Those who love having an abundance will never be satisfied by obtaining it. “He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance, with increase: this also is vanity…” (Ecclesiastes 5:10). Silver and gold can’t satisfy all the desires of our physical body. If we love silver and gold, we’ll never have enough to be completely satisfied. How much less can worldly abundance satisfy our spiritual desires?

But if we have the conscious presence of God, our heart will find satisfaction with happiness that wealth can never equal. Man’s soul is hungry for the Lord. He’s the only One Who can satisfy him—not things of the world. Whenever we chase after an object which provides a result that won’t satisfy, or experience the tormenting anger that comes from distorted desires, our soul fails to find the way to legitimate prosperity. No matter how great our wealth may be, it can’t be merged with our soul.

The highest and deepest needs we have can only be satisfied by God Himself, not by all His gifts. The Lord redeems men without money or price. His ultimate desire is for us to become one with Him—which is all He asks. Nothing else will satisfy Him but this. Who alone can satisfy our soul? Only Christ. He won’t receive us on any other basis but as someone who’s become satisfied with Christ and what He’s done for us. Those who are satisfied with Christ will find favor with Him, according to the Lord. The ones who give of themself for the greater good of everyone will have a full life that’s both rewarding and deeply satisfying. They lose themselves in a cause that is much greater than serving self. And this is what Christ did for us.

“But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition” (1 Timothy 6:9). This verse doesn’t state, they that are rich, but that they will be rich. This means all who place their supreme delight in getting wealth, and are always yearning and determined to chase after it. What sins the love of money draws men into! An overruling desire to be rich can lead to a chain of foolishness which tears down everything—both here, and hereafter. It can lead to the collapse and downfall of both body and mind, but, more specifically, the ultimate downfall of our eternal soul. So many people have been destroyed this way! But love, grace, faith and joy are the wealth of believers in Christ, no matter what their earthly situation is.  

“For the love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). This has often been quoted carelessly. Many say that “The Bible says money is the root of all evil!” But this isn’t what it says! Money isn’t the root of evil, and isn’t evil in itself; it’s the love of money that’s the origin of all the evils being spoken about here. Some may have money, but don’t love it; but those who do love money will find that it will drive them on into all sinfulness. Every kind of corruption and immorality, in one way or the other, can develop from loving money. Love is an emotion or condition of the heart which expresses a desire, craving or concern of our inner man. Do we desire a position we don’t occupy in God’s will? Do we crave power that we don’t have? Do we love money or want possessions we don’t have in the purpose of God? These desires are the root of all evil. This was the sin of Satan (Isaiah 14:12-15), and also of Adam (Genesis 3:5-6.)

If we limit this theme to just silver and gold, we’ll miss Timothy’s message and meaning here. Greediness for gold can lead to cheating, hatred, fraud, and many forms of crime. Excessive desire for possessions and earthly treasure that’s never satisfied has caused some who claim to belong to God to leave the brotherhood of believers, and the Gospel they claimed to follow, and to then experience dreadful consequences. Man can’t imagine any evil that doesn’t originate in some way from the love of silver and gold “…which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith…” (1 Timothy 6:10b). This means believers who’ve lost sight of the true faith (the Cross) and have deviated into a false faith. Jesus said, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth” (Luke 12:15). 

“…we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out” (1 Timothy 6:7) means worldly possessions. The only thing a believer can genuinely keep is faith—as long as it’s in Christ and the Cross. If we exchange Christianity to serve this world, we’ll be disappointed. But if we’ll follow Christ, we’ll find that His message has the promise of the life that is now, and the life to come. The sacrifice of Christ on the Cross satisfied His Father and made it possible for the world to be saved. Let’s never let that leave our thoughts. He didn’t go to the Cross to satisfy Satan—He went to glorify God. Nothing in this world can satisfy our heart and soul except Christ and Him crucified.

Sin is the only thing that we took into this world, and we’ll leave it the same way. After we die, earthly possessions and things of this world are worthless. What’s of the greatest value forever? Forgiveness of our sin and being made an heir of Christ. Once we realize this, we’ll stop being so concerned about our body and earthly possessions, and will dedicate ourself instead to laying hold of eternal life.

Is God the center of your life? Then you’re going to be rich! Your life is going to be full and blessed. You’ll be able to enjoy the eternal riches that truly satisfy! Then you’ll be provided with a rich, happy, content and full life. Christ satisfies all spiritual desires, and He alone can and will satisfy the desire of all nations. He is, always has been, and always will be the only One who can genuinely satisfy.

[Additional image credits: Featured image (when applicable) from Michael Faes by Freeimages.com; Opening photo by James Kemp from Unsplash]