Some preach with exuberant enthusiasm the evils of money and riches, giving the impression God wants us all to be poor, or at least to just barely get by. Others, with the same enthusiasm, preach riches and abundance are there for the asking, giving the impression we should expect God to drop money out of the sky. Both views are missing something.

An honest look into any topic in the Scriptures requires one to search out and investigate every scripture pertaining to that topic. Since the scriptures are God’s Word, there can be no contradictions; all verses on the topic need to fit together. Those that seem to be difficult to understand and may appear to be contradictory must be understood in light of the clearer ones and not vice versa.

The problem so many times is that most people do not want to put forth the effort required to examine every verse on a particular topic. When it comes to money, wealth, riches and prosperity, the Bible has a lot to say. There are literally hundreds of verses one should consider.

What Does The Bible Say?

When it comes to money, wealth, prosperity, and riches, the Bible has both warning verses and promise verses. It is not just interesting that you find both in the Bible, but it’s very important or else God wouldn’t have put them in there. In addition to warnings and promises, there are also general verses about financial matters.

The problem is that there are those who just take the promise verses and magnify them without the warnings. They then preach and teach that lots of money is just going to somehow fall out of the sky or something. They may mean well in wanting to help people receive what God has promised, but they are missing something.

On the other hand some people take only the warning verses and magnify them without acknowledging the promises. They then preach and teach how evil money is, and how bad rich people are. We’ve all heard things like, “those filthy, greedy rich people,” right?

Is Money The Root Of All Evil?

Sadly, teachings of the warnings seem to be the most prevalent in Christianity. When you ask most people if they know a verse in the Bible about money, how do most respond? “Money is the root of all evil!”

First of all, that’s misquoting the scriptures. The Bible says that the “love of money is the root of all evil.” “The love of money is the root of all evil,” is simply a warning verse; we are warned not to love money.

But why for so many is that the first verse that pops up in their head when it comes to money? Why isn’t a verse of promise the first thing that pops up in someone’s head when it comes to money? There are both warnings and promises, but if all you know, or have heard or have been taught are the verses of warning, then you will have the opinion or mindset that money is bad or evil.

Money is not evil; it is amoral. How about water, it’s not evil in and of itself, is it? We drink it, cook with it, bathe with it, right? But on the other hand, have you ever heard water warnings?

At times on beaches, there are riptide warnings. Other times there can be hurricane warnings and flood warnings. Those are warnings about water.

Is fire evil and bad? Have you ever been out camping and cooked over a camp fire or sat around it to stay warm? Fire is not evil, but there are warnings about fire, right? Never leave camp without completely extinguishing your fire; don’t play with matches.

The Bible says the love of money is the root of all evil. That is a warning verse. But what does it mean? Don’t love money!

You could have ten dollars and love it, or, have a million dollars and not love it. The warning is to not love money, but instead, see it for what it is: a means of exchange, something we use to exchange for what we need.

Warnings And Promises

In the Bible God warns us not to covet money, not to trust in uncertain riches, not to be selfish with our abundance, not to be greedy, not to envy the prosperity of the wicked. The Bible says if your riches increase, don’t set your heart upon them. Another Proverb warns us not to hasten to be rich. There are lots of warning verses.

But there are also promise verses about money and finances. In the Bible it talks about God blessing you back for your giving so that your barns are of full of plenty and your presses are bursting forth; it says pressed down shaken together and running over; it says all sufficiency in all things so you can abound in every good work. The Bible says that for those who reverence the Lord, wealth and riches shall be in your house.

There has to be a balance: recognize the warnings, but don’t forget the promises. Recognize and believe the promises, but don’t forget the warnings. But if all you have ever heard are the warnings, you will not only think that money is evil or bad, but that people who have money are evil and bad, too, especially rich people. Oh yes, they’re the worst; they got all that money in some ungodly way, those dirty, filthy rich people.

What About Rich People?

In the Bible, you find many godly people who were wealthy because of God’s blessings. People like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Job, Joseph of Arimathaea, and many others. I certainly don’t want to call any of those wonderful believers dirty and filthy, do you?

Don’t misunderstand me: having great material abundance is not a sign of being godly and spiritual. On the other hand, having very little is not a sign of being godly, either. But having lack in any category of life is not what God wants for us, for He promised to supply all our need. We need to believe that He will do just that.

The bottom line is that we do need money, right? It is what we use as a means of exchange. But if you think money is bad and evil, then all you will need is just enough to get by, because having any more than that will corrupt you. And that, my friend, is nonsense.

I know there are those who might say, “Well, what about what Jesus said to that young rich man who came to him?” People say that Jesus didn’t think it was a good idea to be rich, so now you ought to sell everything you have, too. First of all, if you read that record carefully, that young man was a bit self absorbed.

He said to Jesus, to Jesus no less, “I have done nothing but good for years; I keep all the commandments; I am really a good person.” He really bragged about himself, to Jesus! I certainly couldn’t do that, could you?

Secondly, if he had the ability and believing to acquire wealth once, he could do it again, right? So the problem wasn’t him being rich, but in reading that record carefully, the context shows you he was trusting in his own riches. Now, there are warnings about trusting in riches.

Jesus recognized it, and that’s why Jesus told him to go give it all away. And this young man, who told Jesus he was so right in God’s eyes, went away sad; he just could not let go of what he had. Why? Because he trusted in his wealth.

But people use that record to teach and preach it is wrong to be wealthy and rich and those who are should sell everything, because that’s what Jesus said to do. But those who preach that ought to keep reading, because in the very next chapter, Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house for dinner.

Zacchaeus was a publican, the chief tax collector. The tax collectors had a reputation for dishonesty and cheating people, and people regarded them all as big time sinners. That’s why people were shocked when Jesus went to his house! But as the scriptures show us, this man was not only very wealthy, he was very honest and generous.

He gave 50%! Some people can’t even get to the point of giving 10%, but this guy gave 50%, and if something was not right, even if was not his fault, he restored back four times worth. Jesus called him a son of Abraham, meaning he was a believer. The people thought he was a dirty dishonest rich person, but that’s not what Jesus said.

What’s My Point?

Here’s my point. People use the record about the rich young man from the previous chapter to teach that you should not be wealthy and that you should sell everything and be poor, because that’s what Jesus said. Yet they fail to mention that Jesus never told Zacchaeus to sell everything, and in fact praised him for his honesty and generous heart by calling him a son of Abraham.

Jesus always did the Father’s will, so if God didn’t want you to have wealth, Jesus would have told Zacchaeus and every other rich person he met to sell everything. Concerning rich people, the Bible says to charge them that are rich in this world, to not be high-minded and trust in their riches, but to be giving and be helpful.

Today in our culture it is becoming even more fashionable to criticize wealthy people. I personally know a number of

wealthy people, some millionaires, and they are all givers – big givers. We ought not to be so quick to judge and criticize, because you and I have no idea how hard someone worked to get to where they are, or how much they give and help people.

When it comes to the topic of your money, your finances, your wealth, and your prosperity, remember there are verses of warning and verses of promise.

Mike Verdicchio
2013

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