Saving money, on the surface, seems like a really good idea, but when you start reading some things in the Bible, you may feel like God wants you to be poor. Is this true?
Is Money Evil?
There are examples all over scripture of Jesus and God denouncing rich people or people who hoard money or possessions. Just take a look:
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Luke 12:15-21
Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”
Matthew 19:24
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:15-17
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:10
Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Hebrews 13:5
That seems pretty condemning to money. However…
You Need Money
The Bible has some very different things so say about money as well.
Precious treasure and oil are in a wise man’s dwelling, but a foolish man devours it.
Proverbs 21:20
Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.
Proverbs 13:11
“For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master’s money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here, I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here, I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Matthew 25:14-30
See? God is telling us to save up, to invest. What gives?
The Whole truth
The reality is that God does want you to save, but he doesn’t want you to love money. Look at money as a tool, and be wise and shrewd with it. Save it up so you can make it through some emergencies or to pay for a large purchase, but don’t covet money. Don’t strive to be rich, or to have what you can’t afford, because that is idolatry. Instead, you should save your money for the future and for an inheritance for your children. The rich man in the first quote was wrong because he presumed about the future and decided to be lazy thanks to his new influx of goods. He should have saved some, but been generous with the rest. Likewise, you should never let your desire to save money be a reason to stop being generous. Remember, it is ultimately God’s money, and you should treat it as such: be content with what he’s given you, be generous, but also be shrewd and save for the future.
Now that I’ve primed you for saving, next week we’ll discuss some strategies for saving money.