Does the Bible Say Money Is Evil? What They Got Wrong — And What God Actually Says

Let me tell you about the verse that shaped my entire relationship with money — and not in a good way.

"For the love of money is the root of all evil." — 1 Timothy 6:10

I heard that verse growing up and I took it exactly the way most of us do: money = bad. Wanting money = dangerous. Having a lot of it = morally suspect.

And so I did what good Christian girls do. I made myself small. I undercharged. I felt guilty every time I wanted more. I called it humility. I called it contentment. I called it faith.

What I was actually doing was running a scarcity program I'd inherited from the church — and calling it obedience.

I'm a faith-based abundance coach and ThetaHealing® practitioner. I've sat with hundreds of Christian women who are brilliant, capable, and deeply in love with God — and completely blocked around money. And almost every single one of them has been shaped by a misread of this verse.

So let's talk about what the Bible actually says. Because I promise you: it is not what most of us were taught.

What 1 Timothy 6:10 Actually Says

Here's the verse in full: "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."

Two things most people miss:

First: it's "a root" — not "the root." The original Greek says "a root of all kinds of evil." Not the singular cause. Not the defining characteristic. One root among many. Greed is dangerous. The love of money above God is dangerous. Money itself? Completely neutral.

Second: the word "love" is doing all the work. The Greek word is philarguria — love of silver. This verse is about obsession, hoarding, and prioritizing wealth above relationship with God. It has nothing to do with earning well, building wealth, or wanting financial stability for your family.

The verse was misquoted to you. A "the" became an "a." And that single word change built a money ceiling in millions of Christian women.

The Verses They Didn't Teach You

If the church were equally enthusiastic about these scriptures, we'd have a very different conversation:

John 10:10 — "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."
The Greek word perissos means exceeding, over and above, beyond measure. Jesus wasn't talking about spiritual contentment in suffering. He was talking about a quality of life that exceeds expectation. That's a promise, not a suggestion.

Deuteronomy 8:18 — "But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to create wealth."
He gives you the ability. Present tense. Active. Not "He might bless you someday if you're humble enough." He gives you the capacity to generate wealth — right now, in your hands, with your gifts.

Proverbs 10:22 — "The blessing of the Lord makes rich, and He adds no sorrow with it."
No sorrow. No punishment. No hidden cost. God's design for wealth doesn't come loaded with guilt. That guilt? That shame? That "who do I think I am?" feeling when you invoice a client or raise your rates? That's not God's design. That's programming.

Galatians 3:29 — "If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
An heir. Not a beggar. Not someone praying and hoping and waiting to see if God decides to bless them. An heir — someone who walks into a room knowing what they carry.

Why This Matters More Than You Think

Theology shapes behavior. What you believe about money determines how you earn it, charge for it, receive it, and build with it.

When you believe money is inherently suspicious, you:

• Underprice your services because asking for full value feels greedy
• Over-deliver to compensate for the guilt of being paid
• Hit an income ceiling you can't explain with strategy alone
• Feel vaguely dirty every time your business grows

I see this every single week. Women with extraordinary gifts, significant income potential, and genuine calling — running a scarcity program so deep they can't even see it anymore.

The problem isn't strategy. It isn't marketing. It isn't even mindset in the way most coaches mean it.

It's a belief — buried at the genetic, historical, and soul level — that abundance is somehow at odds with faith.

It is not.

What "Loving Money" Actually Looks Like

Since we're being precise: here's what the Bible is warning against.

The rich young ruler in Matthew 19 walked away from Jesus because he couldn't release his attachment to wealth. His money was his god — and when faced with a choice between the two, he chose his assets. That's what loving money looks like.

It doesn't look like a woman building a business so she can send her kids to college, tithe generously, fund the ministry she believes in, and stop asking her husband for permission to buy something. That's stewardship. That's what Deuteronomy 8:18 looks like in a 21st century woman's life.

The line isn't between rich and poor. It's between surrender and idolatry. You can be wealthy and fully surrendered. You can be broke and completely idolatrous. The amount in your account isn't the point. The posture of your heart is.

The Scarcity Program Running Underneath

Here's what I've learned after years of working with Christian women at the belief level: the theology is only the top layer.

Underneath "money is evil" is usually something like:

• I don't deserve to have more than my parents had
• If I make too much, people will think I've changed
• God keeps people humble by keeping them struggling
• Wanting more means I'm not content with what God gave me

These aren't scriptures. But they feel like them. They carry the same weight, the same authority, the same ability to shut down desire and call it spirituality.

This is what I call scarcity programming — and it doesn't respond to mindset work alone. It lives in the nervous system. It runs across generations. It was handed to you by people who loved God and got the theology slightly wrong, and now it costs you every time you send an invoice, raise a rate, or dream bigger than your grandmother did.

Clearing it requires going deeper than your thoughts. It requires working at the belief level — which is exactly what ThetaHealing® does.

What Abundance Actually Looks Like for a Daughter of God

Here's what I want you to hold:

Abundance is your inheritance. Not your aspiration. Not something you earn by being humble enough or faithful enough or small enough. Your inheritance — something that belongs to you by virtue of who your Father is.

You are, according to Galatians 3:29, an heir. Heirs don't beg for what's already theirs. They walk in. They receive. They steward.

Poverty is programming. Not piety.

And programming can be cleared.

Ready to Clear the Belief That's Been Costing You?

If you read this and felt something shift — or felt the resistance rise up — that's information. That's the belief doing its job.

I work with Christian women who are done performing their theology and ready to actually live their inheritance. We go deep — nervous system, belief work at all 5 levels, biblical wealth strategy — inside a private coaching container designed to take you from spiritually blocked to financially sovereign.

The entry point is a Power Hour — a 60-minute ThetaHealing® session where we find the belief that's been running your money story and start to clear it at the root.

[Book your Power Hour → ShannonRoseMcVey.com]

If you're ready for the full container, Faith + Fortune is a 3-month private coaching experience for the woman who knows something deeper needs to shift.

[Learn more about Faith + Fortune → ShannonRoseMcVey.com]

Shannon Rose McVey is a faith-based abundance coach, ThetaHealing® practitioner, and host of Dichotomy with Shannon. She helps Christian women break the scarcity programming that's keeping them from their financial inheritance — using biblical truth, nervous system healing, and practical wealth strategy. Learn more at ShannonRoseMcVey.com.