What does the Bible say about money?
Money is a topic the Bible addresses with surprising frequency; a large share of Jesus' parables involve property, debt, wages and stewardship. At the center of the teaching is not money itself but its place in the heart. The Sermon on the Mount says, "Don't lay up treasures for…
Money is a topic the Bible addresses with surprising frequency; a large share of Jesus' parables involve property, debt, wages and stewardship. At the center of the teaching is not money itself but its place in the heart. The Sermon on the Mount says, "Don't lay up treasures for yourselves on the earth... for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," tying economic security to the question of where trust is placed: "You can't serve both God and Mammon." The often-misquoted sentence is actually in 1 Timothy: the root of all kinds of evil is not money but "the love of money." Proverbs offers everyday wisdom on the subject: diligence is praised, dishonest gain and idleness are criticized, the enslaving power of debt is noted, and giving from one's income is honored. The Bible does not condemn wealth as such — figures of means such as Abraham and Job are portrayed positively — but it warns against wealth's deceptiveness: the parable of the rich fool tells of a man enlarging his barns whose life ends that very night. Generosity, by contrast, is described in the language of joy: "Let each man give according as he has determined in his heart; not grudgingly, or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver." Care for the poor is treated as the measure of justice in both the Law and the Prophets. The themes of contentment and generosity are gathered on separate topic pages on this site, and the "31 Days in Proverbs" plan follows this everyday wisdom through a month.