Love of self is the root of all evil

"Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all evils, and some people in their desire for it have strayed from the faith and have pierced themselves with many pains" (1 Tim 6:9-10).

Self is the ground of all blessing. It is God's Original Gift (Gen 1:27-28) to create us in His own image and likeness.

Self is what we give to God and to each other in love. There is no gift that we can give that is greater than the gift of self.

Jesus uses the healthy love of self as the standard by which to determine whether we truly love others: "Love your neighbor as you love yourself" (Mk 12:31).

Self is what destroys our relationship to God and to our beloved--if we put self first and say "My will be done" instead of "Thy will be done."

Love of self is what set the fallen angels against God. Angels are pure spirits who have no use for money. Love of money cannot be the cause of their evildoing.

Adam and Eve had no money to gain by sin or to lose by obeying God. Their choice was strictly between self-love and love of God.

Love of self lies behind the love of money. We value money as a means to an end--"money" represents all the things that can be done with it. The deceptive charm of the things that money can buy is the promise, "If you had me, I would make you happy." The quest for happiness, therefore, is deeper than the quest for money.

Seeking happiness is good. God designed us to desire eternal happiness with Him and with all of His angels and saints. Our desire for happiness leads us astray when we treat something other than God as if it were Bod.

Building on self is building on sand. Our faith is in God, not in self.