Bible Verses about Money
What does the Bible say about money and wealth?
The Bible says money is a good gift that God provides and entrusts to His people. It also says money is a rival master that can take God's place in a human heart. Jesus said: "No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve both God and money" (Matthew 6:24). Scripture never treats wealth as evil in itself. It treats it as powerful, and therefore dangerous when loved.
Is Money the Root of All Evil?
The Bible's most quoted line about money is also its most misquoted. 1 Timothy 6:10 does not say money is the root of all evil. It says "the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil," locating the problem in desire rather than in the currency itself. A person with little can love money. A person with much can hold it loosely.
God's Ownership and Our Stewardship
Underneath this sits a claim that reframes everything else: God owns it all. "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it" (Psalm 24:1). What we call ours is entrusted, not owned outright, which makes every financial decision a question of stewardship rather than possession. Jesus taught more about money than almost any other subject, and repeatedly used it as a test of where the heart rests: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21).
What the Bible Says About Wealth, Contentment, and Giving
From this foundation, Scripture speaks to the practical realities most people are searching for. It warns against greed and the anxiety of storing up wealth (Luke 12:15-21). It promises God's provision for genuine need (Philippians 4:19; Matthew 6:31-33). It commends contentment as the antidote to endless wanting (1 Timothy 6:6-8; Hebrews 13:5). It calls for generosity, in giving that is cheerful rather than compelled (2 Corinthians 9:7; Acts 20:35). And in Proverbs especially, it offers plain wisdom about debt, diligent work, and honest gain (Proverbs 22:7; Proverbs 13:11).
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The verses below explain God's ownership and our stewardship, the warning against loving money, contentment and God's provision, generosity and giving, and practical wisdom for earning, saving, and debt.
Hebrews 13:5-6 NIV
5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." 6 So we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?"
1 Timothy 6:6-10 NIV
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; 10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.
Proverbs 10:22 NIV
22 The blessing of the Lord brings wealth, without painful toil for it.
Proverbs 11:4 NIV
4 Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.
Proverbs 13:11 NIV
11 Dishonest money dwindles away, but whoever gathers money little by little makes it grow.
Proverbs 13:22 NIV
22 A good person leaves an inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for the righteous.
Proverbs 15:16 NIV
16 Better a little with the fear of the Lordthan great wealth with turmoil.
Proverbs 22:1-7 NIV
1 A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. 2 Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. 3 The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. 4 Humility is the fear of the Lord; its wages are riches and honor and life. 5 In the paths of the wicked are snares and pitfalls, but those who would preserve their life stay far from them. 6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. 7 The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.
Proverbs 23:4-5 NIV
4 Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness. 5 Cast but a glance at riches, and they are gone, for they will surely sprout wings and fly off to the sky like an eagle.
Matthew 6:18-21 NIV
18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:24 NIV
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
Luke 6:38 NIV
38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Luke 12:15 NIV
15 Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions."
Luke 14:28-30 NIV
28 "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, 'This person began to build and wasn't able to finish.'
Luke 16:11 NIV
11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?
Ecclesiastes 5:10 NIV
10 Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with their income. This too is meaningless.
Ecclesiastes 5:15 NIV
15 Everyone comes naked from their mother's womb, and as everyone comes, so they depart. They take nothing from their toil that they can carry in their hands.
Exodus 22:25 NIV
25 "If you lend money to one of my people among you who is needy, do not treat it like a business deal; charge no interest.
Acts 20:35 NIV
35 In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "
Philippians 4:11-13 NIV
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Matthew 6:19-21 NIV
19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Deuteronomy 8:17-18 NIV
17 You may say to yourself, "My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me." 18 But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today.
