We live in a world where the acquisition of money is the single most important thing for some people. They are never content with what they have but will go to go to almost any length to acquire more, including cheating, false accounting, telling lies and, in extreme cases, even murder. Of course money itself has no moral quality. It is neither good or bad. What is condemned in the Bible is the love of money. For example, Paul in his letter to his friend Timothy states that it is the love of money which is the root of all kinds of evil (1 Tim. 6:10).

As Christians it is very easy for us to get caught up in the world’s obsession with money and to counteract that, we have got to keep reminding ourselves of what the Bible has to say about it.
 

Money – what is its source?

The Bible makes this very clear. It states that:

God owns everything.
Haggai 2:8 " ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine’ declares the Lord Almighty."
1 Corinthians 10:26 "The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it."
God gives wealth.
1 Corinthians 4:7 "What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?"

Money - how it should be gained.

Through work
Genesis 3:19 "By the sweat of your brow you will eat food."
2 Thessalonians 3:10 "If a man will not work, he shall not eat."

Through a gift or inheritance
Numbers 27:11 "If his father has no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it."

Through investment
Luke 19:23 "Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back I could have collected it with interest."

Money – how it should not be gained.

By taking or giving bribes

Amos 5:12 "You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts."

Through defrauding

1 Corinthians 6:8 "Instead you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers."

Through injustice

Jeremiah 17:11 "Like a partridge that hatches eggs it did not lay is the man who gains riches by unjust means."

By not paying proper wages

James 5:4 "Look! The wages you failed to pay the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you."

By dishonesty and deceit

Proverbs 11:1 "The Lord abhors dishonest scales, but accurate weights are his delight."

Through gambling

Gambling, being a form of theft, breaks the eighth commandment, and since it also encourages coveting, it also causes those participating to break the tenth commandment as well.

Money – how it should be used.

By recognising that it is a gift from God and that we have a duty to use it wisely

Deuteronomy 8:18 "But remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you the ability to produce wealth."

By using it to pay our debts and for goods we purchase

Deuteronomy 25:15 "Pay him his wages each day before sunset, because he is poor and is counting on it."

By using it to pay our tithes and offerings

1 Corinthians 16:2 "On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income…"

By using it to help the poor and those in need

1 Timothy 6:18 "Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."

Money – how it should NOT be used.

Hoarding it up for ourselves

James 5:3 "Your gold and silver are corroded. Their corrosion will testify against you and eat your flesh like fire. You have hoarded wealth in the last days."

Money – the danger of riches.

Encourages greed

Ecclesiastes 5:10 "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income."

Encourages pride

Ezekiel 28:5 "By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud."

Encourages us to believe that we don’t need God

Deuteronomy 8:12-14 "Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery."