The Power of Gold! In The Hobbit, Tolkien shows us again and again the hold greed can have on the hearts of men, elves, dwarves, a dragon, and, for a time, even a hobbit. After Smaug is killed comes the real battle to see what will happen to the dragon’s enormous hoard. A smaller, but no less difficult, battle is fought in Bilbo’s own heart when he finds the Arkenstone and briefly becomes not an honest burglar as he later calls himself but a real one. The Bible tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil. Tolkien shows us this powerful truth.