In 1 Timothy 3:3, one of the characteristics that must be present in any who would serve as elder is described in the negative phrase, “not covetous.” The phrase comes from the single Greek word, aphilargyros. It occurs only once in this form in the New Testament. It consists of the prefix (a-) indicating the negative, and (-philargyros), which literally means a lover of silver.
So, the idea is that one who is serving as an elder must not be motivated by a love for money. Thayer defines the word: “not loving money, not avaricious.”
Later in the epistle, the apostle Paul wrote, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (1 Timothy 6:10). The word is the exact same as the one we are considering, minus the negative prefix.
If we were to consider the opposite of the phrase “not covetous”, Paul indicates it would be “godliness with contentment” (1 Timothy 6:6). This is important for all of us. If we recognize the transitory nature of all things earthly, their value decreases in our mind. We must not “love the world, or the things in the world” (1 John 2:15). One who does certainly should not be leading the Lord’s people.
“For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26).
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