Money is good but the love of it is evil — Duncan-Williams

The Presiding Archbishop and General Overseer of the Action Chapel International Ministries (ACIM), Nicholas Duncan-William believes the popular adage that money is the root of all evil.

He said money is good but it is the love of it that make people commit all manner of sins.

The renowned man of God noted that it will be extremely difficult to know the true character of a person when he or she has no money.

“You will never know who someone is until they experience power. And until they come into money, into success, wealth relevance, then you will know, the true character of an individual,” he stated.

The Archbishop further explained that how people behave towards other people is different when they have power and money.

“That is truly who they are. I don’t know you and who you are until you have power and until you have money,” he intimated.

Referencing from the Bible, he quoted 1st Timothy 6:10-11 “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”. “But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.”

He added that many people quote scriptures out of context to justify their actions.

“Money is not evil, money is a tool, money is a weapon, money is good. It is what you do with money and the love of it that makes it evil,” he stressed.

The Archbishop explained that, “Where money rides you and when money becomes your God. When everything you become, and how you deal with everybody and everything is determined by money, then something is wrong with you.”

He added that “money is a tool, it is a weapon and humans must not allow themselves to be controlled it. “You must never allow a tool to control you. We must never be controlled by a weapon or controlled by a tool, we control money and money must not control us. Where money controls you, you must be pitied among all men.”

Archbishop Nicholas Duncan-Williams said this in a sermon watched via Facebook.

In explaining verse 11 of the sixth chapter of Timothy, he emphasised that people nowadays don’t follow meekness anymore. “They don’t follow after patience anymore, they don’t follow after the right standing with God and they don’t follow after godliness, they don’t follow after faith or love anymore.

“People are defining society merely by money, power, position. We love people for what they have, what they bring to the table, who they are and where they stand in society.”

He continued, “we don’t seek godliness anymore and we don’t love for love anymore. According to him, the basis of our relationships and why we care and deal with people, all has to do with money, fame, success and material things. Character doesn’t matter anymore.”

He admonishes his church members, “Just have money, just have access and influence, and have fame, irrespective of how you acquired it. You can kill, you can lie, you can steal, you can destroy innocent people. Just get and if you get it, it’s ok. It is not. There are consequences for such actions.”

In trying to let his congregants appreciate the fact that money and power is not everything, he noted that “The Pharaohs of Egypt are no more, and the empires of Rome are no more.”

The Hitlers of Germany, according to the Archbishop, entire descendants have disappeared from the face of the earth because of the evil they did to others.

“Because of how they handled power when they had power. What you do with power would determine whether you have a place in eternity or a place in history”.

He added that there are people who would not have a place in eternity neither would they have a place in history because their entire descendants would never be remembered in eternity or history.

“They used power, money, influence and success as tools and weapons to settle scores. As a weapon for revenge and to destroy and to hurt others.”

In concluding, he cautioned his church members to shun such attitudes. “If you are the type who uses power and money, influence, success, relevance, fame to hurt others, then, you’re setting yourself and your descendants up for a curse.

“Throughout your generation and days, you will never be remembered for good but you shall be remembered for evil.”