You can never have enough money to be satisfied. It is easy to spend your whole life chasing wealth, but it will be a totally unfulfilling life.
Whoever loves money never has enough;
whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income.
This too is meaningless. - Ecclesiastes 5:10
You cannot be all in on both your faith in God and the pursuit of money. There is no way to balance the two.
“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." - Matthew 6:24
“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.” - Luke 16:13
It is important not to get too attached to our earthly wealth, but instead be willing to give it generously to others. This both strengthens our faith in God and helps others (both with their physical needs and their spiritual needs as generousity makes a powerful witness for God).
Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”
When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” - Matthew 19:21-26
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. Jesus looked at him and said, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” - Luke 18:22-25
Make sure that you do not take on more financial obligations than you can manage. That is a recipe for disaster.
“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
“Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples. - Luke 14:28-33
The love of money (as opposed to money itself) is a (as opposed to "the") root of all evil. This verse is often misinterpretted and confuses many about how Christians feel about the role of money in our world. Note also that pursuing money can put many hardships in your life that you don't need to face, especially since the pursuit of money is a meaningless activity that has no impact on your eternal state.
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 Timothy 6:10
Don't just pay outstanding taxes, but pay to everyone whatever you owe them, even if it is not monetary.
This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor. - Romans 13:6-7Back to List of Bible Bins Back to Blog Home