because it is very hard to keep up with all the beautiful people we see (in the glamor magazines). It is better, for the sake of your health to just maintain a good diet and a regular, short exercise program in your home. In the end, maintaining your spiritual health and your relationship with God is far better than worrying about your figure.

6. Entertainment. I think most of us these days work hard at trying to love ourselves through our favorite TV shows, the movies we watch and rewatch on DVD, and our favorite sports. This is an area of self-love that has really accelerated in the last seventy years—since we didn’t have television before then. What did people do with their time? This era of entertainment, for the most part, is plain and simple…idolatry!

7. What Professionals are saying. Most doctors and psychologists have been saying for years that self-love, no matter what kind, is good. In fact, they are saying that it is the first step to conquering most mental ills. Now, in some ways it is good—if it is from God’s Spirit. But when they start saying that you need to accept yourself with all your lustful practices, that is when you need to go elsewhere. Sin should never be accepted or practiced in the name of loving yourself.