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Distorted | Week 3 | Message · Rewind

Rock Point Church

54 min

Pastor Bill Bush · Jun 23, 2025 · 4 min read · 54 min listen

The big idea

The Bible never says money is the root of all evil — it's the love of money, the obsessive craving for it, that traps us and steals the real life God wants to give us.

In this message

The big idea
Point 1 of 6It's not the money, it's the love of money — an obsessive craving — that leads to evil
Point 2 of 6Loving money warps our perspective and wrecks our lives

Point 3 of 6Chasing money wrecks relationships and finances through overspending and fights
Point 4 of 6Godly contentment is greater than worldly riches
Point 5 of 6Use money as a tool, not a trophy
Point 6 of 6Personal testimony: trusting God with money changed everything
Take it into your week
Transcript

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Scripture in this message

1 Timothy 6
1 Timothy 6:6
1 Timothy 6:10
1 Timothy 6:9
1 Timothy 6:6-8
1 Timothy 6:17-19

Rewind AI drafted the Big Idea and some point headings shown here from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Pastor Bill Bush · Jun 23, 2025 · 54 min watch · 2 min read

Distorted | Week 3 | Message

In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

1 Timothy 6
1 Timothy 6:6
1 Timothy 6:10
1 Timothy 6:9
1 Timothy 6:6-8
1 Timothy 6:17-19

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

The Bible never says money is the root of all evil — it's the love of money, the obsessive craving for it, that traps us and steals the real life God wants to give us.

God wants us free, not enslaved to money like a monkey caught in a trap who won't let go of the fruit even to save its own life. The problem was never the money itself but our motive and obsession with it, and true freedom comes through godly contentment and generosity, not through chasing wealth as a trophy.

Key points

1
1It's not the money, it's the love of money — an obsessive craving — that leads to evil
Pastor Bill unpacks the Greek word philargyria (love of money) as an obsessive craving where money and what it brings becomes the destination, replacing trust in God. He notes Jesus talked about money 13 unique times because He knew it's a primary competitor for our worship, since money offers comfort, status, and a feeling of control.
2
2Loving money warps our perspective and wrecks our lives
Working from verse 9, Pastor Bill shows how longing to be rich is really an ambition, a pursuit that never feels satisfied, always wanting a little more. He illustrates this with a study where people at every income level said just $1,200-$1,500 more a month would finally make them content, and with his own story of feeling poor growing up in Scottsdale despite being genuinely well off.
3
3Chasing money wrecks relationships and finances through overspending and fights
He shares statistics that Americans live on 125 percent of their income and that most marriage arguments about money aren't about survival but about disagreeing on how to overspend. He tells a childhood story of stealing Halloween candy from a pharmacy bin to picture how craving more, hiding it, and refusing to let go mirrors our relationship with money and with God.
4
4Godly contentment is greater than worldly riches
Pastor Bill defines godliness as daily devotion to God with what we do and have, and contentment (the Greek word for inner sufficiency) as being at peace regardless of circumstances. He notes that the happiest people he's met while traveling are often in the poorest places, because contentment tied to God doesn't depend on what you own.
5
5Use money as a tool, not a trophy
He contrasts treating money as a trophy (the goal, the win) with treating it as a tool for good works, citing Harvard and UC Berkeley studies showing generosity, not wealth, produces lasting happiness, lower stress, and even activates the brain's pleasure centers. Verses 17-19 call the rich not to be proud or trust in wealth but to be generous and store up a good foundation for the future.
6
6Personal testimony: trusting God with money changed everything
Pastor Bill tells his own story as an underpaid youth pastor resenting being asked to give, until a friend challenged him that trusting God has nothing to do with the amount and everything to do with obedience. He describes giving with a bad attitude, God still blessing it, and three years later being able to step out in faith to plant Rock Point.

It's not the money, it's the motive

Application

Pastor Bill's charge is to stop acting like the monkey — let go of the love of money instead of white-knuckling a trap that's killing you.

Name your obsessive craving honestly
Ask yourself whether money, comfort, or status has quietly become what you trust instead of God, since the Bible calls this the real root of evil, not money itself.
Build a budget with margin and mission
Don't spend every dollar you make; save a little as margin and give generously toward God's mission instead of living beyond your means.
Test God with generosity
Give intentionally, regularly, and sacrificially rather than negotiating the minimum, trusting the Bible's invitation to test God and see what He does in your life.
Trade the trophy for the tool
Stop treating money as the win itself and start using it as a tool for good works, rich in generosity and ready to share with those in need.
Let go and trust God's plan
Whatever you're gripping tightly out of fear, release it, like the monkey letting go of the fruit, and trust that God's plan for you is better than what you're clutching.

Take it into your week

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“we're gonna be in first Timothy chapter six, and and and what's interesting about this letter is to Timothy. Who is Timothy? He was a guy that the apostle Paul kinda got to know”
From the transcript
“right in verse six, he starts to to confront the the myth that we're talking about, the distortion of money is the root of all evil. And he says, nope. It's not the money. It's the motive. When he says this, verse six. Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth”
From the transcript
“I wanna start with verse 10 and and make a few points about what does this really mean? What do we need to understand here to encourage us to how do we find the true life”
From the transcript
“back in verse nine verse nine, then if it's not the money, it's love of money, because verse nine clearly says, loving money warps our perspective and wrecks our lives”
From the transcript
“Right in verse six to eight, he says, yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. He uses two words there. True godliness with contentment”
From the transcript
“I'm gonna read verse 17 through 19. Before I read that, here's what I mean. We think that that that money is the thing I really need. It's the trophy”

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Sign in to track your progress through this devotional.

Day 1

Pastor Bill was careful to say it plainly: the Bible never calls money evil. What it calls dangerous is the obsessive craving for it — a distinction that matters more than it might first appear. First Timothy 6:10 says, 'For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.' Not money. The love of it. That small word 'love' carries enormous weight. It describes something that has moved from usefulness to ultimacy — from a tool in your hand to a throne in your heart. Think about the monkey-trap image Pastor Bill used: the monkey reaches into a narrow jar, grabs the fruit, and refuses to open its fist even as the trap closes. Nothing is holding it but its own grip. That image is worth sitting with today. Money itself is morally neutral. It buys groceries, funds missions, and keeps the lights on. But the moment we begin to organize our lives around acquiring more of it — measuring our security, our worth, our future by it — we've crossed a line. The craving becomes the cage. This week's devotional is an invitation to honestly examine your own hand. Is it holding money as a tool, or is it clutched around it like fruit you can't afford to release? There's no guilt in the question — only an opportunity to look clearly and honestly at what's actually gripping you.

For reflection

When you picture your financial life, does money feel more like a tool you direct or a score you're keeping — and what does that tell you?

Pray

Pray for honest self-awareness about the role money plays in your sense of security and identity.

Day 2

Yesterday we looked at the diagnosis — the love of money as a root of evil. Today's verse shows us what that love actually does to a person over time. First Timothy 6:9 says, 'But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction.' That word 'plunge' caught Pastor Bill's attention in the original Greek — it carries the image of being dragged underwater. Not falling gently. Being pulled under. That's not melodrama; it's an accurate picture of what financial obsession does relationally and emotionally. When money becomes the main thing, perspective warps quietly. We stop seeing what we have and start fixating on what we lack. We measure our lives against neighbors, colleagues, and social media feeds — a comparison that has no finish line. The stress doesn't arrive all at once. It seeps in. Relational friction rises because money fights are rarely just about money. Sleep gets harder. Generosity gets squeezed out because there's never quite enough. And through all of it, the craving promises that just a little more will fix it — and that promise never delivers. The good news is that naming the pattern is the first step out of it. You can't open a fist you don't know is closed. Today's reflection is simply about seeing clearly — without shame — where the pull toward 'more' might already be shaping your decisions.

For reflection

In what area of your life do you most notice the 'comparison trap' — the sense that someone else has more and that it matters?

Pray

Pray for the ability to see your circumstances clearly, with gratitude for what you already have.

Day 3

If yesterday was about the cost of craving, today is about the alternative — and it is a genuinely good one. First Timothy 6:6-8 says, 'Yet true godliness with contentment is itself great wealth. After all, we brought nothing with us when we came into the world, and we can't take anything with us when we leave it. So if we have enough food and clothing, let us be content.' Pastor Bill described contentment not as passivity or low ambition, but as an inner sufficiency — a settled-ness that doesn't depend on external circumstances lining up perfectly. That is a radical posture in a culture that monetizes discontentment at every turn. Notice what Paul is not saying. He's not saying money is wrong, or that wanting to provide well for your family is spiritually suspect. He's pointing to something deeper: the person who has learned contentment carries a kind of wealth that can't be stolen by a market downturn, a job loss, or a neighbor's new car. They are free in a way that accumulation alone never produces. This contentment isn't manufactured by willpower. It grows as trust in God deepens — as you actually test whether He is faithful. It also grows in community, as you see others living generously and finding that the peace they have is real. Today, consider where contentment already exists in your life, even in small ways. Those moments are worth noticing and building on.

For reflection

Think of a time you felt genuinely content with what you had — what was present in that season that made it possible?

Pray

Pray for a growing sense of inner sufficiency that isn't tied to your account balance or your circumstances.

Day 4

First Timothy 6:17 says, 'Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.' This verse lands differently than you might expect. Paul doesn't tell wealthy people to feel guilty or to immediately liquidate everything. He tells them not to be proud — and not to trust in their wealth. The indictment isn't possession; it's misplaced trust. Money makes a terrible foundation because it is, as the text says, 'so unreliable.' History agrees. Markets crash. Businesses fold. Health costs erase savings. The things we trust money to guarantee — security, control, a predictable future — are precisely the things money is least able to guarantee. What God offers instead is not a financial windfall but something more durable: trustworthiness. Pastor Bill's challenge to stop acting like the monkey is rooted here. The monkey's grip is ultimately a trust problem. It doesn't believe it can find fruit another way, so it holds on until the trap closes. Letting go requires believing there is a Provider bigger than the jar. That's not naive optimism — it's the actual claim of the gospel. Today's reflection is an invitation to honestly ask: when things feel uncertain, where does your mind go first? The answer often reveals where your trust actually lives.

For reflection

When financial uncertainty rises in your life, what is your first instinct — and what does that reveal about where your trust is anchored?

Pray

Pray for a transfer of trust — from the unreliable ground of financial security to the proven faithfulness of God.

Day 5

Yesterday we looked at where not to place our trust. Today we look at what generosity actually is — and why Pastor Bill called it a 'designed freedom' rather than a reluctant obligation. First Timothy 6:18 says, 'Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.' That phrase 'rich in good works' is worth lingering on. Paul doesn't ask wealthy people to become poor — he asks them to redirect. To use what they have as a tool for others rather than hoarding it as a trophy for themselves. Generosity, in this framing, is not subtraction. It's reorientation. Pastor Bill pointed out that secular research backs this up — human beings are, at some level, wired for generosity. It drives away fear. It reduces relational conflict. It produces a sense of purpose that accumulation alone never does. Practically, this is where budgeting with both margin and mission becomes real. Margin means you're not white-knuckling every expense. Mission means generosity isn't an afterthought after everything else is funded — it's built in from the start. This doesn't require a large income. It requires intention. A small, consistent, sacrificial gift given freely does something in the giver's heart that a large reluctant gift never quite manages. Today, consider what intentional generosity might look like in your current season.

For reflection

What would it look like for generosity to be a planned, built-in part of your budget rather than something that happens with whatever is left over?

Pray

Pray for creativity and courage to build generosity into your life as a regular practice, not an occasional impulse.

Day 6

Related passage

Pastor Bill mentioned that there is one place in Scripture where God says, 'Test Me on this.' Malachi 3:10 is that place: 'Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,' says the Lord of Heaven's Armies, 'I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put Me to the test!' This is a remarkable verse — God, who elsewhere in Scripture resists being tested, here extends an open invitation. Try it. See if I'm faithful. That kind of directness is unusual, and it's worth taking seriously. Pastor Bill was especially clear that generosity is for everyone — including and perhaps especially those who feel they can't afford it. Fear says: get more stable first, then give. The invitation here runs in the other direction: trust first, and watch what faithfulness produces. That doesn't mean generosity is a transaction or that God is a vending machine. It means that choosing to give when it costs something is precisely the posture that breaks the monkey's grip. It repositions the heart. It says, out loud and in dollars, that God is more trustworthy than the balance in your account. This isn't about an amount. It's about a direction — and a decision to move that direction consistently, over time, regardless of how large or small the step feels today.

For reflection

What would it mean for you personally to 'take God up on' this invitation — what would that step look like in your current season?

Pray

Pray for the courage to take one concrete step of generosity that stretches your trust in God rather than your comfort level.

Day 7

We've covered a lot of ground this week — the nature of the craving, the cost of misplaced trust, the gift of contentment, and the freedom that generosity carries. First Timothy 6:6-19 holds all of it together. At the center of everything Pastor Bill taught is a simple but demanding question: is money a tool or a trophy in your life right now? Not in theory. In the actual decisions you make, the way you feel when your income changes, the ease or difficulty with which you give. The monkey in the trap is not a villain. It's just an animal doing what feels natural — holding on. And there's something deeply human in that. Fear is real. Financial pressure is real. The gap between what you have and what you need can feel very wide. None of that is a character flaw. But freedom is also real — and this passage points to it with unusual specificity. Godly contentment. Generous living. Trust placed in God rather than in net worth. A standard of giving that rises alongside a rising standard of living. These aren't abstract ideals; they are a way of life that reshapes the heart over time. As you close this week, it might be worth talking with someone at Rock Point — a pastor, a community group leader, or a trusted friend in the church — about what next step looks like for you. The goal isn't perfection. It's an open hand and a direction you keep choosing.

For reflection

Looking back over this week, what one shift — in mindset, habit, or practice — feels most alive and worth carrying forward?

Pray

Pray for the grace to keep your hand open — to hold money as a tool, trust God as your foundation, and live generously as a long-term way of life.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Pastor Bill opened this message with a vivid image — a monkey whose fist is stuck in a trap because it won't let go of the fruit inside. It's a surprisingly simple picture of something we all recognize.

Discussion questions

1
In 1 Timothy 6:10, Paul writes that the love of money — not money itself — is a root of all kinds of evil. What do you think that distinction actually means, and why does the motive matter more than the money?
2
Paul describes people who want to get rich as being dragged underwater — a word picture Pastor Bill connected to financial and relational suffocation. What does that image suggest about how the craving for more tends to work itself out in real life?
3
In 1 Timothy 6:6-8, Paul says godly contentment is itself great wealth. How would you describe the difference between contentment as Paul seems to mean it and simply settling or going without ambition?
4
Pastor Bill described money as something that can quietly shift from being a tool to being a trophy. What signals, in everyday life, might indicate that shift has started to happen for a person?
5
In 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Paul tells Timothy to command those who are rich to be generous and to store up real life. Pastor Bill also noted that secular research points in the same direction — that humans seem wired for generosity. What does it mean that the research and the Scripture land in the same place?
6
Pastor Bill challenged everyone to raise their standard of giving alongside their standard of living whenever income grows, and he pointed to the one place in Scripture where God says 'Test me on this.' How might a community that took that invitation seriously look different from one that didn't?

Pray together

Gratitude for God's provision, and openness to holding what we have loosely — trusting Him more than the things money promises to give us

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Week 3 · 7 messages

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