There are surprisingly numerous Bible verses about money. What does the Bible teach about money? Biblical teachings on money emphasize our need to steward it wisely and never let it become more important than it is. We are encouraged to love God and people, never money. Money should be used as a tool to help the less fortunate and to spread the message of Jesus to people who haven’t heard.
Have you ever heard someone say, cynically, “The church just wants your money”? Churches regularly handle money and some have come under scrutiny for mishandling finances or putting too much emphasis on making money. As they represent Jesus to the world, it’s so important for churches and other Christian organizations to be trustworthy and transparent when it comes to their finances.
But it’s not just churches in general that need to be intentional about their relationship with money. If you’re a Christian, then people are watching you, and if you’re all about money, you too will cut corners when it comes to your faith. People will notice and the cause of Christ will be hindered in your life. This is why the apostle Paul wrote,
“Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Tim. 6:9–10)
Bible verses about money: “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.”
Putting Money in Its Place
So, how high in your value system is money? Some people put money higher than their health. They work too many hours for them to be able to really take care of themselves. They get too little sleep and experience too much stress. And eventually, any extra they make will go to the doctors.
Some people put money higher than their own integrity at work or on the tax form. And trading away your integrity is bound to cause buyer’s remorse. And once you trade away your integrity, it’s hard to get it back.
Some people put money higher than their families, and so kids grow up with a parent who provides but not a parent who connects. And the rest of their lives, those kids are poor as a result.
“Some people put money higher than their families, and so kids grow up with a parent who provides but not a parent who connects.”
Some people put money higher than the people who really need it. They know about the needs: the orphans who need to sponsored, the missionaries who need to be sent out, etc. But for them, money is a higher value than people. A saying every family ought to get used to saying, believing, and reminding each other of is, “People are more important than things.” Kids need to hear that, but so do adults.
Some people put money higher than God’s purpose for their lives. They know God wants them to live out a particular purpose, but they’d rather take a different path because of the money. It’s going to be pretty hard to explain that one on Judgment Day.
Asking Tough Questions
It’s true: money is important. It’s necessary. You’ve got to live, provide for your family, save for college, have an emergency fund. But in your value system, what does it beat out? Because when money is really important to you—when you love it—you cut corners.
Let’s all admit that when we’re talking about money, that’s very personal. None of us likes people telling us how to spend our money. However, it’s also true that, as Christians, God owns us. He paid for us with his blood on the cross (1 Cor. 6:20). Since God owns us, he has the right to tell us what to do with our money. Furthermore, since he owns us, it’s not really our money in the end anyway. So let’s see what God’s Word has to say to us about money.
Bible verses about money: “You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God” (1 Cor. 6:20a).
We’re going to ask 10 questions about you and your money. These 10 questions will get at your heart and make it clear, if you answer the questions honestly, whether you have changes you need to make.
These are questions we’re asking about our possessions, our house, our vehicles, our 401Ks, our checking and savings accounts, etc. The first 4 questions are questions we’re asking about our money and our stuff. The last 6 questions are questions we’re asking about ourselves.
Question #1 – Is this mine, or is it God’s?
Does your money, car, or house belong to you, or to God?
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” (Ps. 24:1)
Question #2 – Is this my master, or is God?
Jesus himself calls money a master and says that we can’t serve two masters. We can’t serve both God and money. Both want to be your master, so which is it going to be?
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matt. 6:24)
Bible verses about money: “You cannot serve both God and money.”
Question #3 – Is this my security, or is God?
In other words, what do you really trust for getting you through?
“Those who trust in their riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like a green leaf.” (Prov. 11:28)
Question #4 – Is this my treasure, or is my treasure eternal?
God offers treasure, but it’s treasure that lasts. It’s treasure that is eternal. It won’t rust, and it’s inflation-proof. It’s what Jesus called “treasure in heaven.” God offers things like love, joy, and peace, and, if we’re honest, these are the kinds of treasures everybody’s truly looking for.
“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.” (Matt. 6:20)
Bible verses about money: “Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
So these four are questions to ask about your money and possessions:
- Is this mine, or is it God’s?
- Is this my master, or is God?
- Is this my security, or is God?
- Is this my treasure, or is my treasure eternal?
The rest of the 10 questions (questions 6 through 10) are questions you need to ask yourself about you. Answer these questions, and they’ll tell you a lot about yourself. The point of this is to give the Holy Spirit the opportunity to tell you if there are any corners you’re cutting in your Christianity because of money.
Question #5 – Am I fulfilling my responsibilities?
The Bible talks about three main responsibilities you have with your money. They are God, family, and government.
- (God) Proverbs 3:9-10 – “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.”
- (Family) 1 Timothy 5:8 – “Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”
- (Government) Luke 20:25 – “[Jesus] said to them, ‘Then give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.’”
Bible verses about money: “Honor the Lord with your wealth.”
Question #6 – Am I helping the needy?
God takes this very seriously. There are poor people who genuinely have trouble making ends meet. For example, the Bible often talks about the widows and the orphans, people who have lost their breadwinner. Throughout the Bible, it is clear that the church needs to take care of those people. In fact, that’s true religion, taking care of people who need help.
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27)
Bible verses about money: “Look after orphans and widows in their distress.”
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matt. 25:35)
If you’re God’s child, if you’ve got the family resemblance, you’ll care about people who need help, and you’ll help meet their needs.
Question #7 – Am I working hard?
“For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: ‘The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat.’” (2 Thess. 3:10)
Hard work feels good. It feels good to work really hard on something, to get it done, and to have something to show for it. It’s laziness that is boring and feels terrible. So we ought to work hard and enjoy our work.
Question #8 – Am I guarding my integrity?
Speaking of value system, of where things rank in your value system, check out the value system in these verses:
“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.” (Prov. 22:1)
Bible verses about money: “A good name is more desirable than great riches.”
“Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.” (Prov. 28:6)
Your integrity is way more important than riches.
Question #9 – Am I at peace?
It’s important to admit that money doesn’t really buy peace (even if having money helps us feel secure for a time). In fact, the more stuff you have, the more stuff you have to worry about. And money isn’t even as close to as valuable as peace. So many people are stressing themselves sick to get money, when peace comes from God.
“…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (Phil. 4:11–13)
Bible verses about money: “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation….I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”
Question #10 – Am I grateful?
Everything good we have comes from God. The Bible calls God the giver of every good and perfect gift. So, do you thank him for what you have? For the material blessings he’s given you? For the eternal blessings he’s given you? One prayer we can pray continually is, “Thank you, Lord.” When we pause and think about it, it’s amazing what all God has given us. He has forgiven us, saved us, provided for our needs, a nd surrounded us with the church.
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:19)
Let’s review the questions again, and let’s let the Holy Spirit point out to us if there are any of these we need to bring before God, confess our disobedience in, and ask for help in:
- Is this mine, or is it God’s?
- Is this my master, or is God?
- Is this my security, or is God?
- Is this my treasure, or is my treasure eternal?
- Am I fulfilling my responsibilities (God, family, government)?
- Am I helping the needy?
- Am I working hard?
- Am I guarding my integrity?
- Am I at peace?
- Am I grateful?
Solving a deeper debt crisis
Did you know that the Bible doesn’t talk about debt in a good light? Proverbs says that if you’re in debt, you need to free yourself—and be as committed to getting out of debt as a gazelle is committed to getting away from a hunter (Prov. 6:1-5). As Proverbs 22 explains, debt really is a type of slavery:
“The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” (Prov. 22:7)
Bible verses about money: “The borrower is slave to the lender.”
Debt is an especially dirty word when it comes to a far worse kind of debt than money. It’s a kind of debt that, no matter how hard you try or how fast you run, you can’t free yourself from it. What kind of debt am I talking about? Let’s let Jesus answer that:
“Jesus replied, ‘Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.’” (John 8:34)
Our indebtedness makes an appearance in Colossians 2:13-14:
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Col. 2:13–14)
Bible verses about money: “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness.”
It was on the cross that Jesus said, “It is finished” (the Greek word tetelestai). When you said the word tetelestai in the marketplace, it applied the “It is finished” concept to debt. It meant “paid in full.” At the cross, your debt was canceled. Your sins were forgiven. You don’t need to buy an indulgence. You just need a grateful heart and a willingness to trust and follow Jesus.
*To go deeper into the problem of materialism and greed, we encourage you to check out Book #10 in the Real Life Theology series: Carol M. Swain, Countercultural Living: What Jesus Has to Say About Life, Marriage, Race, Gender, and Materialism (Renew.org, 2021).
