Money is the means by which people, including Christ-followers, are able to purchase “the good life,” yet in the New Testament, wealth is often regarded as a detriment to faith. Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25, King James Version)
Hearing this, his disciples were aghast and wondered how anyone could be saved. Jesus soothed their concerns by telling them, “With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.” (Mark 10:27, King James Version)
Contrary to Popular Opinion, Money is Not Evil
The apostle Paul wrote to his young protegé Timothy regarding money. He said, “But people who long to be rich fall into temptation and are trapped by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. And some people, craving money, have wandered from the true faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:9-10, The New Living Translation)
Christians believe that the love of money — not money itself, but rather, placing great emphasis on acquiring wealth and wishing to be wealthy — is wrong. People who have riches, if they have a sharing attitude and have not harmed others in the process of acquiring their wealth, are far better off than a person who covets or yearns to possess more wealth than he or she has.
Reasons Why Money may be Harmful to a Christian’s Faith
Passionately seeking anything except a closer relationship with God is venturing into dangerous territory. At the end of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he says that believers should not worry about what they will eat, drink or wear but focus on their relationship with God and the other things will be provided. (Matthew 6:33)
Christians generally hold the following beliefs concerning money:
- Having riches is often accompanied by a desire to obtain more wealth, so time is spent in activities devoted to getting more money: investing, counting, managing. Christians believe that loving money and wanting the trappings of wealth can become a form of worship, taking the rightful place of God.
- Christians believe that possessing an abundance of everything leaves little room for faith. A person who has nothing will typically look to religion as they seek to acquire money or goods.
- Money can't buy happiness. It’s a trite saying, but it's regarded as true in many ways. In Charles Dickens’ well-known story, A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge hoards his treasure and is miserable. The poor family, with crippled Tiny Tim at its center, is shown as lacking many of the things people think are necessary for a good life, but they have love.
- The Bible teaches that Christians should strive to be like Jesus. Religious individuals believe that the Son of God did not accumulate riches. He had no earthly home of his own. (Matthew 8:20) He traveled light, likely owning nothing but the clothes on his back, which were divided among the soldiers who crucified him. (John 19:23) When he had to pay taxes, he relied on God’s provision. (Matthew 17:17) When Jesus sent his disciples out to teach and preach, he told them to take nothing for their journey: no food, no shoes and no money. When they returned, they said they lacked nothing. (Mark 6:8, Luke 22:35)
A Christian Must Use Self Discipline to Avoid Problems With Riches
Money is not inherently evil, it’s a necessity. For Christians, the problem with wealth is when having it or getting it becomes too important, squeezing out other things that should have a higher priority: spiritual goals and pursuits, family relationships, and taking care of one's health. Maintaining a proper perspective on prosperity requires prayer, discernment and maturity and often takes time.
When abundance hampers the need for faith, it impairs one’s relationship with God. It may be better to give up some of the things that money can buy in order to obtain things that can only be gained by being needy and dependent upon God.
Additional information about the relationship between Christians and money is available at John Wesley’s Rules About Money and Historical Tithing.
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