Context

This line is written by Paul in 1 Timothy 6:10.

Paul's first letter to Timothy is chock-full of advice on how to be a good Christian. This chapter's got advice on how to be a slave (you never know when that might come in handy) and how to not get caught up in the rat race. Money isn't everything, the real treasure's in heaven, and so on. Sort of the anti-"Greed is good" speech.

Where you've heard it

Just read the headlines of the day, and you'll find a story of some good guy/girl gone bad, all because of a couple of bucks. In those situations, someone's probably going to bring up this quote. Of course, people doing bad things for money is as old as humanity itself, from Cain and Abel to Judas Iscariot to Enron to the sub-prime mortgage lending crisis.

You might also hear this quote cheekily turned on its head. One example: Mark Twain said, "The lack of money is the root of all evil."

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

This one's very situational. If you're rich, you'll probably find this one pretentious to the max. If you're poor, maybe not so much.