People often say 'Money is the root of all evil', unaware
they are misquoting or paraphrasing a letter from St Paul.
The full quote is 'the love of money is the root of all evil',
It was written in his first letter to Timothy, the fifteenth book
of twenty seven in the New Testament, Chapter 6 Verse 10.
Timothy was a convert/missionary whom Paul discipled
and had baptised. St Paul wrote a lot that discomfited
both his world and himself. His sermons started riots.
I used to mistrust his writings, for his reported bravery
before hostile crowds. I did not need to have ochlophobia
to fear the reports of the riots he caused. From my schooling
I had my own quite rational fears about the chaos of mobs.
St Paul wrote a lot which less riotously, and maybe more rationally,
disturbs todays modern world. Like him, those unknowingly misquoting him
are addressing what they see as a present day loss in collective compassion.
Anyone who sees this decline identifies it most easily close up,
in individuals they believe they know from the inside out.
But, if this love, misdirected by money, is to give itself over
to a more self renewing-and more generous-currency,
something just as visible and material,
then what do we expect this reformed love to reattach itself to?
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