The Bible on Money
How to Earn, Manage and Use Money the Biblical Way
I hope this little e-book will be a help and a blessing for you.
Let's begin by looking at 2 Key Bible verses on how to think about money. After that we'll show you 7 principles related to commitments Bible-believing people should practice that are taught or clearly implied in the Bible.
Of course in such a short book I don't attempt to convey everything the Bible says about money. Rather I've tried to provide a substantive summary of the essential things it says to guide your thinking and actions related to money. Your feedback is welcome and appreciated.
So before looking at the 2 key verses, let's start with a question that has an obvious answer: Who needs money? Answer: Everyone. Second question:Is money good or bad? Neither…it can be acquired or used for either purpose. So a better question is, How will you earn, manage and use money in a way that aligns with biblical principles? I would suggest that your attitude toward money is the determining factor is you answer to that question.
So. let try to shape our attitudes and thinking about money in line with what the Bible has to say about it. Here, then, is the first key verse:
“No one can serve two masters; for either you will hate one and love the other,
or you will be loyal to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
Matthew 6:24
These are the words of Jesus spoken as part of the Sermon on the Mount. Why would He make such a big deal about this? I believe it’s because it gets to the heart of a person’s loyalties and motivations. Jesus makes it very clear that if a person chooses to serve money over God, that person is actually choosing to hate God. No believer would ever want that to be true.
One of the reasons this verse is in the Bible is that money holds a powerful potential to become an object of love, even an idol. So this key verse should inform and guide every believer in thinking about money, especially as it relates to God and the priorities of one’s life. The Bible reveals God to be jealous of our affections. That’s not because God is whimsically motivated but rather because He knows that our own best interests lie in keeping loyalty and love of Him at the top of our affections.
The Second Key Verse about money:
“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” I Timothy 6:10a
The love of money is a very BIG problem. Loving money is equivalent to making it an idol and that is a very dangerous thing in the life of any believer. Money is neither good or bad; but loving money is bad. Many times this verse is misquoted to say “money is the root of all evil” which it does not say. The emphasis is on the love of money.
Just think of all the evil done in the world due to the love of money: robberies, murders, sexual immoralities, jealousies, hatred, lying, etc. It is therefore very important for people who are committed to God to determine in their deepest will that loving money will never be their reason for seeking it. Rich or poor the attraction power of money and the temptation to love it, even above God and other people, is very real. It must never be the reason for Bible believing people to seek money.
Matthew 6:24 and I Timoth 6:10a clearly state how a person who wants to follow God should think and act when it comes to money. I hope you will take them to heart and determine to earn, manage and use money accordingly.
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7 Principles Concerning Money Found in the Bible
These principles are my articulation but they reflect what the Bible has to say about money and I ask you to consider them seriously. My hope is that in presenting these biblical truths as principles it will make it easier for the reader to understand and remember.
Principle #1 Love God and Make His Kingdom Your Highest Priority
“Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
These are the words of Jesus, part of His famous "Sermon on the Mount." This was my father's life verse and he put this Bible reference on virtually every card or letter he ever sent me so clearly it was something he believed deeply. And I have come to believe it just as deeply. It is a significant guidepost that will help believers from going astray in many ways including how they think about and handle money.
Here are just a few ways to make seeking God and His kingdom and righteousness first, in other words, putting it at the top of your priority list. You can add other ways yourself.
1. Dedicate yourself completely to God and follow Jesus commands
2. Give generously to help the poor and to support sound Christian ministries
3. Commit time in church and elsewhere using the gifts God has given you to serve others
4. Base decisions and choices on biblical truth and pray for wisdom
5. Avoid supporting things that don’t align with biblical teaching
The Bible has a great deal to say about giving. Under the Law given to Moses by God to guide his people, among the many rules and regulations was the instruction to tithe (give 10%) of their increase. The New Testament also encourages generous giving; while the tithe is not a legalistic requirement in our time, it is still a good standard. That level of giving demonstrates trusting in God to provide for our needs in addition to supporting the work of building the kingdom of God. It's also a means of thanksgiving and an act of worship. You can be sure of this, you' ll never out-give God.
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Principle #2 Understand and Practice Biblical Stewardship
“The earth is the Lord’s and all its fullness; the world and those who dwell therein.”
Psalm 24:1-2
This section may be difficult for some to swallow, but it does reflect the clear teaching of the Bible on this subject.
Psalm 24, was written by King David under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He overtly declares that God owns everything and everyone.
Perhaps you have never before considered this question of ownership, but the Bible makes it clear that God created everything and everyone and He is the owner of all things and all people.
He owns all the land, all the mineral resources, all the gold and silver and other gems…everything. He also has created every person. In fact, the Bible declares that every human being is made in the image of God. That is, all human beings have some of God's own qualities...like intelligence, reasoning power, moral sense among other things. These attributes mean that every single individual, no matter their color or culture, poverty or wealth, looks or talent has value in the estimation of God.
So the natural related question is, if God owns everything and everyone, do we ever really own anything? (homes, cars, furniture, money, children) What are the implications of this truth?
It is this…even our “owning” is temporary. The fact is that we get to be stewards of God’s properties for a little while... we are temporary caretakers of God’s possessions. As stewards of what He owns we are accountable to Him for what we do with what He commits to our care. That includes our body, our money, our possessions, our children…everything. This may be a hard truth to swallow, but God’s ownership of everything is clearly declared in the scriptures and if we are to be faithful to His revelation, that reality must guide our thinking and actions when it comes to how we handle everything we "own". Obviously that includes how we think about, acquire, manage and use money.
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Principle #3 Live with Your Means
"Be sure to know the condition of your flocks, give careful attention to your herds; for riches do not endure forever and a crown is not secure for all generations.” Proverbs 27:23
“He who works his land will have abundant food, but he who chases fantasies lacks judgment.” Proverbs 12:11
Good budgeting and then following that budget is the big key to living within your means. These 2 verses provide the basis for this principle.
You must know the condition of your flocks (your assets) by giving them careful attention. Of course, the concept that one must work in order to have food and other necessities and even some luxuries is self-evident; that is, unless a person has inherited wealth. Even then I’m sure you've noticed that wealthy people tend to teach their children how to handle money well.
The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about people working and not being lazy. In fact, the Bible condemns laziness and wastefulness. So we draw the conclusion from these instructions and warnings that it is very important to know the status of your money and all your assets (they are our proverbial“flocks”). Doing that well requires thoughtful, wise budgeting and money management. Budgeting and living within one’s budget is perhaps the most fundamental step in learning to manage money well. Obviously managing investments is also included but that is another discussion that will be addressed briefly toward the end of this short e-book.
For now, let’s focus on budgeting and managing our month to month income and expenses. I’ll provide a couple tools to help you do that well. (access to these is found at the end)
Here is my definition of “living within your means.” At the most basic level it means all your monthly income minus all your monthly expenses must equal no worse than $0. It's better, or course, if there is actually a positive number left. Since so many bills are due on a monthly basis, it is probably the best idea to create a monthly budget by converting all your bills and all your income into a per-month format. That's true even if your income is weekly, quarterly or perhaps even more sporadic than that. In other words, you must figure out the monthly Income equivalent.
So how does a person determine "monthly income equivalent"?
First list all of your income and convert the total amount into the monthly equivalent. If your income is not all received on a monthly basis, do the calculations to determine the per month equivalent. This construct will serve you very well, both in building your monthly budget and in actually managing your expenditures each month.
In many homes these days, there will be 2 or more income sources and all these regular, reliable sources must be included. So add them all up and convert the total into a monthly equivalent. In some cases you may actually have to determine the total yearly income and then divide by 12 because income can be sporadic rather than regular. You need to have a good handle on what your monthly income equivalent is to build a "real" budget so its actually better to underestimate if you are not certain of exactly what your income will be. In other words, if uncertain, err a little under the expected amount in income and err a little over the amount of expected expenses. That practice will help keep you from having sudden serious shortfalls.
Sometimes, people will have unexpected income, but that should not be factored into a monthly budget. That kind of income is a blessing and can be used as you wish but obviously not as part of the monthly budget. If a person gets paid the same amount every week, then it
would be a good idea to quadruple that number to come up with the monthly total (or multiply by 52 and divide by 12). If a person receives quarterly or semi-annual or even annual stipends from annuities or other investment instruments that the person wants to include in the monthly budget, those things should also be counted when determining the households regular monthly income. A word of caution here…unless they really are monthly or quarterly and can easily be turned into a per month number, it is safer not to include them in the monthly budget.
Next List All Recurring Expenses in a Monthly Expense Equivalent. Once again, for expenses, many will in fact be monthly but some expenses are quarterly, semi-annually or even annually. The non-monthly expenses must be accounted for in your budget, so you must include the amount to allocate and keep each month to have the required funds for the payment when it comes due. The tool in the appendix illustrates how to do that by showing you a sample model of that very thing.
Once you have both your monthly income equivalents and your monthly expense equivalents calculated, you then must determine how much to allocate for each monthly category from your income sources and track them accordingly. The budget management tools provided at the bottom will help you do that.
Building a realistic budget is an essential step because without doing it, you will never really know where you stand. So I urge you to utilize the budget tools to build and manage your budget unless you already have a system that works well for you.
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Principle # 4 Earn Money Honestly & Manage it Wisely
Wealth gained by dishonesty will be diminished, but he who gathers by labor will increase.
Prov. 13:11
Honesty and diligence in earning money combined with wisdom in managing it are values that the Bible affirms very clearly. Believers reflect the character of God when we act in compliance with these principles. And, of course, reflecting the character of God through the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit is something we are admonished to do.
So, what does honest work and diligence look like in day to day living? It looks like faithfulness in fulfilling the responsibilities that are ours and diligence in giving our best at all times. Another verse reads, “He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
Proverbs 10:4
The bottom line is quite clear...acquire money honestly and manage it diligently (carefully, wisely). One does that by being honest in all acquisitions and careful in all expenditures. Do these 2 things well and you will be living in accord with biblical teaching.
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Principle # 5 Build Savings to Cover Emergencies
Go to the ant, you sluggard! Consider her ways and be wise, which having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.”
Proverbs 6:6-8
This passage about the ant obviously obviously speaks to the matter of diligence and hard work, but it also talks about the wisdom of saving up for future needs. The Bible clearly teaches that it is wise to save up for emergencies and other types of unexpected expenses.
In Matthew 5:19-21 Jesus said, “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.”
Of course Jesus was talking about not putting one’s trust in earthly riches because they can disappear in a variety of ways. He wasn’t contradicting the wisdom of Proverbs 6:6-8 about hard work and being prepared to face unexpected expenses. In your monthly budget it is not only wise but absolutely essential to put aside money each month into a savings account.
People disagree in how much money one should keep in a savings account but no one ever counsels not to accrue adequate savings.
In this section I'm not talking about long-term savings for retirement, although that too is wise, but rather about having a readily accessible savings account with enough money in it to cover the inevitable emergency needs that arise in everyone’s daily living. Like others, I believe that it is wise to allocate one's monthly income as follows: 10% into giving to kingdom building work, 10% into savings, and 10% for taxes (above what is withheld from your paychecks...more if not withheld) and then live on the remaining 70%.
Many people who are struggling to make ends meet find this a difficult thing to do, but it is certainly a wise practice. How much should a person have available in savings? Well known guru, Dave Ramsey, suggests a first target of $1000 and after that to grow the amount to equal at least 1 month’s worth of expenses. That's a good goal at the outset, and once attaining those levels, increasing the amount to 3 months living expenses or more is not a bad idea.
However, the purpose of this savings account is for unexpected expenses or emergencies. Saving more for other things like college, travel, etc. is valid, of course, but for those who live on a tight budget, those extras may have to wait.
Again, the purpose is not to “lay up treasures on earth” but to have funds available for the unexpected. When you must spend some of those funds, and those occasions will inevitably arise from time time, then immediately work at replenishing your savings to the amount you had before the expense was made. Over time that number may increase so as to enable you to buy everything on a cash basis…cars, furniture, even houses. There isn’t a firm consensus on that idea but the concept of always buying everything with cash and never by using credit is surely sound, even though most likely only a small percentage of people achieve that goal.
Regardless of how much one chooses to keep in savings, it is always important to remember the 2 key verses we discussed at the beginning of this e-book.
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Principle #6 Get Out of Debt Quickly
"The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender." Proverbs 22:7
What is clear from this verse is that debt is a position of servitude. So, if you don't like the position of being a servant, the best course of action is to get out of debt as quickly as possible. I believe that is a reasonable deduction based on the statement in Prov. 22:7.
So what else can we deduce from this verse…in what ways should a believer’s thinking and actions be shaped? Well, at the very least we can re-state without risk of contradiction that having debt puts a person in the position of servitude to the lender.
What are the implications of that? Here are a few questions we might ask ourselves as we think about those implications. Perhaps some others may come to your mind.
Is it wrong to have personal debt?
Is it okay to borrow for assets like homes, cars and other material things?
Is it okay to have credit card debt?
How about other types of personal loans?
Can we distinguish between personal debt and debt for business?
Allow me provide the following thoughts in response to these questions:
It would be ideal to never need to borrow from any entity for anything…homes, cars, etc. But that is not very realistic for most people, at least at the outset. If we were to insist that one can never borrow for those things, it is likely that many people would not have these necessities. So I would say that having debts secured by collateral is not biblically prohibited, as long as making the payments doesn’t create undue hardships. If so, one should downsize their requirements until debts are paid in full.
Romans 13:8 does say, “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
However, this verse is in the context of paying taxes to the Roman government and is not really addressing the issue of modern day borrowing with collateral attached to the loan. Instead, I believe that one should not borrow more than is easily paid for month by month without causing undue pressure on the monthly budget. Having said that, I would also advise against having unsecured credit card debt. If you use credit cards to make purchases, which is such a common practice, be sure to pay it off in full every month. Furthermore, if you have that type of debt, make it a high priority to pay all credit cards off as quickly as possible. In short, avoid credit card debt. Dave Ramsey even suggests that people in debt get rid of all their credit cards.
Other types of personal loans would fit into this same category, in my opinion. Credit cards and other personal loans should be paid off and not re-encumbered.
Finally, I do recognize the difference between personal debt and debt that acts as leverage in business. That is really a different situation and not one I’ll address in this short book. Even then, business owners need to be careful with how much debt leverage they use.
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Principle #7Build Assets to Bless Future Generations and Others
A good man leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous. Prov. 13:22
Investing wisely to build assets to bless children and others is biblical; enjoying God’s blessings and sharing them with others is a biblical expectation; hoarding money for self-centered living is not biblical.
I am not an investment advisor so my advice related to long-term investment is only of the most general nature: Find a good financial planner you trust and create a plan. Then monitor your progress and make adjustments in accordance with advice you trust that aligns with your own biblical values and thoughtful goals.
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Conclusion
Below you'll see 3 buttons:
First one links to the budget tools I wrote about in the "Live within Your Means" section
Second one links to a site where you can purchase the companion book I've also written related to money titled, "The Bible on Debt - How to Become Debt Free the Biblical Way"
Third button at the very bottom of the page links to my Contact Page where you can ask questions or provide feedback. I welcome both and would be glad to hear your thoughts.
God bless you as you strive to be a good steward of the things He has given you.
Sincerely,
Neil Veydt
I would appreciate having your feedback on this e-book, positive or negative. If you are inclined to do that, please click on the button below to let me know your thoughts.