While a nice sentiment, we are never given any indication in Scripture that such a transformation occurs once a person dies. People are people, and angels are angels—and it remains that way.
Actually, it would be something of a downgrade to become an angel, since humanity bears the unique distinction of being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27).
Relatedly, we are also never given an indication in Scripture that our loved ones who have passed away are “looking down on us.”
While I’d caution against sternly correcting someone who expresses these erroneous sentiments during a moment of grief—it’s certainly not the time and place—we should be aware of how our cultural conceptions of “the afterlife” influence our Christian theology.
We don’t know every detail of what our experience will be like on the other side of death, but Christians can take comfort in the knowledge that we will be with Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:8), be made whole, and eventually receive a new body and live in a new creation (Philippians 3:21; Revelation 21:1).
4. ‘Money Is the Root of All Evil’
This phrase is another “almost a Bible verse” situation, but it leaves out a couple of key words that shape our understanding of what the apostle Paul sought to communicate to his young friend Timothy.
The actual saying is as follows:
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs. (1 Timothy 6:10)
When taken in context, Paul isn’t saying that money is inherently an evil entity. In fact, money is quite a neutral thing that can be used to either positive or negative ends.
In fact, Paul often sought money from the churches to whom he wrote so that it could be allocated to Christians who were suffering need in Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 16:1-4; 2 Corinthians 8:1-9:15; Romans 15:14-32), and the occasion of his letter to the Philippian church was their having generously given to fund his ministry.
Money is not the root of all evil; the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.
In his letter to the young leader, Paul doesn’t appear to be warning Timothy to avoid money due to its inherent sinfulness, opting to intentionally live in poverty. Instead, he is warning Timothy to steel himself from the temptation to become preoccupied with accumulating wealth.
