money is the root of all evil

money is the root of all evil

Money, or, more specifically, the desire to obtain and amass it, is the ultimate reason humans do evil things to one another. The promise of wealth is what eventually led him to murder his own brother. As ever, money is the root of all evil.
See also: all, evil, money, of, root
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Money is the root of all evil.

 and The love of money is the root of all evil.
Prov. People do many evil things in order to get rich. (Biblical. Compare this with Idleness is the root of all evil.) Fred: I know I could make more money if I just knew the right things to invest in. Ellen: Don't worry so much about money. It's the root of all evil, after all. As the newspapers continued to report the dastardly things the wealthy young banker had done to become even wealthier, people shook their heads and remarked, "The love of money is the root of all evil."
See also: all, evil, money, of, root
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

money is the root of all evil

People say money is the root of all evil when they want to suggest that greed is the cause of a particular problem or the cause of society's problems in general. They say money is the root of all evil and cases like this seem to suggest it's true. Note: Other nouns are sometimes used instead of money to suggest that these things are the cause of a problem. Greed may not be the root of all evil, but it is certainly behind many conflicts, from schoolyard fights to full-scale wars. Note: This expression comes from the proverb the love of money is the root of all evil. If ever we want evidence that the love of money is the root of all evil, we only have to look at the human cost of many monetary policies and decisions. Note: This proverb comes from a letter in the Bible from St. Paul to his disciple Timothy. (1 Timothy 6:10)
See also: all, evil, money, of, root
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

money is the root of all evil

Materialism is the source of evil-doing. This term is a misquotation of a New Testament teaching: “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Another frequently quoted version is a translation from the Latin Radix malorum est cupiditas: “The desire for money is the root of evil.” Shaw turned it around in Man and Superman (1905): “Lack of money is the root of all evil.” He may have been paraphrasing Samuel Butler, who said much the same thing several decades earlier (in Erewhon, 1872).
See also: all, evil, money, of, root
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • the love of money is the root of all evil
  • evil be to him who evil thinks
  • the evil one
  • see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
  • what (one) says goes
  • what/whatever somebody says, goes
  • whatever (one) says goes
  • your, his, etc. word is law
  • someone's word is law
  • (one's) word is law
References in periodicals archive
The love of money is the root of all evil because money was not made to be loved, but to be used for good ends.
The material and the spiritual need each other. (Guest Column)
The love of money is the root of all evil, and we have it on good authority.
Don't put aside childish ways: an American living in India offers her unique perspective on parenting and the spiritual challenges of consumerism
If money is the root of all evil than this is a great way to go to hell.
A Wealth of new ideas; BOOKS
"The love of money is the root of all evil.'[23] One hundred years ago, the medical profession was among the lowest paid in the United States.24 But after the introduction of Abraham Flexner's medical education reforms, entry into the medical profession became more restricted, and the profession became more exclusive.
Professionalism, where are you?
Schulz's explanation for this is that the love of money is the root of all evil: Mosca's Polish works are weaker than his Italian sculptures because he found his materials and patrons uncongenial, and was content to sign over more and more work to his (undistinguished) workshop, since he could charge good prices to his provincial patrons for less than first-class work.
Giammaria Mosca called Padovano, a Renaissance Sculptor in Italy and Poland
THE goings-on at Manchester City have given plenty of doommongers in the media the chance to complain that rich magnates are ruining football and that money is the root of all evil, etc.
Money can be the root of all good if it's in the right hands; VIEW FROM THE SOFA