I’ve spent time with very poor people, very rich people, and everybody in between.  Most of the wealthy people I’ve encountered personally do not fit the general description or common opinions.

How many times do we hear phrases like, “dirty rich people,” filthy rich,” greedy rich,”  etc.?  There are many who think if someone has wealth, they obtained their riches dishonestly, and they are evil, sinful people.  But is that also true of all the wealthy people in the Bible?

If all rich people are evil, dishonest, and greedy, then you don’t need your Bible anymore because there are a number of very godly people in the Scriptures who were very wealthy.

Do we want to call them, filthy, dirty and greedy?  Abraham?  Isaac? Jacob?  Joseph?  Job?  David? Solomon?

Persistent teachings for centuries on the evils of money, as well as how godly and spiritual it is to be poor, have caused many to lump all the wealthy, and even those who are well off, into one category: evil and greedy. Of course I’m not saying being wealthy indicates you are a godly person. Likewise, being poor does not indicate you are a godly person, either.

Money Is Evil?

Money in and of itself is not evil; it’s amoral. It is used for both good and evil purposes. But in and of itself, it’s not evil.  The Bible doesn’t say that money is the root of all evil, but rather, the love of money is the root of all evil.  There’s a huge difference.

Water is not in and of itself evil; it’s amoral.  Access to running water in our homes is very good.  But if a pipe bursts, water damage is not good.

I’ve seen a number of websites claim the Bible contains over 2,000 verses related to money, finances, and economics.  I’ve not yet found a site that offers a complete list, but suffice to say there really are many, many verses on this topic.  And why not?

Money, finances, economics – we all deal with them, almost on a daily basis. And in the Bible you can read many warning verses about money.  But there are also many promise verses.  And there are general verses explaining money and economics.

Some have only heard the warning verses, and so believe money is evil, along with the people who have a lot of it.  Others, who only focus on the promise verses, are expecting the sky to open, and gold and silver coins to rain on them.

A Balance

In all of life, God designed a balance.  It’s true with money; there is a balance.  And God has not left us to guess about it.  He gave us an enormous amount of information about money.

In the Old Testament God reminded His people, Israel, that it was He, God, who gave them power to get wealth. God has no problem with people being wealthy.  So perhaps we ought not to be so quick to judge and condemn all rich people.

Give And Receive

The Bible talks about working so you have something to give to someone in need.  But if all you have is what you barely need to get by, you lack the means to help someone. You need to learn to receive from God.

In the parable of the “good Samaritan,” it shows he had the means to help the wounded traveler. He brought him to the inn and paid for his care. In our culture, we don’t bring the wounded to an inn, but rather to a hospital.  How much would the “good Samaritan”  have paid in taking that man to a hospital in our day and time?

In Philippians 4, Paul talks about giving and receiving.  There is in fact a lot in the Bible about giving and receiving.  Part of receiving involves a principle very few ever talk about.  I actually only became aware of the great principle of storehouses last January when I read the book, The Storehouse Principle. I highly recommend it.

Reading the Bible, we can learn a lot about giving, storing, and receiving.  We can then choose to apply God’s wisdom.  And we can continue to learn more and more, gaining greater understanding of the topic of money.

Of course there are some wealthy people who are evil; there are also some poor people who are evil, too. But to negatively judge someone because of their wealth or lack thereof is not very biblical.  So, for me, I’m just gonna keep my Bible, because I have much to learn.

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