What Does The Bible Say About Money And Wealth?
May 8, 2023 / Joel Settecase
What Does God Say About Money And Finances?
Is money a necessary evil—or is it a gift from God? I want to share with you the origin of money, the reason for the Bible’s warnings about money, and God’s good intention for money. Then I am going to give you a list of 12 passages from Scripture that will help you to think soberly and carefully about the place of money in your life. Money is like sex, fire, or firearms. It can be incredibly helpful or incredibly harmful, depending on how you approach it. Learning to think about money from a biblical perspective is the first step toward living with money in the way God intends, and maximizing its benefit for you and your family.
Where Does Money Originate From?
This morning I interviewed Jordan Bush, the Head of Content / Education over at Thank God For Bitcoin, for the Worldview Legacy Podcast. Bush had a lot to say about Bitcoin (of course), but what I found most illuminating was how he approached the subject of money itself.
According to Bush, there is no evidence that money evolved from an ancient bartering system. I know that runs counter to what we all learned in school, but facts is facts, as they say.
What this may mean—and we would have to do more requisite research to establish it—is that money has always been with us. In fact, instead of being an ad hoc invention by mankind, money seems to be part of God’s intention for human civilization from the get-go.
Doesn’t The Bible Say Money Is The Root Of All Evil?
“But why does the Bible give us so many warnings about money, then?” I’m glad you asked. Bush addresses this in his Worldview Legacy episode. He points out that God warns us about all kinds of things—but not about the things themselves, rather about falling into a disordered love of those things.
So we are warned against loving money, yes, but also against loving our own family members more than we love Jesus (Matthew 10:37; Luke 14:26). Are we to understand that Jesus doesn’t want us to love our family? Of course not! Rather, He wants us to keep things in perspective. We put Jesus first, and everything else is a distant second, third, etc.
Keeping Jesus at the center of everything, and placing Him in the highest place in our lives, is the only way to ensure we’re loving the things in our lives properly. For life to be rightly ordered, our love of and allegiance to Jesus must be our top priority.
All this applies to how we think about money. It’s not that money is bad. But loving money is bad, and it opens a man up to all sorts of dangers, snares and kinds of evil (1 Timothy 6:10).
What Is God’s Purpose For Money?
If Money is indeed a gift from God, then God must have a purpose for it. While there are probably innumerable ways we could take this, I want to focus on three of God’s purposes for money:
Money is a means of communication. Money allows us to recognize the time and energy someone has expended in serving us. The barista who brews and pours you your black americano, the financial advisor who puts your money into mutual funds, and the soccer coach who helps your child perfect his dribbling skills—these are people who have invested their time and energy (work) into serving you. Paying them money is a way of communicating your appreciation for what they’ve done for you. “For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, ‘The worker is worthy of his wages’” (1 Timothy 5:18, CSB).
Money is a way of protecting and providing for yourself and your loved ones. We use money to store value we have created through the work we have done, in order to transform that work into stuff that keeps us alive and allows us to enjoy life. “But if anyone does not provide for his own family, especially for his own household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8, CSB). “I have seen that nothing is better than that man should be glad in his works, for that is his portion. For who will bring him to see what will occur after him” (Ecclesiastes 3:22, LSB). Christian husbands and fathers may/can/must use money to fulfill their God-given, manly responsibilities. And we should enjoy it!
Money is a tool of evangelism, discipleship, and serving others. Jesus tells his disciples, “And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9). So many believers have followed this teaching from the Lord, and the world has been blessed with countless hospitals, universities, and cultural initiatives that have glorified Jesus Christ, not to mention missions trips, VBS programs, and Christian ministries, through which millions have heard the Gospel and been born again. The human soul lasts longer, and is infinitely more valuable than money. Seeing souls saved is therefore priceless.
How Does God Feel About Money?
While money is a part of God’s good plan for the world—and while He does have a good intention for the role of money in the life of believers—He also warns us about its dangers. Here are 12 passages to help you think about money with the sober-mindedness and seriousness the Bible requires. (All verses are from the ESV and sourced from openbible.info.)
You shall remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day. — Deuteronomy 8:18
Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. —Proverbs 3:9–10
Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death. — Proverbs 11:4
Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. — Proverbs 13:11
The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is the slave of the lender. — Proverbs 22:7
He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity. — Ecclesiastes 5:10
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. — Matthew 6:19–21
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. — Matthew 6:24
If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? —Luke 16:11
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:19
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. — 1 Timothy 5:8
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” — Hebrews 13:5
Does God Want Us To Have Money?
If you are convinced, as I am, that money is God’s idea, then it follows that money is one of the good gifts that come down “from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (James 1:17, CSB). So yes, in general, God wants people to have money. However, that is not God’s ultimate goal for us.
We are not entitled to a certain income level, and we ought not complain that God is being unfair if we don’t get the amount of money we want or think we need.
However, however God chooses to bless us financially in this life, we can be sure of this: money is not an end unto itself. God’s desire is that His people use money for His intended goals as expressed in Scripture. He wants us to communicate value to each other with it; to joyfully protect and provide for our families with it, and to use it to evangelize and disciple as many people as we can with it.
In this way, we will use temporary money to build an everlasting legacy, all for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Want to Learn About The Bible and Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is being promoted by many Christian thinkers today. While The Think Institute doesn’t take a formal position on it as an organization—and we certainly are not offering any investment or financial advice of any kind—we do want you to become better able to think about, articulate, and defend the Christian worldview’s teachings on sound money and financial responsibility. Understanding the ins and outs of Bitcoin can help you toward that destination. Here are a couple resources to help you on that journey:
Listen to Jordan Bush’s episode of the Worldview Legacy Podcast: #47 How to Understand Bitcoin From A Christian Perspective | Guest: Jordan Bush. https://thethink.institute/podcast
Read “Why Bitcoin” (slide deck) from The Think Institute board member, Kevin Blessum: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kyu2pVttLsKVeon5f4keemuX9TOr2IzKMjykUej0MuU/edit?usp=sharing