1 Timothy 6:5
The context
The letter's final chapter addresses teachers who dispute words and stir quarrels. Paul describes them as conceited, understanding nothing, and craving controversy. Verse 5 names the outcome of that craving: constant friction among people whose minds are corrupt, who suppose that godliness is a source of profit. Verse 6 answers with contentment.
What it establishes
It establishes that the New Testament itself names religious teaching done for money as a corruption, and that the diagnosis is blunt. The phrase describes a settled assumption about why the work is done, not a single bad transaction, and the correction follows immediately.
What it does not establish
It does not establish that paid ministry is wrong. The same letter says elders who labor in preaching are worthy of honor and wages, and Paul defends the right elsewhere. The verse condemns the assumption that godliness is a means to profit, not the support of teachers.
Short note, first pass, October 2026. Corrections welcome.
Cited in these answers
Part of Scripture, Opened — the exegetical layer behind every citation on this site. Scripture quotations are from the ESV.